Socioeconomic determinants for malaria transmission risk in Colombia: An ecological study

Introduction. The risk of becoming ill and dying from malaria is associated with social inequalities that are expressed through differential access to opportunities for protection and health care in different socioeconomic settings. Thus, it is important to study the role of socioeconomic determinants in the persistence of malaria transmission in Colombia. This study aimed to assess the effect of various socioeconomic factors on the cumulative incidence of malaria in areas of Colombia with active foci. Methods: This is an ecological study of municipalities with active malaria transmission between 2010 and 2019. Socioeconomic variables documented in the last National Population Census carried out in 2018 were used. Simple analyses of the variables of interest were performed, and a multivariate linear regression model was adjusted to assess the impact of independent socioeconomic factors with raw malaria incidence rate. Results: In the period studied, of the 1,122 municipalities in the country, 583 (51.9%) reported a total of 607,042 malaria cases. Of these municipalities, 107 presented active foci, and 96.7% (586,756 cases) of the total cases were registered in the country. The potential risk factors that are negatively associated with the average municipal raw malaria rate were the fiscal performance index (-0.034) and the absence of walls made from adequate material in houses (-0.042). In addition, illiteracy (0.065) and the absence of formal employment for the head of the household (0.065) had a direct positive relationship with the raw rate of malaria. Discussion: The present study has identified potential socioeconomic and housing factors associated with malaria in Colombia, many of which are closely related to poverty. Improving literacy, housing and employment conditions may help Colombia's malaria elimination effort

A Retrospective Review on Severe Malaria in Colombia, 2007–2020

Background: Knowledge of severe malaria (SM) or complicated malaria is insufficient in all its components. The least known type is the one associated with Plasmodium vivax, compared to that caused by P. falciparum. The aim of this study was to provide a general overview of epidemiological information about the burden of SM, obtained from the National Public Health Surveillance System (SIVIGILA) for the period 2007–2020 in Colombia. Methods: A descriptive, retrospective, and cross-sectional study of secondary information was performed via SIVIGILA. Results: There were 9881 SM cases among 1,060,950 total malaria cases in Colombia in 2007–2020: 9.31 SM cases per 1000 malaria cases. During this period, there were 7145 SM cases due to the following species: Plasmodium vivax, 57.6%; P. falciparum, 38.6%; severe mixed malaria, 3.2%; and P. malariae, 0.6%. The most compromised organ systems are the hematological system (54.9%), the liver (9.1%), the kidneys (4.2%), the lungs (1.9%) and the brain (1.6%). Conclusions: There has been a reduction in malaria incidence in Colombia in the last 10–15 years, but there has also been a strong increase in SM incidence. We suggest emphasizing the prevention of the onset of severe malaria, with the early and accurate diagnosis of plasmodial infection

An open dataset of Plasmodium vivax genome variation in 1,895 worldwide samples.

This report describes the MalariaGEN Pv4 dataset, a new release of curated genome variation data on 1,895 samples of Plasmodium vivax collected at 88 worldwide locations between 2001 and 2017. It includes 1,370 new samples contributed by MalariaGEN and VivaxGEN partner studies in addition to previously published samples from these and other sources. We provide genotype calls at over 4.5 million variable positions including over 3 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as short indels and tandem duplications. This enlarged dataset highlights major compartments of parasite population structure, with clear differentiation between Africa, Latin America, Oceania, Western Asia and different parts of Southeast Asia. Each sample has been classified for drug resistance to sulfadoxine, pyrimethamine and mefloquine based on known markers at the dhfr, dhps and mdr1 loci. The prevalence of all of these resistance markers was much higher in Southeast Asia and Oceania than elsewhere. This open resource of analysis-ready genome variation data from the MalariaGEN and VivaxGEN networks is driven by our collective goal to advance research into the complex biology of P. vivax and to accelerate genomic surveillance for malaria control and elimination

An open dataset of <i>Plasmodium vivax</i> genome variation in 1,895 worldwide samples.

This report describes the MalariaGEN Pv4 dataset, a new release of curated genome variation data on 1,895 samples of Plasmodium vivax collected at 88 worldwide locations between 2001 and 2017. It includes 1,370 new samples contributed by MalariaGEN and VivaxGEN partner studies in addition to previously published samples from these and other sources. We provide genotype calls at over 4.5 million variable positions including over 3 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as short indels and tandem duplications. This enlarged dataset highlights major compartments of parasite population structure, with clear differentiation between Africa, Latin America, Oceania, Western Asia and different parts of Southeast Asia. Each sample has been classified for drug resistance to sulfadoxine, pyrimethamine and mefloquine based on known markers at the dhfr, dhps and mdr1 loci. The prevalence of all of these resistance markers was much higher in Southeast Asia and Oceania than elsewhere. This open resource of analysis-ready genome variation data from the MalariaGEN and VivaxGEN networks is driven by our collective goal to advance research into the complex biology of P. vivax and to accelerate genomic surveillance for malaria control and elimination