Parasite prevalence as predictor of severe malaria

Malaria infection: Understanding how changes in community parasite prevalence alter the rate and age distribution of severe malaria is essential for optimizing control efforts.Credit:

Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo

A new study published in Science has linked greater prevalence of malaria parasite in an African community to higher incidence of severe malaria disease. This was accompanied by a shift in

hospital admission trends towards younger children.

Robert S. Paton from the University of Oxford, UK, and colleagues from Kenya and Tanzania, looked at community prevalence of malaria infection and mortality modelling in 26 communities in

Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania from 2006 to 2020. They found that for every 25% increase in community parasite prevalence, annual rates of admission for severe malaria doubled.

“As the prevalence rates rise, the average age of children admitted to hospital falls. The most severe, life-threatening forms of malaria remaining concentrated predominantly among younger

children aged between three months to five years, regardless of transmission intensity,” the researchers write. However, they noted a shift in infections toward older children in low

transmission settings.

The study findings could inform future evaluation and implementation of malaria vaccines. Linking malaria transmission and malaria-associated mortality has been tricky because many deaths

occur outside hospitals and are not captured systematically, they explain. Understanding how changes in community malaria prevalence alter the rate and age distribution of hospitalized

individuals with severe malaria is essential for effective malaria impact prediction and control efforts.