1157 P. vivax SNP barcode for mapping parasite transmission and spread within and across borders: a vivaxGEN initiative

Projects:

Locations: China (CN), India (IN), Indonesia (ID), Malaysia (MY), Papua New Guinea (PG), Afghanistan (AF), Bangladesh (BD), Bhutan (BT), Colombia (CO), Ethiopia (ET), Iran (IR), Sudan (SD), Vietnam (VN)

Partner study description

This project describes the genomic component within the broader vivaxGEN initiative. The vivaxGEN network comprises researchers and other key stakeholders from across the globe with a shared aim to develop novel molecular surveillance tools for P. vivax that provide clinically relevant information on emerging parasite adaptations, transmission dynamics, the major routes of parasite spread within and across borders, and the impact of local treatment policies on the dormant liver-stage reservoir. Researchers involved in this collaboration aim to identify markers through several separate genome-wide studies at each of the 14 sites/countries involved. Current studies include a multicenter collaborative effort to detect geographic markers for identifying and mapping imported P. vivax infections. Another study is underway to identify microhaplotype-based markers across the P. vivax genome that can be used as a parsimonious approach to characterize the identity by descent (IBD) between infection pairs. These and other markers will then be applied as a ‘genetic barcode’ that can be used at high sample throughput on a broad range of sample sources including DNA derived from blood spots on filter paper. To find out more about our work, visit the vivaxGEN site (http://menzies.edu.au/vivaxGEN). For interests in collaborating on any of the above projects, contact us at the emails below. 

Key People

Prof Ric N Price
Professor of Tropical Medicine
Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, UK
Professor of Global Health
Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Thailand
Awab Ghulam Rahim
Nangarhar Medical Faculty, Nangarhar University, Ministry of Higher Education, Jalalabad, Afghanistan
Matthew Grigg
Principal Research Fellow
Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia
Nicholas Anstey
Senior Principal Research Fellow, Professor of Global Health
Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia
Mohammad Shafiul Alam
Scientist
Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sonam Wangchuk
Royal Center for Disease Control, Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Thimphu, Bhutan
Qi Gao
National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory on Parasite and Vector Control Technology, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi, China
Yaobao Liu
National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory on Parasite and Vector Control Technology, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi, China
Zuleima Pava
Centro Internacionale de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Medicas, Cali, Colombia
Tatiana M Lopera Mesa
Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Alberto Tobón-Castaño
Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Dr Diego F Echeverry
Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Médicas - CIDEIM, Cali, Colombia
Sisay Getachew Alemu
Armauer Hansen Research Unit (AHRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
MilliporeSigma (Bioreliance), Rockville, USA
Ashenafi Assefa Bahita
Armauer Hansen Research Unit (AHRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Abraham Aseffa
Armauer Hansen Research Unit (AHRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Yaghoob Hamedi
Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
Timothy William
Clinical Research Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sabah, Malaysia.
Hoang Chau Nguyen
Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam