Malaria, Leishmaniasis and Shistosomiasis Vector Ecology, Transmission, Immunology and Prophylaxis in Kenya

A malaria vaccine evaluation site at Saradidi, Kenya, has been characterized for epidemiological, entomological and demographic parameters over a two-year period. The transmission of falciparum malaria by Anopheles gambiae s.1. and A. funestus was found to be intense year-round. An evaluation of a WRAIR-developed malaria sporozoite vaccine, R32ToxA, was begun in April 1990, with 38 pairs of volunteers. Leishmaniasis studies have described several parasite-vector-host relationships previously unreported in East Africa which may be important in the diagnosis or control of the disease. In particular, the isolation of two species of leishmania with differing drug sensitivity profiles from a single patient is notable. Collaborative development of a vector-induced model for infection in vervet monkeys has significant potential for vaccine evaluation in a non-human model.