Socio-demographics and the development of malaria elimination strategies in the low transmission setting

This analysis presents a comprehensive description of malaria burden and risk factors in Peruvian Amazon villages where malaria transmission is hypoendemic. More than 9000 subjects were studied in contrasting village settings within the Department of Loreto, Peru, where most malaria occurs in the country. Plasmodium vivax is responsible for more than 75% of malaria cases; severe disease from any form of malaria is uncommon and death rare. The association between lifetime malaria episodes and individual and household covariates was studied using polychotomous logistic regression analysis, assessing effects on odds of some vs. no lifetime malaria episodes. Malaria morbidity during lifetime was strongly associated with age, logging, farming, travel history, and living with a logger or agriculturist. Select groups of adults, particularly loggers and agriculturists acquire multiple malaria infections in transmission settings outside of the main domicile, and may be mobile human reservoirs by which malaria parasites move within and between micro-regions within malaria endemic settings. For example, such individuals might well be reservoirs of transmission by introducing or reintroducing malaria into their home villages and their own households, depending on vector ecology and the local village setting. Therefore, socio-demographic studies can identify people with the epidemiological characteristic of transmission risk, and these individuals would be prime targets against which to deploy transmission blocking strategies along with insecticide treated bednets and chemoprophylaxis.

Graphical abstractThis analysis presents a comprehensive description of malaria burden and risk factors in the Peruvian Amazon. Socio-demographic studies are key to direct malaria control strategies.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Plasmodium vivax causes most malaria in the Peruvian Amazon. ► Severe malaria morbidity and mortality are negligible in the region. ► Specific occupational groups move malaria parasites among micro-regions. ► Socio-demographic studies are critical for assessing malaria transmission risk.