Case Report: Case Series of Human Plasmodium knowlesi Infection on the Southern Border of Thailand

Abstract

Although human infections of <i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i> have been found throughout Southeast Asia, most cases originated from Malaysian Borneo. In Thailand, <i>P. knowlesi</i> malaria was considered extremely rare. However, during October 2017-September 2018, there was a surge in the number of reported <i>P. knowlesi</i> cases. Here, a series of six cases of <i>P. knowlesi</i> malaria found during this period in Songkhla and Narathiwat provinces of southern Thailand are presented. All cases were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. The unprecedented case number in the affected area is a warning sign of an increasing <i>P. knowlesi</i> burden in the south of Thailand.