This study and the adjoined Plasmodium vivax study 1250 collectively form a project aimed towards providing genetic and clinical data of circulating P. falciparum and P. vivax populations in different endemic regions in South and Central America, with the purposes of i) describing the clinical features associated with malaria in regions with different transmission intensities, ii) assessing the emergence of artemisinin resistance mutations and iii) identifying mutations conferring drug resistance to other antimalarials used in the region. Samples and clinical data have been collected in:

• Gracias a Dios State (Honduras): This region is one of the last remaining hotspots of malaria in Honduras with P. falciparum and P. vivax transmission
• Loreto Region (Peru): This region contributes to most malaria cases in Peru.
• Amazonas Region (Peru): This region is an emerging malaria transmission setting in Peru with an increasing number of P. falciparum cases.
• Norte de Santander (Colombia): A region near the border with Venezuela with a high proportion of P. vivax cases
• El Choco (Colombia): This site is located in the Pacific side of Colombia where more than 50% of all cases are due to P. falciparum.

Key institution:

U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6

Parasitology Department

Lima, Peru

https://www.med.navy.mil/Naval-Medical-Research-Center/R-D-Commands/Naval-Medical-Research-Unit-6/

Publications

• Drug resistance and population structure of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax in the Peruvian Amazon
  Villena FE et al.
  Scientific Reports, 2022; 12(1) 16474
  10.1038/s41598-022-21028-3