Human-to-mosquito transmission efficiency increases as malaria is controlled
File(s)
Author(s)
Churcher, TS
Trape, J-F
Cohuet, A
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The efficiency of malaria transmission between human and mosquito has been shown to be
influenced by many factors in the laboratory, although their impact in the field and how this
changes with disease endemicity are unknown. Here we estimate how human–mosquito
transmission changed as malaria was controlled in Dielmo, Senegal. Mathematical models
were fit to data collected between 1990 and the start of vector control in 2008. Results show
that asexual parasite slide prevalence in humans has reduced from 70 to 20%, but that the
proportion of infectious mosquitoes has remained roughly constant. Evidence suggests that
this is due to an increase in transmission efficiency caused by a rise in gametocyte densities,
although the uneven distribution of mosquito bites between hosts could also contribute. The
resilience of mosquito infection to changes in endemicity will have important implications for
planning disease control, and the development and deployment of transmission-reducing
interventions.
influenced by many factors in the laboratory, although their impact in the field and how this
changes with disease endemicity are unknown. Here we estimate how human–mosquito
transmission changed as malaria was controlled in Dielmo, Senegal. Mathematical models
were fit to data collected between 1990 and the start of vector control in 2008. Results show
that asexual parasite slide prevalence in humans has reduced from 70 to 20%, but that the
proportion of infectious mosquitoes has remained roughly constant. Evidence suggests that
this is due to an increase in transmission efficiency caused by a rise in gametocyte densities,
although the uneven distribution of mosquito bites between hosts could also contribute. The
resilience of mosquito infection to changes in endemicity will have important implications for
planning disease control, and the development and deployment of transmission-reducing
interventions.
Date Issued
2015-01-19
Date Acceptance
2014-12-09
Citation
Nature Communications, 2015, 6
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
6
Copyright Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise
in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license,
users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
International License. The images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise
in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license,
users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License URL
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM GAMETOCYTES
ANOPHELES-GAMBIAE
PARASITE DENSITY
BODY-SIZE
INFECTIVITY
IMMUNITY
AGE
COMMUNITY
CARRIAGE
TANZANIA
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
6054