Project 2 - Transmission

Walter And Eliza Hall Inst Medical Res, Victoria

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Project summary The Asia-Pacific region is facing serious emerging threats to malaria control and elimination goals, and some have already led to documented increases in malaria case numbers in recent years. Among these critical threats, are the emerging pyrethroid resistance detected in our PNG ICEMR sites, the expected vector range expansions and the overarching challenge of addressing an increasing proportion of P. vivax malaria across the region. While Cambodia is currently progressing towards elimination as a result of deforestation and effective implementation of malaria control strategies against P. falciparum, the most significant progress towards malaria elimination in the Asia-Pacific region will be achieved with the improved ability to reduce P. vivax transmission in the high-burden settings of PNG. Keeping pyrethroid resistance out of PNG should be a primary goal of national and regional malaria control efforts. Addressing the threat of pyrethroid resistance will require robust new vector surveillance approaches to map resistance origins and spread, and trace resistant vector range expansion into areas with human populations vulnerable to malaria. Understanding critical determinants of P. vivax human to mosquito transmission to guide the development and testing of novel transmission-blocking interventions including novel vector control approaches and transmission blocking vaccines will be needed to effectively limit the spread of P. vivax. Learning experiences from countries further along the pathway to elimination such as Cambodia will be needed to guide vector control strategy and policy in countries that are less advanced such as PNG. The overall aim of the Asia-Pacific ICEMR Transmission Project is therefore to generate critical evidence to improve malaria vector surveillance and malaria prevention through vector control, with a specific focus on the spread of pyrethroid resistance into PNG, and human, vector and parasite factors driving P. vivax transmission. To achieve this, novel integrated vector surveillance strategies will be developed and piloted in our ICEMR sites to understand the spread and impact of emerging pyrethroid resistance and vector range expansion using cutting-edge vector population genomics tools. The national malaria indicator surveys conducted by the PNG National Malaria Control Program will then adopt these novel assays. In addition, we will investigate critical determinants of human-to mosquito P. vivax transmission using our globally unique, multi-country P. vivax human-to-mosquito transmission study capacity in our ICEMR sites in Cambodia and PNG. We will provide critical support to accelerate the development of novel P. vivax transmission-blocking drug and vaccine candidates, and vector control tools targeting the most important transmission routes and spaces.