Longitudinal analysis of Plasmodium falciparum genetic variation in Turbo, Colombia: implications for malaria control and elimination

Abstract

Malaria control programmes can detect re-introductions and changes in transmission using rapidly evolving microsatellite loci. In this population, the steadily decreasing diversity and the relatively constant effective population size suggest that an increase in malaria prevalence from 2004 to 2007 was primarily driven by local rather than imported cases.