title: Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum at the crossroads of exchange among islands in Vanuatu: implications for malaria elimination strategies.
abstract: Understanding the transmission and movement of Plasmodium parasites is crucial for malaria elimination and prevention of resurgence. Located at the limit of malaria transmission in the Pacific, Vanuatu is an ideal candidate for elimination programs due to low endemicity and the isolated nature of its island setting. We analyzed the variation in the merozoite surface protein 1 (msp1) and the circumsporozoite protein (csp) of P. falciparum and P. vivax populations to examine the patterns of gene flow and population structures among seven sites on five islands in Vanuatu. Genetic diversity was in general higher in P. vivax than P. falciparum from the same site. In P. vivax, high genetic diversity was likely maintained by greater extent of gene flow among sites and among islands. Consistent with the different patterns of gene flow, the proportion of genetic variance found among islands was substantially higher in P. falciparum (28.81-31.23%) than in P. vivax (-0.53-3.99%). Our data suggest that the current island-by-island malaria elimination strategy in Vanuatu, while adequate for P. falciparum elimination, might need to be complemented with more centrally integrated measures to control P. vivax movement across islands.
authors: Island Malaria Group, Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Chim W
authors: CW
authors: Chan
authors: Laboratory of Malariology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Naoko
authors: N
authors: Sakihama
authors: Laboratory of Malariology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Shin-Ichiro
authors: S
authors: Tachibana
authors: Island Malaria Group, Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Zulkarnain Md
authors: ZM
authors: Idris
authors: Laboratory of Evolutionary Anthropology and Health, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, United States of America; Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, United States of America; Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, United States of America.
authors: J Koji
authors: JK
authors: Lum
authors: Laboratory of Malariology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Kazuyuki
authors: K
authors: Tanabe
authors: Island Malaria Group, Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Parasitology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan; Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors: Akira
authors: A
authors: Kaneko
mesh_terms: D051456:Gene Flow; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D016780:Malaria, Vivax / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics*; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000235:genetics*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009514:Vanuatu / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins