Transmission-blocking interventions eliminate malaria from laboratory populations
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Transmission-blocking interventions aim to reduce the prevalence of infection in endemic communities by targeting Plasmodium within the insect host. Although many studies have reported the successful reduction of infection in the mosquito vector, direct evidence that there is an onward reduction in infection in the vertebrate host is lacking. Here we report the first experiments using a population, transmission-based study of Plasmodium berghei in Anopheles stephensi to assess the impact of a transmission-blocking drug upon both insect and host populations over multiple transmission cycles. We demonstrate that the selected transmission-blocking intervention, which inhibits transmission from vertebrate to insect by only 32%, reduces the basic reproduction number of the parasite by 20%, and in our model system can eliminate Plasmodium from mosquito and mouse populations at low transmission intensities. These findings clearly demonstrate that use of transmission-blocking interventions alone can eliminate Plasmodium from a vertebrate population, and have significant implications for the future design and implementation of transmission-blocking interventions within the field.
Date Issued
2013-05-07
Date Acceptance
2013-04-05
Citation
Nature Communications, 2013, 4
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
4
Copyright Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NC ND
3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of
this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of
this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Medicines for Malaria Venture
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Medicines for Malaria Venture
Grant Number
G0600719B
MMV 12/2800
MR/K010174/1B
MMV 08/2800
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES
MEMBRANE-FEEDING ASSAY
PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM
ANOPHELES-STEPHENSI
MOSQUITO
VACCINES
INFECTIVITY
BERGHEI
MODEL
Animals
Animals, Laboratory
Anopheles
Antimalarials
Atovaquone
Feeding Behavior
Female
Geography
Malaria
Mice
Models, Biological
Plasmodium berghei
MD Multidisciplinary
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
1812