Published: March 28, 2022
Elizabeth H Aitken, Stephen J Rogerson (2022) Placental Malaria: Tackling variants with antibodies eLife 11:e77751. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.77751
Malaria is a serious, potentially life-threatening disease spread by mosquitoes. Pregnant women are especially at risk, as high densities of the parasite that causes malaria can accumulate in the placenta. This can trigger damaging inflammation in the placenta, which could affect the growth and development of the unborn baby, and even lead to a higher risk of infant death (Walker et al., 2014).