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Review
. 2022 Oct 11;107(4_Suppl):160-167.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.21-1272. Print 2022 Oct 11.

Evidence-Based Malaria Control and Elimination in the Amazon: Input from the International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research Network in Peru and Brazil

Marcelo U Ferreira  1 , Dionicia Gamboa  2   3 , Katherine Torres  2   3 , Hugo Rodriguez-Ferrucci  4 , Veronica E Soto-Calle  5 , Karim Pardo  6 , Pablo S Fontoura  7 , Sheena S Tomko  8 , Ricardo T Gazzinelli  9   10   11 , Jan E Conn  12   13 , Marcia C Castro  14 , Alejandro Llanos-Cuentas  2 , Joseph M Vinetz  3   15
Affiliations
Review

Evidence-Based Malaria Control and Elimination in the Amazon: Input from the International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research Network in Peru and Brazil

Marcelo U Ferreira et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. .

Abstract

Malaria remains endemic in 17 countries in the Americas, where 723,000 cases were reported in 2019. The majority (> 90%) of the regional malaria burden is found within the Amazon Basin, which includes nine countries and territories in South America. Locally generated evidence is critical to provide information to public health decision makers upon which the design of efficient and regionally directed malaria control and elimination programs can be built. Plasmodium vivax is the predominant malaria parasite in the Amazon Basin. This parasite species appears to be more resilient to malaria control strategies worldwide. Asymptomatic Plasmodium infections constitute a potentially infectious reservoir that is typically missed by routine microscopy-based surveillance and often remains untreated. The primary Amazonian malaria vector, Nyssorhynchus (formerly Anopheles) darlingi, has changed its behavior to feed and rest predominantly outdoors, reducing the efficiency of core vector control measures such as indoor residual spraying and distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets. We review public health implications of recent field-based research carried out by the Amazonia International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research in Peru and Brazil. We discuss the relative role of traditional and novel tools and strategies for better malaria control and elimination across the Amazon, including improved diagnostic methods, new anti-relapse medicines, and biological larvicides, and emphasize the need to integrate research and public health policymaking.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The Diagnosis, Treatment, Investigation, and Response strategy of the Pan American Health Organization for malaria control and elimination in the Americas. ILS = indoor residual spraying; LLIN = long-lasting insecticide-treated net; RDT = rapid diagnostic test. Reproduced from the Pan American Health Organization.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The Malaria Zero Plan strategy of the Ministry of Health of Peru for malaria elimination in the Loreto region. Adapted from Ministry of Health.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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