Asymptomatic Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria Prevalence among Adolescents and Adults in Malawi, 2015-2016

Citation

Topazian, Hillary M.; Gumbo, Austin; Puerto-Meredith, Sydney; Njiko, Ruth; Mwanza, Alexis; Kayange, Michael; Mwalilino, David; Mvula, Bernard; Tegha, Gerald; & Mvalo, Tisungane, et al. (2020). Asymptomatic Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria Prevalence among Adolescents and Adults in Malawi, 2015-2016. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 18740. PMCID: PMC7603306

Abstract

Malaria remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Malawi, with an estimated 18-19% prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum in children 2-10 years in 2015-2016. While children report the highest rates of clinical disease, adults are thought to be an important reservoir to sustained transmission due to persistent asymptomatic infection. The 2015-2016 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey was a nationally representative household survey which collected dried blood spots from 15,125 asymptomatic individuals ages 15-54 between October 2015 and February 2016. We performed quantitative polymerase chain reaction on 7,393 samples, detecting an overall P. falciparum prevalence of 31.1% (SE = 1.1). Most infections (55.6%) had parasitemias

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75261-9

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2020

Journal Title

Scientific Reports

Author(s)

Topazian, Hillary M.
Gumbo, Austin
Puerto-Meredith, Sydney
Njiko, Ruth
Mwanza, Alexis
Kayange, Michael
Mwalilino, David
Mvula, Bernard
Tegha, Gerald
Mvalo, Tisungane
Edwards, Jessie K.
Emch, Michael E.
Pettifor, Audrey E.
Smith, Jennifer S.
Hoffman, Irving F.
Meshnick, Steven R.
Juliano, Jonathan J.

Article Type

Regular

PMCID

PMC7603306

Data Set/Study

Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (DHS)

Continent/Country

Malawi

ORCiD

Pettifor - 0000-0002-3387-0817
Emch - 0000-0003-2642-965X
Edwards, J -0000-0002-1741-335X