@article{3f14cf1a88f74f65b829e134d47bfb65,
title = "Using parasite genetic and human mobility data to infer local and cross- border malaria connectivity in Southern Africa",
abstract = "Local and cross-border importation remain major challenges to malaria elimination and are difficult to measure using traditional surveillance data. To address this challenge, we systematically collected parasite genetic data and travel history from thousands of malaria cases across northeastern Namibia and estimated human mobility from mobile phone data. We observed strong fine-scale spatial structure in local parasite populations, providing positive evidence that the majority of cases were due to local transmission. This result was largely consistent with estimates from mobile phone and travel history data. However, genetic data identified more detailed and extensive evidence of parasite connectivity over hundreds of kilometers than the other data, within Namibia and across the Angolan and Zambian borders. Our results provide a framework for incorporating genetic data into malaria surveillance and provide evidence that both strengthening of local interventions and regional coordination are likely necessary to eliminate malaria in this region of Southern Africa.",
author = "Sofonias Tessema and Amy Wesolowski and Anna Chen and Maxwell Murphy and Jordan Wilheim and Mupiri, {Anna Rosa} and Ruktanonchai, {Nick W.} and Alegana, {Victor A.} and Tatem, {Andrew J.} and Munyaradzi Tambo and Bradley Didier and Cohen, {Justin M.} and Adam Bennett and Sturrock, {Hugh Jw} and Roland Gosling and Hsiang, {Michelle S.} and Smith, {David L.} and Mumbengegwi, {Davis R.} and Smith, {Jennifer L.} and Bryan Greenhouse",
note = "Funding Information: We thank all study participants and their parents and guardians and all field staff in northeastern Namibia health facilities. We acknowledge the Southern and Central Africa International Centers of Excellence in Malaria Research for the southern Zambia data and the Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases for the northern Angola data. We would like to thank the Namibia National Vector-borne Diseases Control Programme for their help in procuring the mobile phone data. We are also grateful to MTC Namibia and Ms. Bonita Graupe for sharing these mobile phone data through a written data-sharing agreement and for helping with extractions. BG is a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub investigator. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Burroughs Wellcome Fund National Institutes of Health Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Iordanov et al.",
year = "2019",
month = apr,
doi = "10.7554/eLife.43510",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "8",
journal = "eLife",
issn = "2050-084X",
publisher = "eLife Sciences Publications",
}