Most Infectious Malaria Strain Came From Chimps?

Malaria comes in four strains varying in virulence.  Recent studies show that the most infectious strain may have come from chimps. Malaria is a disease of the blood.  Microscopic parasites invade the bloodstream when an infected mosquito bites the victim.  It has spread throughout much of the tropical world and is a serious health threat, killing more than a million people, mostly children, every year.

Evidence of malarial infections goes back thousands of years.  It is speculated that as humans adopted an agrarian lifestyle they moved into territories that chimps occupied allowing the mosquito vector to spread the parasites to new hosts.  Many diseases afflicting humans are spread by insects, some are old enemies -- Bubonic Plague -- but some are termed 'emerging diseases' like Ebola, West Nile, Haanta Virus, Rift Valley Fever.  As more people interact in the formerly isolated areas of the world, chances are greater that a disease that evolved in animals will take the opportunity to infect humans.
Malaria was once found as far north as London, England and was a health problem in the United States in the 20th century.  It is one of the top killers of humans, along with AIDS and Tuberculosis(TB)