Malaria Epidemiology

Univ Of Sciences, Tech & Tech Of Bamako, Bamako

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Project 1 Abstract: Malaria burden has significantly decrease across sub–Saharan Africa over the last decades following the scale up of effective control interventions. However, interruption of malaria transmission in endemic area remains a challenge for most endemic countries specifically in Sub Saharan Africa. In endemic settings, clinical immunity associated with age and multiple exposure to malaria infection leads to the presence of high proportion of asymptomatic infection that could persist for months and contribute to establish a permanent source of infection for malaria vectors. The gap in our knowledge this project will fill is to identify the human malaria parasite reservoir starting from the end of malaria transmission season to the start of following wet season and their contribution to the initiation of the yearly transmission season across different ecological settings in West Africa. The goal of this project is to assess factors which determine the persistence of malaria transmission during the dry season in rural and urban settings to identify more aggressive and/or novel strategies targeting these areas. The specific aims are 1] Assess the risk factors associated with P. falciparum residual infection in relation with malaria incidence (uncomplicated and severe malaria) and current control interventions across three endemic settings in Mali); 2] Assess epidemiologic patterns and determinants of malaria risk in urban and peri-urban setting of Bamako; 3] Assess the impact of the optimized combination of standard control interventions on the disease burden associated with residual malaria transmission. This project links the different aspects of malaria parasite reservoir during the dry season, malaria transmission and disease during the wet season into a unified whole including a range of immune responses (Project 2, Immunopathogenesis) and seasonal and geographical distribution of Anopheline mosquitoes vectors (Project 3). Understanding the residual malaria transmission relating entomologic and epidemiological patterns will provide more definitive guidelines for targeted malaria control intervention in Mali and in West Africa