F. ELLIS McKENZIE, J. KEVIN BAIRD, JOHN C. BEIER, ALTAF A. LAL, AND WILLIAM H. BOSSERT
I. INTRODUCTION A. Researcher Sir Ronald Ross circa 1911 determined that a multifaceted approach of using pesticides, vaccines and other safety precautions could curtail the transmission of malaria more effectively than simply only using one approach. However, is it really necessary to use a multifaceted approach when theoretically, either reducing the ability for vector population to transmit malaria or a vaccine given to a human host a vaccine should work just as well as doing both. 1. Is it better to use a multifaceted approach to stop the transmission of malaria? 2. Is it better to use a singular approach of either a pesticide or a vaccine? B. Researchers for this case set out to determine whether a multifaceted approach or a singular approach to curb malaria transmission is better. 1. Review of Plasmodium falciparum (the protozoa that causes malaria in humans) life cycles and dynamics prove to be a conundrum because under certain situations these populations die out while transmission conditions were still steady 2. Reasearchers speculate that this has to do with seasonal change in Anopheles (female mosquitoes), and genetic recombination in the vector population due to the insecticides and current vaccines.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS A. Human population tested is limited to 500 people. 1. They determine the rate of each interval to begin from infected to infected state for mosquitoes and humans to be 10-20 days, with humans’ rate infectivity to span 10-30 days. 2. A set number of humans and mosquitoes are drawn at random daily. It should be noted for this experiment only human assumed to be “blood meals” for the mosquitoes. The life span of the mosquito is factored in and when the mosquito dies it is replaced. 3. The researchers determine parameters for human immunity to be susceptibility to re-infection with said parasite to initially be 100 days. 4. Genetic recombination for Plasmodium falciparum genotypes are within a two-locus, two- allele-per-locus system. B. Each case is recorded over a five-year period. 1. Averages are taken of each
