Spatial Patterns of Plasmodium falciparum Clinical Incidence, Asymptomatic Parasite Carriage and Anopheles Density in Two Villages in Mali.

Heterogeneity in malaria exposure is most readily recognized in areas with low-transmission patterns. By comparison, little research has been done on spatial patterns in malaria exposure in high-endemic settings. We determined the spatial clustering of clinical malaria incidence, asymptomatic parasite carriage, and Anopheles density in two villages in Mali exposed to low- and mesoendemic-malaria transmission. In the two study areas that were < 1 km(2) in size, we observed evidence for spatial clustering of Anopheles densities or malaria parasite carriage during the dry season. Anopheles density and malaria prevalence appeared associated in some of our detected hotspots. However, many households with high parasite prevalence or high Anopheles densities were located outside the identified hotspots. Our findings indicate that within small villages exposed to low- or mesoendemic-malaria transmission, spatial patterns in mosquito densities and parasite carriage are best detected in the dry season. Considering the high prevalence of parasite carriage outside detected hotspots, the suitability of the area for targeting control efforts to households or areas of more intense malaria transmission may be limited.

Malaria transmission in relation to rice cultivation in the irrigated Sahel of Mali.

Seven cross-sectional entomological surveys were carried out from September 1995 to February 1998 in three irrigated rice growing villages and three villages without irrigated agriculture in the area surrounding Niono, located 350km north-east of Bamako, Mali. The transmission pattern differed markedly between the two zones. In the irrigated zone, the transmission of malaria was fairly constant over the seasons at a low level. In the non-irrigated zone, transmission was mostly below detection level during the dry season, whereas it was high toward the end of the rainy season. In the irrigated zone, high densities of mosquitoes were correlated with low anthropophily, low sporozoite indices and probably low survival rates. In the non-irrigated zone, mosquito densities were lower and these relationships were less pronounced. Differential use of mosquito nets in the two zones may have been an important factor in the observed differences in transmission. The presence of cattle may also have played an important role. Two mosquito-catching methods (human landing catch and spray catch) were compared.

Genetic loci affecting resistance to human malaria parasites in a West African mosquito vector population.

Successful propagation of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum within a susceptible mosquito vector is a prerequisite for the transmission of malaria. A field-based genetic analysis of the major human malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae, has revealed natural factors that reduce the transmission of P. falciparum. Differences in P. falciparum oocyst numbers between mosquito isofemale families fed on the same infected blood indicated a large genetic component affecting resistance to the parasite, and genome-wide scanning in pedigrees of wild mosquitoes detected segregating resistance alleles. The apparently high natural frequency of resistance alleles suggests that malaria parasites (or a similar pathogen) exert a significant selective pressure on vector populations.