New African Network exploring diversity of malaria

A recent article in Science announced the establishment of the Plasmodium Diversity Network Africa (PDNA). Since this publication, the network has expanded to included African scientists working on 17 projects in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa; together they will explore the genetic and phenotypic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum to advance the malaria elimination and eradication agenda in sub-Saharan Africa. 

The idea for the group began in conversations among members of the MalariaGEN Network at the Genomic Epidemiology of Malaria (GEM) Conference in Hinxton, UK in 2012, and grew from that nucleus at a meeting in Accra, Ghana in 2013, which was organised with supportfrom the MRC Centre for Genomics and Global Health.

Coordinated activities have already begun, with agreement on standardised methods, collection of samples, and analysis of parasite genomes through a collaboration with the MalariaGEN P. falciparum Community Project at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Data will be shared among the members and pooled analyses of the larger data sets will exploit the greater power to better understand the diversity of the parasites across the large geographic spread of the network. The most recent new countries to join the Network include Angola, Cabo Verde, Mozambique and South Africa.

"Our hope is that by working together, undertaking regular monitoring at multiple sites, and sharing data through this network, we will be able to build a rich data resource and have a deep understanding of the genetic diversity of malaria parasites across Africa. It’s crucial that we begin this type of genomic surveillance now, as the landscape for malaria infection and transmission is changing very quickly” says founding member Abdoulaye Djimdé, Associate Prof at the University of Science, Techniques & Technology of Bamako, Mali.

Many of the members of the PDNA are already active participants in WWARN activities, and pooled analyses. WWARN welcomes this initiative confident that PNDA will contribute much to our understanding of the diversity and evolution of P. falciparum on the African continent where the parasite still excerpts such a terrible toll.

If you have access to Science, you can read the abstract.

You can also read more about the collaboration on the CGGH website and the Sanger Institute blog.