Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33413680›Full record

ArticleInfectious diseases of poverty2021

Accessing the syndemic of COVID-19 and malaria intervention in Africa.

Benyun Shi, Jinxin Zheng, Shang Xia, Shan Lin, Xinyi Wang, Yang Liu, Xiao-Nong Zhou, Jiming Liu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Infectious diseases of poverty, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Observational
  2. Circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and Co-Infection withInfectious disease reports · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Proposing a New Conceptual Syndemic Framework for COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
    Review
  6. COVID-19 impacts on healthcare access in sub-Saharan Africa: an overview.The journal of venomous animals and toxins including tropical diseases · 2023
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Benyun ShiSchool of Computer Science and Technology, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, Jiangsu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2734-3794
Jinxin ZhengNational Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, 200025, China.
Shang XiaNational Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, 200025, China.
Shan LinCollege of Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance & Economics, Nanjing, 210003, Jiangsu, China.
Xinyi WangNational Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, 200025, China.
Yang LiuDepartment of Computer Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
Xiao-Nong ZhouNational Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, 200025, China.
Jiming LiuDepartment of Computer Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China. jiming@comp.hkbu.edu.hk.
National Institute for Parasitic Diseases · CNHong Kong Baptist University · HKNanjing Tech University · CNNanjing University of Finance and Economics · CN

Funding

University Grants Committee RGC/HKBU12201318University Grants Committee RGC/HKBU12201619University Grants Committee RGC/HKBU12202220
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused substantial disruptions to health services in the low and middle-income countries with a high burden of other diseases, such as malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on malaria transmission potential in malaria-endemic countries in Africa.

methodsWe present a data-driven method to quantify the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as various non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), could lead to the change of malaria transmission potential in 2020. First, we adopt a particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to estimate epidemiological parameters in each country by fitting the time series of the cumulative number of reported COVID-19 cases. Then, we simulate the epidemic dynamics of COVID-19 under two groups of NPIs: (1) contact restriction and social distancing, and (2) early identification and isolation of cases. Based on the simulated epidemic curves, we quantify the impact of COVID-19 epidemic and NPIs on the distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). Finally, by treating the total number of ITNs available in each country in 2020, we evaluate the negative effects of COVID-19 pandemic on malaria transmission potential based on the notion of vectorial capacity.

resultsWe conduct case studies in four malaria-endemic countries, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia, in Africa. The epidemiological parameters (i.e., the basic reproduction number [Formula: see text] and the duration of infection [Formula: see text]) of COVID-19 in each country are estimated as follows: Ethiopia ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), Nigeria ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), Tanzania ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), and Zambia ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]). Based on the estimated epidemiological parameters, the epidemic curves simulated under various NPIs indicated that the earlier the interventions are implemented, the better the epidemic is controlled. Moreover, the effect of combined NPIs is better than contact restriction and social distancing only. By treating the total number of ITNs available in each country in 2020 as a baseline, our results show that even with stringent NPIs, malaria transmission potential will remain higher than expected in the second half of 2020.

conclusionsBy quantifying the impact of various NPI response to the COVID-19 pandemic on malaria transmission potential, this study provides a way to jointly address the syndemic between COVID-19 and malaria in malaria-endemic countries in Africa. The results suggest that the early intervention of COVID-19 can effectively reduce the scale of the epidemic and mitigate its impact on malaria transmission potential.

Indexed as

COVID-19EthiopiaHumansMalariaMarkov ChainsNigeriaPandemicsSARS-CoV-2SyndemicTanzaniaZambiaCOVID-19 pandemicInsecticide-treated netsMalaria transmission potentialNon-pharmaceutical interventionsParticle Markov chain Monte CarloVectorial capacity

Identifiers

PMID33413680
PMCPMC7788178
OpenAlexW3120256791

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.