Genotyping of Plasmodium spp.: Nested PCR

It is now established that Plasmodium falciparum parasites found in any one area are highly diverse and that individual hosts, vertebrate and insect, are often concurrently infected by multiple parasite lines (for example, see refs. 1 -4 ). Different parasite lines of the same Plasmodium species are also known to vary substantially with respect to parameters such as the parasitological and clinical course of the infection, the pattern of recrudescence, immunological cross-reactivity, susceptibility to drugs, and transmissibility by various vector species. The relationship between the complexity of the parasite populations and such pathological, immunological, and epidemiological factors is poorly understood and clearly merits further investigation (for example, see refs. 4 -16 ).