"Gorillas the Origin of Human Malaria's Most Lethal Strain"

"CHICAGO -- The world's most deadly form of human malaria, a parasite known as Plasmodium falciparum, is of gorilla origin, and not chimpanzee, bonobo or ancient human origin as scientists previously thought.

Malaria is a blood infection caused by the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. Of the five types of mosquito-borne Plasmodium parasites that cause malarial infection in humans, Plasmodium falciparum is the most dangerous. It is responsible for hundreds of millions of infections and more than one million deaths a year, most of them in Africa.

An international consortium of 22 scientists collaborated on the investigation into the source of Plasmodium falciparum and published their research results in the September 23 edition of the journal 'Nature.'"

Environment News Service had the story September 23, 2010.