Regular Plasmodium falciparum importation onto Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, hampers malaria elimination from the island

Abstract

The Bioko Island Malaria Elimination Project (BIMEP) has made significant progress in reducing the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. However, like other malaria endemic islands like São Tomé and Principe and Zanzibar, Tanzania, elimination efforts are hampered by imported infections. In an effort to understand the local transmission dynamics and the influence of importation on Bioko Island’s P. falciparum population, whole-genome sequences were generated from field samples collected during the BIMEP’s 2019 Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS). Within the sub-Saharan African context, we observed Bioko Island parasites did not significantly differentiate from nearby continental neighbors. Among Bioko infections, within-host diversity and the quantity of polyclonal infections appear similar to an area of moderate malaria transmission. However, we observed higher than expected genetic diversity among Bioko parasites, similar to high transmission areas, suggesting imported strains are contributing to transmission on the island. Among Bioko’s closest geographical neighbors, the flow of parasites with Bioko appeared more pronounced with the Gabonese parasite population, implying more importation may be coming from this region than others. Overall, despite significant investment in malaria control, results illustrate the challenges of eliminating malaria without both interrupting local transmission and accounting for importation from higher transmission areas, likely due to human migration. For there to be sustained progress towards elimination, the BIMEP needs, if feasible, to conduct targeted interventions of outgoing/incoming travelers, and ideally expand malaria control interventions to the continental region of Equatorial Guinea.