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Asymptomatic malaria infections: detectability, transmissibility and public health relevance.
Journal article

Asymptomatic malaria infections: detectability, transmissibility and public health relevance.

  • Bousema T 1] London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK. [2] Radboud University Medical Centre, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
  • Okell L Imperial College, London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Felger I Swiss Tropical Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland.
  • Drakeley C London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
  • 2014-10-21
Published in:
  • Nature reviews. Microbiology. - 2014
Animals
Asymptomatic Infections
Culicidae
Disease Reservoirs
Female
Humans
Insect Vectors
Malaria, Falciparum
Male
Parasitemia
Plasmodium falciparum
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prevalence
Public Health
English Most Plasmodium falciparum infections that are detected in community surveys are characterized by low-density parasitaemia and the absence of clinical symptoms. Molecular diagnostics have shown that this asymptomatic parasitic reservoir is more widespread than previously thought, even in low-endemic areas. In this Opinion article, we describe the detectability of asymptomatic malaria infections and the relevance of submicroscopic infections for parasite transmission to mosquitoes and for community interventions that aim at reducing transmission. We argue that wider deployment of molecular diagnostic tools is needed to provide adequate insight into the epidemiology of malaria and infection dynamics to aid elimination efforts.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/232066
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