ArticleCommunications medicine2024
Genomics reveals heterogeneous Plasmodium falciparum transmission and selection signals in Zambia.
Article in Communications medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multiple local PfDHFR I164L haplotype expansions drive Plasmodium falciparum antifolate resistance in Uganda.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Development of an Oxford nanopore sequencing technology-based whole genome sequencing method for Plasmodium falciparum to support malaria molecular surveillance.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Global-scale population genetic analysis of Plasmodium falciparum identifies region-specific patterns of malaria parasite adaptation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- National genomic profiling of Plasmodium falciparum antimalarial resistance in Zambian children participating in the 2018 malaria indicator survey.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Malaria-MOI: A flexible and scalable tool for predicting multiplicity of infection in malaria parasites.Genome medicine · 2026Article
- Genetic metrics decodeFrontiers in genetics · 2026Article
- Potential and pitfalls of using identity-by-descent for malaria genomic surveillance.Trends in parasitology · 2025Review
- Diversity and selection analyses identify transmission-blocking antigens as the optimal vaccine candidates in Plasmodium falciparum.EBioMedicine · 2024Article
- Diversity and selection analyses identify transmission-blocking antigens as the optimal vaccine candidates inmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Genomics reveals heterogeneous Plasmodium falciparum transmission and selection signals in Zambia.Communications medicine · 2024Article
- Innovative strategies and challenges mosquito-borne disease control amidst climate change.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
15 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGenomic surveillance is crucial for monitoring malaria transmission and understanding parasite adaptation to interventions. Zambia lacks prior nationwide efforts in malaria genomic surveillance among African countries.
methodsWe conducted genomic surveillance of Plasmodium falciparum parasites from the 2018 Malaria Indicator Survey in Zambia, a nationally representative household survey of children under five years of age. We whole-genome sequenced and analyzed 241 P. falciparum genomes from regions with varying levels of malaria transmission across Zambia and estimated genetic metrics that are informative about transmission intensity, genetic relatedness between parasites, and selection.
resultsWe provide genomic evidence of widespread within-host polygenomic infections, regardless of epidemiological characteristics, underscoring the extensive and ongoing endemic malaria transmission in Zambia. Our analysis reveals country-level clustering of parasites from Zambia and neighboring regions, with distinct separation in West Africa. Within Zambia, identity by descent (IBD) relatedness analysis uncovers local spatial clustering and rare cases of long-distance sharing of closely related parasite pairs. Genomic regions with large shared IBD segments and strong positive selection signatures implicate genes involved in sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and artemisinin combination therapies drug resistance, but no signature related to chloroquine resistance. Furthermore, differences in selection signatures, including drug resistance loci, are observed between eastern and western Zambian parasite populations, suggesting variable transmission intensity and ongoing drug pressure.
conclusionsOur findings enhance our understanding of nationwide P. falciparum transmission in Zambia, establishing a baseline for analyzing parasite genetic metrics as they vary over time and space. These insights highlight the urgency of strengthening malaria control programs and surveillance of antimalarial drug resistance.
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.