# Identifying the Distribution, Origin, and Threat of Plasmodium vivax in the DRC

> **NIH NIH F30** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2020 · $43,319

## Abstract

Project Abstract
Malaria due to Plasmodium vivax causes significant global morbidity and even mortality each year. However, it
has long been considered absent from Sub-Saharan Africa due to the high prevalence of a mutation that
confers the Duffy-negative phenotype and protects the host from infection. Although the Duffy-negative
phenotype has been previously shown to be protective, recent reports from Sub-Saharan Africa have identified
active transmission of P. vivax among Duffy-negative hosts. This indication that P. vivax can infect Duffy-
negative hosts raises several questions, including where are infections occurring, who is being infected, where
are these infections being sourced from, and finally, the history and extent of ongoing transmission. The
objective of this proposal is to fill this critical gap in knowledge and provide public health officials with the
information needed to form strategies for targeted interventions.
In this proposal, we will use data collected by the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) during the 2013-2014
Standard DHS Survey of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Study ID: DRC DHS-II). This nationally
representative survey included approximately 25,000 adult men, women, and children across the DRC. From
each individual, we have over 500 demographic and behavioral covariates, P. vivax malaria status, and
geographical information. Using this robust dataset, the Specific Aims of this proposal are: (1) Map P. vivax
prevalence and identify risk factors associated with infection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
using the 2013-2014 Demographic Health Survey and (2) Using whole genome sequencing, identify the
source of infection and determine the extent of ongoing transmission among the Democratic Republic
of the Congo P. vivax population.
Through this research proposal and associated training plan, I will gain a unique and interdisciplinary skill-set
that combines epidemiology with population genetics in an innovative manner that is at the forefront of
infectious disease epidemiology. This training will provide me with the technical, statistical, and professional
skills I need to become a leader at an academic center and to pursue my goals of practicing international
medicine and research as a physician scientist.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9857472
- **Project number:** 5F30AI143172-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Nicholas Ford Brazeau
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $43,319
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-01 → 2023-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9857472

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9857472, Identifying the Distribution, Origin, and Threat of Plasmodium vivax in the DRC (5F30AI143172-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9857472. Licensed CC0.

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