Asia Pacific ICEMR Cambodian Cross-sectional

Background: In Cambodia, significant achievements have been made over the past decade in reducing malaria-related morbidity and mortality. However, transmission is endemic in 21 of 25 provinces and it is estimated that 58% of the population, or approximately 8.6 million people, continue to live in malaria at-risk areas. The incidence of clinical cases is highest in the north-eastern part of the country, with the highest risk in forest or forest fringe areas of the country, usually found along the borders. It is therefore very important to i) characterize region specific demographic and geographic determinants of (especially asymptomatic) malaria infection ii) determine the relationship between different measures of malaria infection and exposure and iii) implement malaria surveillance and control strategies using this knowledge to optimise the distribution of limited resources to detect as many infections as possible.

Objectives:

To determine age-specific prevalence of Plasmodium spp. infections by qPCR and light microscopy
To investigate individual and spatial risk factors for Plasmodium spp. infections
To determine the genetic complexity of Plasmodium spp. infections within and between populations
To determine the prevalence of antibodies to panels P. falciparum and P. vivax antigens
To determine the prevalence of molecular markers of drug resistance in P. falciparum and P. vivax parasites.
Determine the prevalence and type of G6PD deficiency and CYP 2D6 polymorphisms

Methodology: Household-based cross-sectional prevalence survey with collection of epidemiological data associated with risk of malaria and biological samples to determine current infection status.

Geographic Location/Study Sites: Kaev Seima District, Modulkiri Province, Cambodia

Dates of data collection: 14/12/2017 - 10/04/2018

Study Design: Cross-sectional survey

Eligibility Criteria: Living in a selected study household; Aged >2 years and <80 years; Resident for in the study area for >3 months; Consenting/assenting to participating in the study.

Data Collection:

Questionnaire data collection: Epidemiological information and demographic data were collected on REDCap eCRFs.

Biological sample collection: Biological samples consisted of 200µl capillary blood samples from finger-pricks.

Study Documentation: CRFs provided, data dictionaries provided, protocol as per ICEMR study.