There are five Plasmodium species that cause malaria with the vast majority of reported cases being due to Plasmodium falciparum.

Plasmodium vivax is the second most common reported cause of malaria.

My guest today says P. vivax infections represent a major unrecognized burden on global health calling it "obscure and insidious" and we'll take a look at why he says this.

Joining me today to discuss Plasmodium vivax, it's burden and a new study published in PLoS Medicine is Kevin Baird, PhD.

Professor Baird is the head of the Eijkman-Oxford Research Unit in Jakarta, Indonesia and Professor of Malariology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford.