Epidemiology and Surveillance

*Current Topics and Emerging Issues in Malaria Elimination*

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8(9): e76316

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**Chapter 4**

**Abstract**

Malaria Elimination: The Role and

As countries move from intense malaria transmission to low transmission there will be a demand for more sensitive tools and approaches in tracking malaria transmission dynamics. Surveillance tools that are sensitive in tracking real time infectious bites as well as infectious reservoir will be preferred to counting number of cases in the hospital or parasite prevalence. The acquisition and maintenance of anti-malarial antibodies is a direct function of parasite exposure, seroprevalence rates has been used as an efficient tool in assessing malaria endemicity and confirming malaria elimination. Plasmodium antibodies are explicit biomarkers that can be utilised to track parasite exposure over more extensive time spans than microscopy, rapid diagnostic testing or molecular testing and the conventional entomological inoculation rate. Seroprevalence studies can therefore help monitor the impact of malaria control interventions, especially when the parasite occurrence is low. As a result, antibody responses to Anopheles salivary proteins or Plasmodium species may potentially offer reliable information of recent or past exposure; recognise short-term or gradual changes in exposure to Plasmodium infection or to estimate individuallevel exposure to infection. This book chapter will present about four studies we have conducted across eastern and western Africa on the efficiency of salivary gland proteins and antimalarial antibodies in tracking malaria transmission intensity. We hope

that these could be used as surveillance tools in malaria elimination efforts.

**Keywords:** malaria elimination, sero-surveilance, antibody response, MSP1 malaria

Since the inception of initiatives such as the Roll Back Malaria and the creation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases in September 2000, unprecedented progress has been made in the fight against malaria. Malaria vector control interventions such as indoor residual spraying (IRS), the provision of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) and the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy for the prompt treatment of clinical malaria cases has led to a decrease in the number of malaria morbidity and mortality rates in many endemic areas in the world [1]. Globally, the rate of new malaria infections and deaths decreased by 41% and 62% respectively between 2000 and 2015

Value of Sero-Surveillance

*Kingsley Badu, Amma Aboagyewa Larbi*

*and Kwadwo Boampong*

surveilance, seroepidemiology

**1. Introduction**

**57**

**1.1 Malaria elimination**

#### **Chapter 4**
