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- Slater, HC, et al.
(author)
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The temporal dynamics and infectiousness of subpatent Plasmodium falciparum infections in relation to parasite density
- 2019
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In: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 10:1, s. 1433-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Malaria infections occurring below the limit of detection of standard diagnostics are common in all endemic settings. However, key questions remain surrounding their contribution to sustaining transmission and whether they need to be detected and targeted to achieve malaria elimination. In this study we analyse a range of malaria datasets to quantify the density, detectability, course of infection and infectiousness of subpatent infections. Asymptomatically infected individuals have lower parasite densities on average in low transmission settings compared to individuals in higher transmission settings. In cohort studies, subpatent infections are found to be predictive of future periods of patent infection and in membrane feeding studies, individuals infected with subpatent asexual parasite densities are found to be approximately a third as infectious to mosquitoes as individuals with patent (asexual parasite) infection. These results indicate that subpatent infections contribute to the infectious reservoir, may be long lasting, and require more sensitive diagnostics to detect them in lower transmission settings.
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- Bakari, Catherine, et al.
(author)
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Trends of Plasmodium falciparum molecular markers associated with resistance to artemisinins and reduced susceptibility to lumefantrine in Mainland Tanzania from 2016 to 2021
- 2024
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In: MALARIA JOURNAL. - 1475-2875. ; 23:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Therapeutic efficacy studies (TESs) and detection of molecular markers of drug resistance are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to monitor the efficacy of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). This study assessed the trends of molecular markers of artemisinin resistance and/or reduced susceptibility to lumefantrine using samples collected in TES conducted in Mainland Tanzania from 2016 to 2021. Methods A total of 2,015 samples were collected during TES of artemether-lumefantrine at eight sentinel sites (in Kigoma, Mbeya, Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Pwani, Tabora, and Tanga regions) between 2016 and 2021. Photo-induced electron transfer polymerase chain reaction (PET-PCR) was used to confirm presence of malaria parasites before capillary sequencing, which targeted two genes: Plasmodium falciparum kelch 13 propeller domain (k13) and P. falciparum multidrug resistance 1 (pfmdr1). Results Sequencing success was >= 87.8%, and 1,724/1,769 (97.5%) k13 wild-type samples were detected. Thirty-seven (2.1%) samples had synonymous mutations and only eight (0.4%) had non-synonymous mutations in the k13 gene; seven of these were not validated by the WHO as molecular markers of resistance. One sample from Morogoro in 2020 had a k13 R622I mutation, which is a validated marker of artemisinin partial resistance. For pfmdr1, all except two samples carried N86 (wild-type), while mutations at Y184F increased from 33.9% in 2016 to about 60.5% in 2021, and only four samples (0.2%) had D1246Y mutations. pfmdr1 haplotypes were reported in 1,711 samples, with 985 (57.6%) NYD, 720 (42.1%) NFD, and six (0.4%) carrying minor haplotypes (three with NYY, 0.2%; YFD in two, 0.1%; and NFY in one sample, 0.1%). Between 2016 and 2021, NYD decreased from 66.1% to 45.2%, while NFD increased from 38.5% to 54.7%. Conclusion This is the first report of the R622I (k13 validated mutation) in Tanzania. N86 and D1246 were nearly fixed, while increases in Y184F mutations and NFD haplotype were observed between 2016 and 2021. Despite the reports of artemisinin partial resistance in Rwanda and Uganda, this study did not report any other validated mutations in these study sites in Tanzania apart from R622I suggesting that intensified surveillance is urgently needed to monitor trends of drug resistance markers and their impact on the performance of ACT.
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- Bensi, M., et al.
(author)
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Deep flow variability offshore south-west Svalbard (fram strait)
- 2019
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In: Water. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4441. ; 11:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- - Water mass generation and mixing in the eastern Fram Strait are strongly influenced by the interaction between Atlantic and Arctic waters and by the local atmospheric forcing, which produce dense water that substantially contributes to maintaining the global thermohaline circulation. The West Spitsbergen margin is an ideal area to study such processes. Hence, in order to investigate the deep flow variability on short-term, seasonal, and multiannual timescales, two moorings were deployed at ~1040 m depth on the southwest Spitsbergen continental slope. We present and discuss time series data collected between June 2014 and June 2016. They reveal thermohaline and current fluctuations that were largest from October to April, when the deep layer, typically occupied by Norwegian Sea Deep Water, was perturbed by sporadic intrusions of warmer, saltier, and less dense water. Surprisingly, the observed anomalies occurred quasi-simultaneously at both sites, despite their distance (~170 km). We argue that these anomalies may arise mainly by the effect of topographically trapped waves excited and modulated by atmospheric forcing. Propagation of internal waves causes a change in the vertical distribution of the Atlantic water, which can reach deep layers. During such events, strong currents typically precede thermohaline variations without significant changes in turbidity. However, turbidity increases during April-June in concomitance with enhanced downslope currents. Since prolonged injections of warm water within the deep layer could lead to a progressive reduction of the density of the abyssal water moving toward the Arctic Ocean, understanding the interplay between shelf, slope, and deep waters along the west Spitsbergen margin could be crucial for making projections on future changes in the global thermohaline circulation. © 2019 by the authors.
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- Sgattoni, G., et al.
(author)
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Joint relative location of earthquakes without a pre-defined velocity model : an example from a peculiar seismic cluster on Katla volcano's south-flank (Iceland)
- 2016
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In: Geophysical Journal International. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0956-540X .- 1365-246X. ; 207:2, s. 1244-1257
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Relative location methods are commonly used to precisely locate earthquake clusters consisting of similar waveforms. Repeating waveforms are often recorded at volcanoes, where, however, the crust structure is expected to contain strong heterogeneities and therefore the 1-D velocity model assumption that is made in most location strategies is not likely to describe reality. A peculiar cluster of repeating low-frequency seismic events was recorded on the south flank of Katla volcano (Iceland) from 2011. As the hypocentres are located at the rim of the glacier, the seismicity may be due to volcanic or glacial processes. Information on the size and shape of the cluster may help constraining the source process. The extreme similarity of waveforms points to a very small spatial distribution of hypocentres. In order to extract meaningful information about size and shape of the cluster, we minimize uncertainty by optimizing the cross-correlation measurements and relative-location process. With a synthetic test we determine the best parameters for differential-time measurements and estimate their uncertainties, specifically for each waveform. We design a location strategy to work without a pre-defined velocity model, by formulating and inverting the problem to seek changes in both location and slowness, thus accounting for azimuth, take-off angles and velocity deviations from a 1-D model. We solve the inversion explicitly in order to propagate data errors through the calculation. With this approach we are able to resolve a source volume few tens of metres wide in horizontal directions and around 100 metres in depth. There is no suggestion that the hypocentres lie on a single fault plane and the depth distribution indicates that their source is unlikely to be related to glacial processes as the ice thickness is not expected to exceed few tens of metres in the source area. Our method is designed for a very small source region, allowing us to assume a constant slowness for the whole cluster and to include the effects of 3-D heterogeneity such as refraction. Similar circumstances may arise in other volcanic regions with a high level of heterogeneity and where densely clustered earthquakes are often recorded.
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