title: Defining the geographical range of the Plasmodium knowlesi reservoir.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The simian malaria parasite, Plasmodium knowlesi, can cause severe and fatal disease in humans yet it is rarely included in routine public health reporting systems for malaria and its geographical range is largely unknown. Because malaria caused by P. knowlesi is a truly neglected tropical disease, there are substantial obstacles to defining the geographical extent and risk of this disease. Information is required on the occurrence of human cases in different locations, on which non-human primates host this parasite and on which vectors are able to transmit it to humans. We undertook a systematic review and ranked the existing evidence, at a subnational spatial scale, to investigate the potential geographical range of the parasite reservoir capable of infecting humans.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After reviewing the published literature we identified potential host and vector species and ranked these based on how informative they are for the presence of an infectious parasite reservoir, based on current evidence. We collated spatial data on parasite occurrence and the ranges of the identified host and vector species. The ranked spatial data allowed us to assign an evidence score to 475 subnational areas in 19 countries and we present the results on a map of the Southeast and South Asia region.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have ranked subnational areas within the potential disease range according to evidence for presence of a disease risk to humans, providing geographical evidence to support decisions on prevention, management and prophylaxis. This work also highlights the unknown risk status of large parts of the region. Within this unknown category, our map identifies which areas have most evidence for the potential to support an infectious reservoir and are therefore a priority for further investigation. Furthermore we identify geographical areas where further investigation of putative host and vector species would be highly informative for the region-wide assessment.
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Moyes
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Golding
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Malaria Research Centre, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Balbir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit, Jakarta, Indonesia; Centre for Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J Kevin
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
authors.forename: Paul N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.affiliation: Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huffman
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kirsten A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Duda
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infection, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chris J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Drakeley
authors.affiliation: Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit, Jakarta, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Iqbal R F
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Elyazar
authors.affiliation: Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicholas M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Anstey
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Zoonosis, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Qijun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Division of Early Warning and Assessment, United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Zinta
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zommers
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhatt
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Peter W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Gething
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Simon I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Hay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D016790:Plasmodium knowlesi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018419:Primate Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011323:Primates; D019371:Topography, Medical