Image credit: Pearl Gan in association with Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), Vietnam and Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit (EOCRU), Indonesia.
New research by Menzies’ malaria team is identifying innovative new ways to eliminate Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria by 2030.
There were an estimated 14.3 million global cases of P. vivax in 2017. The main burden of P. vivax malaria is in young children residing in remote communities with poor access to healthcare services.
Menzies researchers have been looking at how to decrease these numbers. This requires a multi-faceted approach, from new treatment regimens to identifying genetic markers and novel surveillance tools.
Professor Ric Price, who co-leads the malaria team, says that the research findings of his team will advance the treatment and diagnosis of vivax malaria.
“At this stage of malaria control, the major goals are to diagnose and treat individuals in the residual pockets of endemicity, identify imported cases and monitor for evidence of local transmission,” Prof Price said.
“Innovative robust new tools and multi-country and regional networks bringing countries together to share knowledge and tools will be critical to strengthen efforts to eliminate malaria by 2030.”
Implementing radical cure could also substantially reduce the global cost of vivax malaria infections.
Menzies senior research officer Dr Angela Devine is the lead author of the first study of the global economic cost of vivax malaria.
The study found that the total cost of vivax malaria was US$359 million (AU$441 million) in 2017. The study explored the impact of adopting new policies for safe radical cure, estimating that 6.1 million cases of vivax malaria could be prevented, reducing the global cost of vivax malaria by nearly US$100 million (AU$123 million).
Groundbreaking research led by Menzies researcher Dr Steven Kho and co-leader of the malaria team Professor Nick Anstey has also found large numbers of malaria parasites hiding in the human spleen where they actively multiply in a previously unrecognised life cycle.
This is an important step towards eliminating malaria because it shows that malaria detection and treatments need to address the parasites hidden in the spleen.
“Our findings redefine the malaria life-cycle. Chronic malaria should be considered predominantly an infection of the spleen, with just a small proportion circulating in the blood,” Dr Kho said.
“Accumulation of parasites in the spleen was found with both major Plasmodium species causing malaria, but was particularly apparent in Plasmodium vivax, where over 98 percent of all the parasites in the body were hiding in the spleen.”
Professor Anstey says that some people with large numbers of parasites hiding in the spleen do not have parasites detectable in the blood.
“This is another factor limiting the success of malaria elimination programs relying on mass testing of blood and only treating those with detectable infection,” explained Professor Anstey.
Find out more about this research here:
Hidden malaria life cycle discovered in the spleen
Finding innovative solutions to eliminate vivax malaria by 2030
First study to estimate the global costs due to vivax malaria