Plasmodium falciparum asymptomatic infections: Treating carriers to explain and impact transmission (FACE-IT)

Plasmodium falciparum malaria persists in Sahelian Africa, where incidence follows a highly seasonal pattern. In the near-absence of mosquito vectors, parasites depend on human hosts to survive the dry season. This carriage is generally asymptomatic and remains untreated allowing parasites hosted by chronically infected individuals to reignite transmission when favourable conditions return. An intervention depleting this reservoir could fill a gap in existing malaria control strategy. To exploit the dry season transmission bottleneck efficiently, there is a need to understand: – how transmission restarts at the onset of the rainy season- how to intervene most efficiently against this carriage- how to integrate such intervention in ongoing control strategies. These challenges will be addressed in a population study conducted in Kedougou region, Senegal. The results will then be integrated into relevant evidence for Malaria Control Programs and Health Systems of Sahel countries, by analysing the cost-effectiveness of the proposed strategy, and conducting a regional geoepidemiological analysis of onset dynamics to propose target intervention areas. The results will shed light on the community-level dynamics of transmission restoration, and provide evidence to design high impact interventions towards malaria elimination.

Project details

Asymptomatic Reservoir
Genetics and Genomics
Indigenous Cases & Importation
Measurement of Transmission

Oct 2023 — Apr 2027

$477,262

Senegal