Plasmodium knowlesi in the marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

Common marmosets were shown to be susceptible to Plasmodium knowlesi malaria. The morphology of the parasite was indistinguishable from the observed in the natural host (Macaca fascicularis) and the common laboratory model (Macaca mulatta). A differential susceptibility to P. knowlesi was observed in the 8 marmosets studied. Multiplication rates of parasites were variable over 24 h periods. Five animals died of a fulminating infection within 12--17 days after challenge. Three animals recovered spontaneously from infection and were subsequently resistant to challenge with homologous and heterologous variants and strains of P. knowlesi. This resistance was maintained for intervals up to 100 days between challenge infections.