Community Dynamics of Malaria Transmission in Humans and Mosquitoes in Fleh-la and Marshansue, Salala District, Bong County, Liberia

Summary

Participation Requirements

Description

A vaccine that interrupts malaria transmission is critical to eradicate the disease, but improved assays are needed to measure the efficacy of vaccines. Transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs) work by inducing antibodies that inhibit parasite development in the mosquito interrupting transmission. Effi...

A vaccine that interrupts malaria transmission is critical to eradicate the disease, but improved assays are needed to measure the efficacy of vaccines. Transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs) work by inducing antibodies that inhibit parasite development in the mosquito interrupting transmission. Efficacy of vaccines may be estimated by in vitro membrane feeding assays using immune sera and laboratory mosquitoes, but qualified assays that measure transmission in the field are needed to assess transmission-blocking interventions in natura. Clinical trials of TBVs have started elsewhere on the continent in Mali, and we expect to expand TBV studies here in Liberia in the near future. This protocol will use a longitudinal cohort to gather information of malaria transmission based on the rates of blood smear positive individuals by month, season and year in Fleh-la and Marshansue, in Salala, Bong County, Liberia. Individuals in the villages will be approached first for participation, including permission to contact their household and neighbors of their compound for participation. Households will be identified using census data and individuals will be consented for participation. Malaria smears will be obtained at monthly visits, in conjunction with mosquito collections in/around village residences. Parasite infection rates in locally caught mosquitoes will be assessed longitudinally for differences by season and year. A total of 400 volunteers from Fleh-la and Marshansue will be enrolled. Participants will be followed for up to 3 years, to collect data that will guide the design of future community-based trials of TBV.

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