Abstract
Malaria is a major public health problem in Brazil, with over 120,000 cases reported in 2014. The epidemiology of the disease is complex, not only for its biological cycle, which involves six species of the protozoan Plasmodium, and several species of Anopheles mosquitoes, but also because it is intrinsically linked to environmental political, social and economic factors, besides the lack of access to health services. In Brazil, we can distinguish three epidemiological profile of the disease: the first being in the Amazon region, where more than 90% of malaria cases occurs, the most prevalent etiologic agent is Plasmodium vivax and the principal vector is Anopheles darlingi; the second involves cases imported of endemic regions such as the Amazon, as cases imported of other countries, in Asia, Africa and South America; the third corresponds to autochthonous cases occurring in the South and Southeast, and are directly related to exposure to parasites circulating in the Atlantic Forest regions and the vector is the mosquito Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii. This profile is characterized by atypical cases of the disease ranging from mild form to asymptomatic subclinical infection. Because of the subclinical framework of malaria in these regions, for a long time it was believed that these cases were the result of infection by Plasmodium vivax or P. malariae. However, at least three recently published studies demonstrate the presence of Plasmodium falciparum, or at least there is a similar form of P. falciparum circulating in the Southeast Brazil. Somehow, this species, or a variant of it, is involved in the epidemiology of malaria in the southeast region of the Atlantic Forest and the vector is An. cruzii. Considering that populations of the same species of mosquito may have different vector competence and capacity throughout its geographic distribution, this study aims to: (1) test whether populations of Anopheles cruzii regions with different vegetation gradients are genetically structured; (2) compare the genomic signatures of populations exposed to different environmental variables; (3) check for Plasmodium infection in Anopheles cruzii and (4) test whether there is an association between the populations of vector infection by Plasmodium and / or its species. The knowledge of population structure of An. cruzii, vector species of plasmodium in the Atlantic Forest, can enrich the knowledge of the dynamics of transmission of malaria in southeastern Brazil. (AU)
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