A Plasmodium vivax controlled human infection and transmission model to evaluate interventions across the life cycle

Researchers developed a reproducible controlled human infection model with Plasmodium vivax parasite to test new antimalarial drugs and interventions. The study included 12 healthy adults without previous malaria who were infected with the PvW1 parasite in the Netherlands. All participants developed parasitemia and transmitted the parasite to mosquitoes without serious adverse events. Treatment with mepacrine and piperaquine reduced asexual parasite numbers while preserving gametocytes necessary for transmission. Peak transmission occurred within 3 days after treatment, with highest infectivity approximately 48 hours after ring-stage parasites. In the third cohort, mosquito infection reached 100 percent. This model is safe and enables sporozoite production and testing of transmission-blocking antimalarial drugs.