Parasitology is pleased to announce a Special Issue on primate and zoonotic malaria, open for invited and open submissions from June 2025. This Special Issue is in conjunction with the 21st International Congress for Tropical Medicine & Malaria (ICTMM 2024), held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The congress aimed to highlight the critical importance of global cooperation and a multidisciplinary approach in addressing malaria and other tropical diseases.

Zoonotic malaria, particularly Plasmodium knowlesi, poses a serious public health threat, especially in Southeast Asia, where transmission is sustained by specific macaque hosts and anopheline vectors that are predominantly found in this region. The continued spread of primate malaria poses a significant challenge to countries striving for WHO malaria elimination certification. In addition to P. knowlesi, other primate malaria parasites, such as P. inui, P. cynomolgi, P. fieldi, and P. coatneyi, have recently been reported to infect humans. While these species are primarily endemic to Southeast Asia, the increasing number of imported cases in non-endemic areas underscores their growing global significance.

The growing recognition of primate and zoonotic malaria as a global health concern calls for a deeper understanding of its transmission patterns and implications for public health. We invite submissions that explore all aspects of primate malaria research, including investigations on human, primate, and vector interactions. Contributions may include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

• Vector biology
• Host-parasite interaction
• Diagnostics and surveillance
• Immunology and immune responses
• Genetics, proteomics and molecular biology
• Epidemiology and public health
• One Health and multidisciplinary approaches

This Special Issue will be guest-edited by Associate Prof. Dr. Van Lun Low, from the Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre, Universiti Malaya with support from Prof. John Ellis (Deputy and Special Issues Editor) and Prof. Russell Stothard (Editor-in-Chief). 

The final production is set for early 2026 but accepted papers will be published ahead of this within 'firstview' and will be promoted by our social media team. 

Submission Guidelines: please select the ‘Primate Malaria and Zoonosis’ option from the special issue dropdown in ScholarOne.

For detailed manuscript preparation instructions and submission guidelines, please refer to the Instructions for Authors.    

All manuscripts need to be submitted no later than 31^st March 2026 (submit your paper here).