Malaria Journal

BackgroundMalaria transmission in Uganda is heterogenous, so the national malaria program needs information about the distribution of malaria to develop appropriate policies. While population-based community surveys estimate Plasmodium falciparum parasite rate (PfPR), they are too infrequent and sparse for routine malaria management. Health facility data is routinely collected and covers a large geographic scope, but the data is collected passively, variable in quality, and potentially highly bi...

BackgroundCambodia has made great progress in reducing malaria transmission and is targeting elimination. While this progress is particularly marked for Plasmodium falciparum, the situation is different for Plasmodium vivax. It is generally assumed that symptomatic patients are effectively diagnosed using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), regardless of transmission intensity. MethodsIn 2023 we conducted a cross-sectional survey among 986 treatment-seeking patients in 6 provinces of Cambodia with v...

BackgroundPlasmodium vivax (P. vivax) has emerged as the primary cause of malaria in Cambodia. Achieving malaria elimination and securing malaria-free certification requires a focused effort on addressing P. vivax malaria. This is essential because the elimination of P. vivax often lags behind that of Plasmodium falciparum, making it a critical component in the overall strategy. This study assesses the feasibility of the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) and P. vivax Serological Testing and Treatme...

BackgroundMalaria, transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes, remains a major public health challenge in Nigeria, where approximately 97% of the population is at risk. Despite large-scale investments, Nigeria continues to bear the worlds highest malaria burden. Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are central to prevention, yet their effectiveness is increasingly undermined by non-usage, delayed replacement, and growing outdoor biting activity. National surveys (MIS, PMI) consistently report ...

Malaria remains a major public health challenge in Nigeria, and increasing climate variability poses substantial threats to recent gains in control. However, malaria transmission does not respond uniformly to climate drivers across epidemiological settings, highlighting the need to explore climate-malaria dynamics within heterogeneous contexts. This study examined the non-stationary temporal dynamics of malaria incidence and two key climatic drivers--rainfall and temperature--in Lagos and Zamfar...

Progress in malaria control has stagnated since the early 21st century in many countries, requiring new approaches such as the use of spatially-targeted interventions. Evidence on the effectiveness of spatially-targeted interventions is mixed. Their success can be dependent on whether the setting is endemic, the metrics used to target the intervention, and the spatial resolution and scale of deployment. We developed a two-age-class, spatially-explicit model of malaria at the community-scale for ...

The spread of Anopheles stephensi into the Horn of Africa represents one of the main challenges for malaria control, given the species ecological plasticity and resistance to multiple insecticides. In response to the World Health Organizations 2022 vector alert, an adaptive, model-based spatial surveillance framework was developed and evaluated to improve detection, mapping accuracy, and operational responsiveness during invasion. Adaptive surveillance utilises initial observations to guide subs...

BackgroundThe widespread insecticide resistance increasingly threatens malaria elimination, prompting a reassessment of vector control strategies. As Tanzania transitions from standard pyrethroid-only insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to new-generation nets, evaluating the impact of this shift on malaria transmission and resistance is critical. MethodsUsing the agent-based malaria model, EMOD, we assessed the impact of three ITN types, standard pyrethroid-only nets, pyrethroid-PBO nets (Olyset(R)...

BackgroundLarval source management (LSM) was once central to malaria control before insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying dominated. Renewed interest in LSM raises questions about its effectiveness in rural Africa, where habitats are dispersed, and vector species contribute unequally, and whether species-targeted larviciding could offer greater gains than broadcast approaches. MethodsThis modelling study quantified the potential impact of larviciding in African settings where mu...

BackgroundSevere Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, with most deaths occurring in children younger than five years of age. The RTS,S/AS01E (RTS,S) malaria vaccine delivered seasonally with Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) led to a two-third reduction in severe malaria and malaria deaths compared with either intervention given alone. The aim of this study was to assess the seasonal distribution and clinical presentation of children admitted in h...

BackgroundArtemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the most widely used treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Kelch 13 mutations associated with artemisinin partial resistance (ART-R) have emerged in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and are now reported in an increasing number of countries. ACT treatment failure rates are at risk of unprecedented increase. To summarise existing surveillance data and guide future surveillance, we produce modelled estimates of the spatiotemporal distribut...

Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) is a promising intervention for Turkana, Northern Kenya, where malaria transmission is highly seasonal. Traditional malaria control methods, such as indoor residual spraying (IRS) and insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), are impractical due to the populations semi-nomadic lifestyle, temporary dwellings, sparse settlements, and limited access to health facilities. In 2024, following the WHOs updated guidance on SMC use, this intervention was implemented in Turka...

Persistent, asymptomatic Plasmodium infections are common in areas of high transmission due to acquired immunity. When asymptomatically infected individuals seek care for a fever caused by something other than malaria parasites, they may test positive for parasites and be incorrectly diagnosed as having clinical malaria. This study used distributions of qPCR parasite densities to estimate the fraction of fever attributable to malaria (malaria attributable fraction, MAF) in a cohort of 659 indivi...

BackgroundSpatial emanators disrupt mosquito behaviour by inducing movement away from chemical stimuli and interfering with host detection and feeding. These tools were recently endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for malaria control, based largely on clinical evidence from East Africa. Mosquito ShieldTM is a passive, transfluthrin-based emanator designed to provide month-long protection in enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces. This study evaluated its entomological efficacy under experi...

India carries a high burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), yet the extent to which essential diagnostic services align with local disease burden across public health facilities remains unclear. We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of diagnostic availability for major NTDs in 332 public health facilities across seven states and one union territory, including sub-centers, primary health centers, community health centers, and district hospitals. Diagnostic availability for malaria, den...

In 2024, mpox cases surged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with cross-border spread to Burundi. We developed a transmission-dynamic model calibrated against surveillance data to understand drivers in enzootic (Clade Ia) and non-enzootic (Clade Ib) areas, and the potential impact of vaccination. In non-enzootic areas we estimated that 58-84% of transmission occurred within sexual networks. MVA-BN vaccination of sex workers could have averted 91% (95% CrI 81%-98%) of infections in Su...

BackgroundElimination of Plasmodium vivax is challenging due to its dormant liver stages (hypnozoites), which can reactivate weeks or months after the primary infection, causing relapses and ongoing transmission of the parasite. Despite these challenges, P. vivax clinical case numbers have declined over the past decade in Cambodia. We used parasite genotyping to assess whether the decline in case numbers was reflected in parasite diversity and relatedness as a proxy to transmission. MethodsGeno...

Despite the relevance of spatial mapping in analyzing the health situation and understanding the risk factors and determinants of leptospirosis, peripheral urban communities often remain invisible on maps, which tend to use data and methods that do not express community contribution nor promote local participation. Furthermore, in the implementation of sanitation interventions, the same happens: there is limited user participation, and a lack of identification of intervention needs based on the...

Schistosomiasis is a neglected parasitic disease caused by various trematode species of the genus Schistosoma for which 251 million people needed treatment in 2021. Many mathematical models of Schistosoma mansoni transmission incorporate the effect of chemoprophylaxis on parasite burden within the human host. While praziquantel is the most commonly implemented pharmaceutical used to control schistosomiasis, due to its applicability over several species and its negligible side effects, it is not ...

IntroductionFlooding events, which are strongly linked to climate change and variability, have the potential to disrupt communities and health systems. Vaccination, a highly effective public health intervention, plays a pivotal role in preventing numerous deaths annually, particularly among children. However, the relationship between exposure to flood events and early childhood vaccination remains unexplored. MethodsThis study utilizes validated flood exposure data from the Global Flood Databas...