Potential of school-based preventive treatment to reduce Plasmodium falciparum transmission

In areas where malaria remains entrenched, novel transmission-reducing interventions are essential for malaria elimination. Here we report the impact of screening-and-treatment of asymptomatic schoolchildren (N=705) on gametocyte - the parasite stage responsible for human-to-mosquito transmission - carriage and use concomitant household-based surveys to predict the potential reduction in transmission in the surrounding community. Among 179 students with gametocyte-containing infections, 84% had positive malaria raid diagnostic tests. While gametocyte burden remained constant in untreated children, treatment with artemether-lumefantrine reduced the gametocyte prevalence (p