# name
Dynamics of Afebrile Plasmodium falciparum Infections in
                Mozambican Men

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
Background: Afebrile Plasmodium falciparum infections usually
                remain undetected and untreated in the community and could
                potentially contribute to sustaining local malaria transmission
                in areas aiming for malaria elimination. Methods: Thirty-two men
                with afebrile P. falciparum infections detected with rapid
                diagnostic test (RDTs) were followed for 28 days. Kaplan-Meier
                estimates were computed to estimate probability of parasite
                positivity and of reducing parasitaemia by half of its initial
                level by day 28. Trends of parasite densities quantified by
                microscopy and qPCR were assessed using Poisson regression
                models, and the microscopy to qPCR positivity ratio was
                calculated at each time point. Three survival distributions
                (Gompertz, Weibull, and gamma) were used to evaluate their
                strength of fit to the data and to predict the median lifetime
                of infection. Results: The cumulative probability of parasite
                qPCR positivity by day 28 was 81% (95% CI 60.2-91.6). Geometric
                mean parasitemia at recruitment was 516.1 parasites/muL and fell
                to <100 parasites/muL by day 3, reaching 56.7 parasites/muL
                on day 28 (p-value<0.001). The ratio of P. falciparum
                positive samples by microscopy to qPCR decreased from 0.9 to
                0.52 from recruitment to day 28. The best model fit to the data
                was obtained assuming a Gompertz distribution. Conclusions:
                Afebrile P.falciparum infections detectable by RDT in
                semi-immune adults fall and stabilize at low-density levels
                during the first four days since detection, suggesting a rapid
                decline of potential transmissibility in this hidden parasite
                reservoir.

# metadata.dc.relation.isformatof[].value
Reproducció del document publicat a:
                http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciy219

# metadata.dc.source[].value
Articles publicats en revistes (ISGlobal)

# metadata.dc.title[].value
Dynamics of Afebrile Plasmodium falciparum Infections in
                Mozambican Men