Asymptomatic Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia in the low-transmission setting: the role for a population-based transmission-blocking vaccine for malaria elimination

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Thomas C. S. Martin, Joseph M. Vinetz
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018
• Subjects: Plasmodium vivax; Transmission blocking vaccine; Premonition; Asymptomatic parasitaemia; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2243-3; https://doaj.org/article/083d9627a1404a8fa32e7c575495f9a7

Abstract Plasmodium vivax remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality across the Americas, Horn of Africa, East and South East Asia. Control of transmission has been hampered by emergence of chloroquine resistance and several intrinsic characteristics of infection including asymptomatic carriage, challenges with diagnosis, difficulty eradicating the carrier state and early gametocyte appearance. Complex human-parasite-vector immunological interactions may facilitate onward infection of mosquitoes. Given these challenges, new therapies are being explored including the development of transmission to mosquito blocking vaccines. Herein, the case supporting the need for transmission-blocking vaccines to augment control of P. vivax parasite transmission and explore factors that are limiting eradication efforts is discussed.