Parasites may accumulate in spleens of asymptomatic individuals infected with malaria

Malaria, a disease caused mainly by the parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, is associated with over 400,000 deaths each year. Previously, the spleen was assumed to mostly play a role in parasite destruction, as it eliminates malaria parasites after antimalarial treatment. A new study suggests that in chronic P. vivax infections, malaria parasites survive and replicate via a previously undetected lifecycle within the spleen.