Human mobility and urban malaria risk in the main transmission hotspot of Amazonian Brazil

Author(s)

Johansen, Igor C. ^[1] ; Rodrigues, Priscila T. ^[1] ; Ferreira, Marcelo U. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Dept Parasitol, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PLoS One; v. 15, n. 11 NOV 25 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Malaria in the Amazon is often perceived as an exclusively rural disease, but transmission has been increasingly documented within and near urban centers. Here we explore patterns and causes of urban-to-rural mobility, which places travelers at risk of malaria in Mancio Lima, the main malaria hotspot in northwestern Brazil. We also analyze rural-to-urban mobility caused by malaria treatment seeking, which poses an additional risk of infection to urban residents. We show that the rural localities most frequently visited by urban residents-typically farming settlements in the vicinity of the town-are those with the most intense malaria transmission and also the most frequent source localities of imported malaria cases diagnosed in the town. The most mobile urban residents are typically poor males 16 to 60-years old from multi-sited households who lack a formal job. Highly mobile residents represent a priority target for more intensive and effective malaria control interventions, that cannot be readily delivered to the entire community, in this and similar urbanized endemic settings across the Amazon. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/03902-9 - Spatial and temporal dynamics of malaria transmission in residual hotspots in the Brazilian Amazon
• Grantee: Priscila Thihara Rodrigues
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 16/18740-9 - Scientific bases for residual malaria elimination in the Brazilian Amazon
• Grantee: Marcelo Urbano Ferreira
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants