Vanuatu/PNG
More information contact Akira Kaneko
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Malaria Research Laboratory Vanuatu/Papua New
Responsable:Akira Kaneko
Malaria biodiversity and immunity in isolated areas: co-evolution of human, parasite and mosquito on Island Melanesia.
Our studies in isolated areas of Melanesia address the interactions among biodiversities of human, parasite, & mosquito in various eco-epidemiological systems. Our goal is a better understanding of how biodiversities have co-evolved over time and how they affect immunity & intervention against malaria at present. This will allow better control strategies in relation to local characteristics. Malaria is unstable with low mortality in Vanuatu, settled 4,000 years ago, consisting of 80 islands with 120 languages, while stable with high mortality in PNG, colonized 40,000 years ago, of island, coast, plain & highland with 700 languages. Higher isolation & lower transmission hypothetically results in lower diversity & easier development of immunity. On Aneityum island malaria was actually eliminated using drug & vector control but new cases are now reported after 10 years. We aim at 1) comparing genetic diversities of human (immunity & cytochrome P450), parasite (antigenicity & drug resistance) and vector (refractoriness & insecticide resistance) in various environments; 2) studying if clinical severity of P. falciparum is limited in Vanuatu; 3) investigating the epidemic in Aneityum and whether immunity was maintained or lost in different age groups; if so relating them to restricted diversity of parasites, immunogenetic host/vector properties or previous P. vivax exposure; 4) developing a novel model to understand how human, parasite & mosquito have coevolved.