# Impact of Environmental Modifications on Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax Malaria Epidemiology and Disease Burden

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · 2021 · $479,690

## Abstract

PROJECT 1
PROJECT SUMMARY
Impact of Environmental Modifications on Plasmodium falciparum
 and P. vivax Malaria Epidemiology and Disease Burden
Severe droughts have plagued the African continent for centuries. Most people in African
countries depend on rain-fed agriculture, making these populations vulnerable to drought and
famine. Construction of dams and initiating rural irrigation schemes has been widely
recognized as key solutions to food security and economic growth in drought prone regions.
In the past decade, sub-Saharan African countries have experienced a new era of large dam
constructions and expansion of irrigated agricultural farms. These environmental changes
may have unforeseen ecologic consequences that adversely affect human health. To date,
there has been limited basic or translational research evaluating the impact of environmental
modifications on the epidemiology of malaria. The overarching objective of this project is
to assess the impact of environmental modifications from water resource development
projects and shifting agricultural practices on the change of epidemiology of malaria at
the molecular, individual, field and population levels. The central hypothesis is that
ecological changes and large-scale human population movement resulting from dam
construction, flooding of the dam catchment and shifting of agriculture practices will
modify the transmission and risk of malaria in the area. We will test this hypothesis by
monitoring ecological changes, conducting repeated cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal
cohort studies in the community, and passive surveillance for malaria in health centers and
hospitals. The three specific aims are to: 1) compare symptomatic malaria burden and
spectrum of disease severity in areas of diverse eco-epidemiologic settings with drastic
environmental modifications and differing prevalence of Plasmodium species, 2) examine the
effect of human migration associated with construction of dams and irrigation farming on the
landscape genetics of malaria parasites, and 3) assess the effectiveness of recently
introduced primaquine treatment strategies on the risk of Plasmodium vivax recurrence and
P. falciparum transmission under different environmental conditions in Ethiopia. Because the
irrigated area of sub-Saharan Africa and the number of large hydropower dams are
anticipated to increase dramatically in the next decade, understanding the impact of water
development projects on malaria epidemiology and subsequently developing strategies to
reduce transmission and morbidity will be of paramount importance. Although this study is
conducted only in highly populated areas in Kenya and Ethiopia, we anticipate that our
findings and tools will have broad implications for malaria prevention and control in
other regions of sub-Saharan Africa that are undergoing similar environmental
modifications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10137182
- **Project number:** 5U19AI129326-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Beyene Petros
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $479,690
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-15 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10137182

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10137182, Impact of Environmental Modifications on Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax Malaria Epidemiology and Disease Burden (5U19AI129326-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10137182. Licensed CC0.

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