Plasmodium vivax Prevalence in Semiarid Region of Northern Kenya, 2019

Abstract

In urban and rural areas of Turkana County, Kenya, we found that 2% of household members of patients with Plasmodium falciparum infections were infected with P. vivax. Enhanced surveillance of P. vivax and increased clinical resources are needed to inform control measures and identify and manage P. vivax infections.

Keywords: Kenya; Plasmodium vivax; Turkana; epidemiology; malaria; parasites; sub-Saharan Africa; vector-borne infections; zoonoses.

Figure

Prevalence of Plasmodium vivax infection in communities along the Turkwel River in study of P. vivax prevalence in semiarid region of northern Kenya, 2019. Household members of patients with P. falciparum infections were tested for P. vivax infection. A) Study area (red box) in Turkana County, northwestern Kenya. Gray shading indicates <0.01% prevalence of P. vivax infections; white shading indicates no detected infections. Data from the Malaria Atlas Project. B) Coordinates of different study enrollment sites. Main black line across the graph indicates the Turkwel River in Turkana County. Sizes of dots indicate number of household members enrolled; colors indicate percentages of household members who were positive for P. vivax by qualitative PCR.