Seasonality and transmissibility of Plasmodium ovale in Bagamoyo District, Tanzania

Parasites & Vectors

Table 1 Characteristics of participants screened for Plasmodium during the study period

Characteristics	Total	P. ovale status^a
		Positive	Negative
Number screened	2718	300 (11%)	2418 (89%)
Age, median (IQR)	20 (11–32)	23 (12–32)	19 (11–32)
Children/adolescents (≤ 17 years old)	1222 (45%)	112 (9.2%)	1110 (91%)
Adults (≥ 18 years old)	1496 (55%)	188 (13%)	1308 (87%)
Sex
Female	1831 (67%)	202 (11%)^b	1629
Male	887 (33%)	98 (11%)	789
P. falciparum
Positive^a	780 (29%)	33 (11%)^c	747
Negative	1938 (71%)	267 (89%)^d	1671
RDT
Positive	382 (14%)	29 (10%)^b	353
Negative	2336 (86%)	271 (90%)	2065
Blood smear
Positive	316 (12%)	23 (7.7%)^b	293
Negative	2402 (88%)	277 (92%)	2125
Season
Oct–Nov 2018 (short rains)	527 (19%)	21 (4.0%)^e	506
Apr–May 2019 (long rains, early)	826 (30%)	128 (15%)	698
Jun–Jul 2019 (long rains, late)	829 (31%)	120 (14%)	709
Oct–Dec 2019 (short rains)	536 (20%)	31 (5.8%)	505

Data are shown for all individuals screened and by P. ovale infection status
^aPlasmodium ovale and P. falciparum status were determined by 18S qPCR; subjects deemed positive if the C_t value of the first qPCR was < 40 or if the mean C_t value of the first qPCR and at least one follow-up qPCR was < 45
^bPercentages in this column for sex, RDT, and blood smear are from the total who were qPCR-positive for P. ovale
^cPercentage of P. ovale-positive individuals co-infected with P. falciparum
^dPercentage of P. ovale-positive individuals with mono-infections
^ePercentages in the P. ovale-positive column indicate season-specific prevalence

ISSN: 1756-3305