PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Malaria continues to severely impact public health in countries around the world. Some countries like Ecuador
made impressive progress in the first 10-15 years of this century. Nevertheless, recent years have seen
stagnation and malaria cases are increasing again. While most cases of Plasmodium falciparum in Northwest
Ecuador appear to originate in the Pacific coast of Colombia, asymptomatic reservoirs of this parasite are
common and may be important in maintaining transmission within Ecuador. One of the main problems for
malaria elimination is the presence of asymptomatic reservoirs. To better understand the malaria transmission
dynamics in this pre-eliminating region, we will characterize the genetics of the parasites circulating in
northwest Ecuador (symptomatic and asymptomatic), identify serological biosignatures of infection and define
the relationships between the clinical outcome of the infection, parasite genetics and serological markers.
Lastly, we will validate the role of acquired immunity in disease severity, clonal persistence, and outbreak
emergence through innovative in vitro assays. This project will inform local control decisions in Ecuador, and,
most importantly, provide a model for understanding disease persistence in other pre-elimination settings
around the world.