Human mobility and malaria risk in peri-urban and rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon.
<h4>Background</h4>While the global burden of malaria cases has decreased over the last two decades, the disease remains a major international threat, even on the rise in many regions. More than 85% of Peruvian malaria cases are in the Amazonian region of Loreto. Internal mobility primar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012058 |
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| author | Joaquin Gomez Alessandro Grosso Mitchel Guzman-Guzman Stefano Garcia Castillo Marcia C Castro Katherine Torres Joseph M Vinetz Dionicia Gamboa |
| author_facet | Joaquin Gomez Alessandro Grosso Mitchel Guzman-Guzman Stefano Garcia Castillo Marcia C Castro Katherine Torres Joseph M Vinetz Dionicia Gamboa |
| author_sort | Joaquin Gomez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>While the global burden of malaria cases has decreased over the last two decades, the disease remains a major international threat, even on the rise in many regions. More than 85% of Peruvian malaria cases are in the Amazonian region of Loreto. Internal mobility primarily related to occupation is thought to be primarily responsible for maintaining endemicity and introducing and reintroducing malaria parasites into areas of anophelism, a challenge for malaria eradication. This study focuses on identifying the sources of malaria transmission and patterns of human mobility in order to understand the movement and transmission of the parasite.<h4>Methods</h4>The assessment of connectivity produced by human mobility was evaluated in three districts of Loreto, through 10 cross-sectional population screening from 2018 to 2020. We used social network analysis (SNA) to obtain weighted and unweighted degrees of connectivity and explore its variability by socio-demographic characteristics. In addition, we integrated travel history and malaria incidence data to estimate parasite connectivity due to internal human mobility between locations. Finally, we used logistic multivariate regressions to explore the factors associated with Plasmodium spp. infection in mobile individuals.<h4>Results</h4>We found that internal human mobility results in high connectivity between communities from the Mazan, Iquitos, and San Juan Bautista districts. We identified nearby destinations that may act as sinks or sources for malaria transmission, including densely populated towns and rural campsites. In addition, we found that being a male, traveling to rural campsites, and working outdoors are associated with Plasmodium spp. infection in travelers from the Mazan district.<h4>Conclusions</h4>We provide compelling evidence about how human mobility connects rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Using SNA, we uncovered district-specific patterns and destinations, providing further evidence of human mobility heterogeneity in the region. To address the challenge of human mobility and malaria in this setting, geographic heterogeneity of malaria transmission must be considered. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-30d26cb509604af0aea4562396f91b82 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1935-2727 1935-2735 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| spelling | doaj-art-30d26cb509604af0aea4562396f91b822025-08-20T02:55:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352025-01-01191e001205810.1371/journal.pntd.0012058Human mobility and malaria risk in peri-urban and rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon.Joaquin GomezAlessandro GrossoMitchel Guzman-GuzmanStefano Garcia CastilloMarcia C CastroKatherine TorresJoseph M VinetzDionicia Gamboa<h4>Background</h4>While the global burden of malaria cases has decreased over the last two decades, the disease remains a major international threat, even on the rise in many regions. More than 85% of Peruvian malaria cases are in the Amazonian region of Loreto. Internal mobility primarily related to occupation is thought to be primarily responsible for maintaining endemicity and introducing and reintroducing malaria parasites into areas of anophelism, a challenge for malaria eradication. This study focuses on identifying the sources of malaria transmission and patterns of human mobility in order to understand the movement and transmission of the parasite.<h4>Methods</h4>The assessment of connectivity produced by human mobility was evaluated in three districts of Loreto, through 10 cross-sectional population screening from 2018 to 2020. We used social network analysis (SNA) to obtain weighted and unweighted degrees of connectivity and explore its variability by socio-demographic characteristics. In addition, we integrated travel history and malaria incidence data to estimate parasite connectivity due to internal human mobility between locations. Finally, we used logistic multivariate regressions to explore the factors associated with Plasmodium spp. infection in mobile individuals.<h4>Results</h4>We found that internal human mobility results in high connectivity between communities from the Mazan, Iquitos, and San Juan Bautista districts. We identified nearby destinations that may act as sinks or sources for malaria transmission, including densely populated towns and rural campsites. In addition, we found that being a male, traveling to rural campsites, and working outdoors are associated with Plasmodium spp. infection in travelers from the Mazan district.<h4>Conclusions</h4>We provide compelling evidence about how human mobility connects rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Using SNA, we uncovered district-specific patterns and destinations, providing further evidence of human mobility heterogeneity in the region. To address the challenge of human mobility and malaria in this setting, geographic heterogeneity of malaria transmission must be considered.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012058 |
| spellingShingle | Joaquin Gomez Alessandro Grosso Mitchel Guzman-Guzman Stefano Garcia Castillo Marcia C Castro Katherine Torres Joseph M Vinetz Dionicia Gamboa Human mobility and malaria risk in peri-urban and rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| title | Human mobility and malaria risk in peri-urban and rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon. |
| title_full | Human mobility and malaria risk in peri-urban and rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon. |
| title_fullStr | Human mobility and malaria risk in peri-urban and rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human mobility and malaria risk in peri-urban and rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon. |
| title_short | Human mobility and malaria risk in peri-urban and rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon. |
| title_sort | human mobility and malaria risk in peri urban and rural communities in the peruvian amazon |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012058 |
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