Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37420265›Full record

ArticleMalaria journal2023

Temporal and spatial analysis of Plasmodium falciparum genomics reveals patterns of parasite connectivity in a low-transmission district in Southern Province, Zambia.

Abebe A Fola, Kara A Moser, Ozkan Aydemir, Chris Hennelly, Tamaki Kobayashi, Timothy Shields, Harry Hamapumbu, Michael Musonda, Ben Katowa, Japhet Matoba and 8 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Malaria journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

15 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Genetic metrics decodeFrontiers in genetics · 2026
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  9. Sensitive and modular amplicon sequencing ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Temporal genomic analysis ofmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. 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

18 authors.

Abebe A FolaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, 55 Claverick Street, Providence, RI, 02906, USA. abebe_fola@brown.edu.
Kara A MoserUniversity of North Carolina Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
Ozkan AydemirDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, 55 Claverick Street, Providence, RI, 02906, USA.
Chris HennellyUniversity of North Carolina Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
Tamaki KobayashiDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Timothy ShieldsDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Harry HamapumbuMacha Research Trust, Choma District, Choma, Zambia.
Michael MusondaMacha Research Trust, Choma District, Choma, Zambia.
Ben KatowaMacha Research Trust, Choma District, Choma, Zambia.
Japhet MatobaMacha Research Trust, Choma District, Choma, Zambia.
Jennifer C StevensonMacha Research Trust, Choma District, Choma, Zambia.
Douglas E NorrisDepartment of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Philip E ThumaMacha Research Trust, Choma District, Choma, Zambia.
Amy WesolowskiDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
William J MossDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Jeffrey A Bailey *Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, 55 Claverick Street, Providence, RI, 02906, USA.
Jonathan J Juliano *University of North Carolina Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
Southern, Central Africa International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR)

Funding

TransmissionU19AI089680 · NIAID · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI WILLIAM J MOSS · 2010 to 2026
$25.6M
Mentoring in Translational Malaria GenomicsK24AI134990 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI Jonathan J Juliano · 2018 to 2026
$1.6M
NIAID NIH HHS K24 AI134990NIAID NIH HHS U19 AI089680
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUnderstanding temporal and spatial dynamics of malaria transmission will help to inform effective interventions and strategies in regions approaching elimination. Parasite genomics are increasingly used to monitor epidemiologic trends, including assessing residual transmission across seasons and importation of malaria into these regions.

methodsIn a low and seasonal transmission setting of southern Zambia, a total of 441 Plasmodium falciparum samples collected from 8 neighbouring health centres between 2012 and 2018 were genotyped using molecular inversion probes (MIPs n = 1793) targeting a total of 1832 neutral and geographically informative SNPs distributed across the parasite genome. After filtering for quality and missingness, 302 samples and 1410 SNPs were retained and used for downstream population genomic analyses.

resultsThe analyses revealed most (67%, n = 202) infections harboured one clone (monogenomic) with some variation at local level suggesting low, but heterogenous malaria transmission. Relatedness identity-by-descent (IBD) analysis revealed variable distribution of IBD segments across the genome and 6% of pairs were highly-related (IBD ≥ 0.25). Some of the highly-related parasite populations persisted across multiple seasons, suggesting that persistence of malaria in this low-transmission region is fueled by parasites "seeding" across the dry season. For recent years, clusters of clonal parasites were identified that were dissimilar to the general parasite population, suggesting parasite populations were increasingly fragmented at small spatial scales due to intensified control efforts. Clustering analysis using PCA and t-SNE showed a lack of substantial parasite population structure.

conclusionLeveraging both genomic and epidemiological data provided comprehensive picture of fluctuations in parasite populations in this pre-elimination setting of southern Zambia over 7 years.

Indexed as

MalariaMalaria, FalciparumParasitesAnimalsGenomicsHumansPlasmodium falciparumSpatial AnalysisZambiaGenomicsPlasmodium falciparumTransmissionZambia

Identifiers

PMID37420265
PMCPMC10327325

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.