Gorillas are Responsible for Spreading Malaria in Humans

Until recently, it was thought that the parasite was originally contacted by people from chimpanzees, when the two species had the last common ancestor. A new study by an international team of researchers has discovered but that people have contracted malaria from the gorillas.

A team of scientists formed by American scientists, Africa and Europe have examined the parasite that causes malaria in gorilla feces and found that his DNA is closest to that of the malaria parasite to humans.

Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium and is transmitted through mosquitoes. Approximately 800,000 people die annually due to malaria in Africa, there is widespread and most deadly form of the virus, Plasmodium.

Until now it was believed that people contracted malaria in chimpanzees, after 5 to 5 million years, but new study shows that malaria is much newer.

To study DNA malaria a representative number of wild gorillas, scientists were unable to draw blood samples therefore were used by 2,700 fecal samples from two species of gorilla field – Western and Eastern, the two species of chimpanzee and bonobo monkey. After the samples were analyzed, researchers found that the parasite Plasmodium in humans is similar to that of the chimpanzee, as believed until now, but is very close to that of western gorillas field, living in West and Central Africa.