Background: Orang-utan malaria and the Plasmodium pitheci discovery Malaria in non-human primates (NHP) spans a diverse genus, with Plasmodium species infecting a broad host range. Among Asian NHPs, orang-utans (Pongo spp.) harbor Plasmodium pitheci and Plasmodium sylvaticum, parasites historically identified by morphology but lacking validated molecular characterization until now. The present work focuses on the…