A controlled human malaria infection model enabling evaluation of transmission-blocking interventions

Abstract

BACKGROUND. Drugs and vaccines that can interrupt the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum will be important for malaria control and elimination. However, models for early clinical evaluation of candidate transmission-blocking interventions are currently unavailable. Here, we describe a new model for evaluating malaria transmission from humans to Anopheles mosquitoes using controlled human malaria infection (CHMI). METHODS. Seventeen healthy malaria-naive volunteers underwent CHMI by intravenous inoculation of P. falciparum- infected erythrocytes to initiate blood-stage infection. Seven to eight days after inoculation, participants received piperaquine (480 mg) to attenuate asexual parasite..