# Impact of Environmental Modifications on Vector Ecology and Transmission of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax Malaria

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · 2020 · $466,396

## Abstract

PROJECT 2
PROJECT SUMMARY
 Impact of Environmental Modifications on Vector Ecology
and Transmission of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax Malaria
Most of the population in sub-Saharan Africa faces the constant threat of famine. Approaches
to the famine problem need to address the underlying conditions that make food shortages
endemic. Construction of dams and irrigated agricultural farms has been widely recognized
as a key solution to promoting food security and alleviating poverty. A large number of dams,
microdams and irrigated farms have been developed in Africa in the past decade, and many
are under construction or being planned. These water resource development projects are
anticipated to cause major changes in the ecology of malaria vectors. How changes to the
vector ecology alter transmission dynamics is however not clear. New interventions that can
effectively suppress malaria transmission while simultaneously increasing agricultural
productivity are urgently needed. The central objective of this project is to examine the
impact of environmental modifications from water resource development projects on
vector ecology and malaria transmission in Kenya and Ethiopia. The central
hypothesis is that malaria transmission dynamics is strongly influenced by
environmental modifications from water resource development projects. These water
resource development projects create more stable and productive breeding sites and
disrupt transmission. As a result, seasonality, spatial distribution, vector community
structure, and vector competence get altered. We propose four specific aims: 1) assess
the impact of environmental modifications from water resource development projects on
vector bionomics and malaria transmission dynamics, 2) determine the effects of
environmental modifications on vector population genetics and vector competence, 3)
evaluate the impact of next-generation nets recently introduced as a part of the public health
program, on malaria incidence and vector insecticide resistance under different
environmental conditions, and 4) model the cost-effectiveness of novel integrated vector
management approaches suitable to areas with extensive environmental modifications. The
project will significantly enhance our understanding of the impact of environmental
modifications on malaria vector ecology and the underlying ecological and genetic
mechanisms for altered transmission. Through modeling of cost-effectiveness of new
integrated vector intervention approaches, this project will provide important information that
can guide future field trial design and inform policy makers of new malaria control
approaches. Malaria outdoor transmission, pyrethroid resistance, and environmental
modifications are presently of great concern and urgent issues that need to be
addressed globally. Thus, our results can have far reaching and broad implications on
malaria prevention and control.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9898166
- **Project number:** 5U19AI129326-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Guiyun Yan
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $466,396
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9898166

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9898166, Impact of Environmental Modifications on Vector Ecology and Transmission of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax Malaria (5U19AI129326-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9898166. Licensed CC0.

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