ORAL PRESENTATION

Open Access

# Measuring malaria transmission reduction en route to elimination

Richard W Steketee

*From* Challenges in malaria research: Core science and innovation
Oxford, UK. 22-24 September 2014

In the past decade, remarkable change in malaria con-
trol and transmission has been documented in many
(but not all) African nations and some countries are
moving toward elimination. The malaria control com-
munity has long measured and tracked malaria trans-
mission using a variety of methods from the highest to
the lowest transmission areas. For program action across
the spectrum of transmission between humans and mos-
quitoes, the balance between accurate measurement,
sufficient detail to inform program decisions, and ease
and simplicity of information collection, analysis and
interpretation has always been challenging. A summary
of historic and current efforts to measure parasites
within and moving between people and mosquitoes will
be provided with an emphasis on how the approaches
and emphasis change as transmission intensity changes.
The program decision needs for routine systems and for
special studies to track transmission reduction will be
discussed. The detection and verification of “zero” infec-
tion and transmission will be discussed in terms of tools
and sampling methods that will allow the designation of
malaria-free areas.

Published: 22 September 2014

doi:10.1186/1475-2875-13-S1-O26

Cite this article as: Steketee: Measuring malaria transmission reduction en route to elimination. *Malaria Journal* 2014 13(Suppl 1):O26.

Malaria Control and Elimination Program and MACEPA, PATH, Seattle WA,
USA

Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central
and take full advantage of:

• Convenient online submission

• Thorough peer review

• No space constraints or color figure charges

• Immediate publication on acceptance

• Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar

• Research which is freely available for redistribution

Submit your manuscript at
www.biomedcentral.com/submit

BioMed Central