Molecular epidemiology of Malaria in the Juruá Valley

• Grant number: 18/12127-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: November 01, 2018
• End date: November 01, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Epidemiology
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Urbano Ferreira
• Grantee: Fabiana Dutra Esquivel
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/18740-9 - Scientific bases for residual malaria elimination in the Brazilian Amazon, AP.TEM

Abstract

Brazil recorded 193 thousand cases of Malaria in 2017, an increase of 51% over the previous year. More than 99% of Malaria cases in the country are acquired in the Amazon Basin. The Alto Juruá Valley, with about 120.000 inhabitants, concentrates more than 40% of all P. falciparum infections diagnosed in Brazil and almost 20% of all cases, independently of the species. One of the possible factors associated with Malaria control difficulties in this region is the existence of a large reservoir of Malaria in rural communities, with asymptomatic and subpatent (not detectable by routine diagnostic techniques) infections that remain without diagnosis or treatment. The present project aims to investigate the role of rural and periurban communities in the maintenance of Malaria in the urban area of Mâncio Lima, the municipality with the highest incidence of Malaria in Brazil and with a significant proportion of cases (up to 45%) acquired in the urban area. Firstly, the objective is to estimate the prevalence of asymptomatic and subpatent infections, invisible to the health system, in three distinct epidemiological contexts: (a) the urban population of Mâncio Lima; (b) remote rural riverside communities located in the same municipality and (c) a nearby peri-urban community. The second objective is to apply strategies of population genomics and genetics to evaluate the circulation of parasite populations between rural communities and the urban population, defining the role of human mobility in the maintenance of urban residual Malaria in this region. (AU)