Viera Fábryová
Erythrocytes play host to a range of intracellular organisms. Malaria, the most studied of these diseases, is caused by
parasites belonging to the genus Plasmodium. Each year there are 300 million clinical episodes of malaria, one or two
million leading to deaths, the majority in sub-Saharan Africa, south-east Asia and in the Mediterranean Sea region.
Mutations in over 30 human genes are known to associate with innate resistance to malaria and this includes a large
number that are involved in the formation of erythrocytes (congenital haemolytical anaemias.) Here we describe some
of the numerous and complex interactions that occur between the host erythrocyte and plasmodial parasite during
blood stage infection. This issue is now becoming very important with the arrival of large numbers of immigrants from
endemic areas to Europe.