Transmission dynamics of Plasmodium vivax in an urban area of the Brazilian Amazon: spatial and temporal analysis

• Grant number: 17/02351-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: June 01, 2017
• End date: May 19, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Urbano Ferreira
• Grantee: Lais Camoese Salla
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

With 143,162 laboratory-confirmed cases and 37 malaria-related deaths in 2015, Brazil has now the lowest malaria burden in 35 years, with virtually no transmission outside the Amazon region. The focal nature of malaria transmission in Brazil suggests that elimination efforts will require careful prioritization of a few residual malaria pockets. In this project, we will use parasite's population genetics approaches to study the transmission dynamics of residual malaria in an urban area of the Juruá Valley, a region in the western Amazon that accounts for 20% of the cases of malaria in Brazil. The field activities focus on the municipality of Mâncio Lima, Acre, where 45% of reported cases of malaria are acquired in urban area. Microsatellite DNA markers will be used to characterize 200 P. vivax samples from Mâncio Lima, collected during 13 months, to test the hypothesis that the continuous introduction of new parasites populations contributes to the maintenance of residual malaria pockets in this urban setting. The parasite population structure and levels of genetic diversity and multiplicity infections will be analyzed to identify temporal and spatial patterns of parasite's strain circulation in the host population. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

SALLA, Lais Camoese. Transmission of Plamodium vivax in an urban area of the Brasilian Amazon: spatial and temporal analysis.. 2019. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB/SDI) São Paulo.