Dynamics of asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections and their infectiousness to mosquitoes in a low transmission setting of Ethiopia: a longitudinal observational study.

Objective: A 15-month longitudinal study was conducted to determine the duration and infectivity of asymptomatic qPCR-detected Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections in Ethiopia.

Method: Total parasite and gametocyte kinetics were determined by molecular methods; infectivity to Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes by repeated membrane feeding assays. Infectivity results were contrasted with passively recruited symptomatic malaria cases.

Naturally acquired antibodies to gametocyte antigens are associated with reduced transmission of gametocytes to mosquitoes.

Naturally acquired antibodies may reduce the transmission of gametocytes to mosquitoes. Here, we investigated associations between antibody prevalence and infectivity to mosquitoes. A total of 368 microscopy confirmed symptomatic patients were passively recruited from health centers in Ethiopia and supplemented with 56 observations from asymptomatic parasite carriers.

Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes as Vectors of Plasmodium vivax and falciparum, Horn of Africa, 2019.

Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, efficient vectors in parts of Asia and Africa, were found in 75.3% of water sources surveyed and contributed to 80.9% of wild-caught Anopheles mosquitoes in Awash Sebat Kilo, Ethiopia.