ArticleMalaria journal2021
The epidemiology and detectability of asymptomatic plasmodium vivax and plasmodium falciparum infections in low, moderate and high transmission settings in Ethiopia.
Article in Malaria journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and associated factors of microscopy-confirmed malaria among the general population in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Malaria journal · 2026Pooled it
- Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets Incorporating Piperonyl Butoxide Reduce the Risk of Malaria in Children in Western Kenya: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2021Trial
- Mechanistic insights into subclinicaliScience · 2026Review
- Assessment of malaria prevalence and determinants among clinically suspected individuals attending Dejen Primary Hospital, East Gojjam Zone, northwest Ethiopia.Malaria journal · 2026Article
- Diagnostic gaps in light microscopy for malaria case management and control in Dilla Zuria Health Facility, southern Ethiopia.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Microscopy underestimates submicroscopic malaria infections in Ethiopia's southern rift valley: a community-based cross-sectional study.Malaria journal · 2026Article
- Burden of asymptomatic malaria among school-aged children: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2026Article
- Prevalence of submicroscopic congenital malaria and associated risk factors in an area of low endemicity of Guatemala.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Retrospective analysis of malaria prevalence over ten years (2015-2024) at Bichena Primary Hospital, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.PloS one · 2025Article
- Microscopic prevalence and risk factors of asymptomatic malaria in Gorgora, western Dembia, Northwest Ethiopia: exploring hidden threats during minor transmission season.Malaria journal · 2024Article
- Profiling vivax malaria incidence, residual transmission, and risk factors using reactive case detection in low transmission settings of Ethiopia.Malaria journal · 2024Article
- A cross-sectional study investigating malaria prevalence and associated predictors of infection among migrants to a newly established gold mining settlement in the Gambella Region of Ethiopia.Malaria journal · 2024Article
- Seasonal Dynamics of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax Infections in Coendemic Low-Transmission Settings, South Ethiopia.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- The potential of addressing asymptomatic malaria in the context of malaria elimination in Ethiopia: Scoping review.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Schoolchildren with asymptomatic malaria are potential hotspot for malaria reservoir in Ethiopia: implications for malaria control and elimination efforts.Malaria journal · 2023Article
- Weekly primaquine for radical cure of patients with Plasmodium vivax malaria and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Observational
- Biology and epidemiology ofParasite epidemiology and control · 2023Review
- Transmission efficiency of Plasmodium vivax at low parasitaemia.Malaria journal · 2023Article
- Prevalence of asymptomatic malaria and associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2023Review
- Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Malaria Diagnosis Can Be Increasingly Adopted during Current Phase of Malaria Elimination in India.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAs countries move to malaria elimination, detecting and targeting asymptomatic malaria infections might be needed. Here, the epidemiology and detectability of asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections were investigated in different transmission settings in Ethiopia.
methodA total of 1093 dried blood spot (DBS) samples were collected from afebrile and apparently healthy individuals across ten study sites in Ethiopia from 2016 to 2020. Of these, 862 were from community and 231 from school based cross-sectional surveys. Malaria infection status was determined by microscopy or rapid diagnostics tests (RDT) and 18S rRNA-based nested PCR (nPCR). The annual parasite index (API) was used to classify endemicity as low (API > 0 and < 5), moderate (API ≥ 5 and < 100) and high transmission (API ≥ 100) and detectability of infections was assessed in these settings.
resultsIn community surveys, the overall prevalence of asymptomatic Plasmodium infections by microscopy/RDT, nPCR and all methods combined was 12.2% (105/860), 21.6% (183/846) and 24.1% (208/862), respectively. The proportion of nPCR positive infections that was detectable by microscopy/RDT was 48.7% (73/150) for P. falciparum and 4.6% (2/44) for P. vivax. Compared to low transmission settings, the likelihood of detecting infections by microscopy/RDT was increased in moderate (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 3.4; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.6-7.2, P = 0.002) and high endemic settings (AOR = 5.1; 95% CI 2.6-9.9, P < 0.001). After adjustment for site and correlation between observations from the same survey, the likelihood of detecting asymptomatic infections by microscopy/RDT (AOR per year increase = 0.95, 95% CI 0.9-1.0, P = 0.013) declined with age.
conclusionsConventional diagnostics missed nearly half of the asymptomatic Plasmodium reservoir detected by nPCR. The detectability of infections was particularly low in older age groups and low transmission settings. These findings highlight the need for sensitive diagnostic tools to detect the entire parasite reservoir and potential infection transmitters.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.