A key driver of antimalarial drug resistance is the malaria parasite’s evolutionary ability to adapt and change its genetic makeup, thwarting current treatments. With advancements in technologies, we can now identify the genetic changes that induce drug resistance and develop strategies to prevent further spread of drug resistant malaria parasites. But to do this we need reliable and consistent methods of tracking the emergence and spread of resistance throughout the world.

WWARN’s Molecular Surveyors are interactive maps that provide researchers and policy makers with a visual summary of collated data on markers of drug resistance worldwide.

K13 Surveyor

  • Displays the distribution of resistance markers found on the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite Kelch 13 gene – one map for the distribution of molecular markers in Asia - where makers are currently most prevalent - and one map for the distribution of molecular markers in the rest of the world
  • Displays data from over 5,400 samples from 11 published studies, covering sites in 22 countries
  • Presents molecular analyses of K13 genotypes
  • Flexible default settings can be altered easily by the user
  • View countries with data on the left hand bar
  • Discover other visualisations of the same data that allow the user to explore the temporal trends and compare two different sites of interest in more detail are available below the map

pfmdr1 & pfcrt Surveyor

  • Summarises baseline data from more than 300 published and unpublished studies on molecular markers of antimalarial drug resistance between 2001 and 2015
  • Focuses on resistance markers for amodiaquine (AQ), chloroquine (CQ), lumefantrine (LUM) and mefloquine (MQ) found in Plasmodium falciparummalaria parasite pfmdr1 and pfcrt genes
  • Enables you to filter data based on antimalarial treatment type, resistance marker, country, sample size and time
  • Lets you download data as csv file
  • Displays further detailed information about all the studies selected within the Surveyor in summary and reference tables
  • Permits you to view the study site and country by hovering the mouse cursor over a map pin. You can then click on the pin to view more detailed information about the study site, and click on the publication tab to view the associated publication within PubMed

dhfr & dhps Surveyor

  • SP is recommended for use in intermittent preventive therapy for infants in sub-Saharan Africa by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in regions below a specified molecular resistance threshold
  • This version of the Molecular Surveyor focuses on resistance markers for sulphadoxine pyrimethamine (SP) found in Plasmodium falciparum dhfr and dhps genes
  • You can view a short animation that visualises the changing prevalence of thedhps540E mutation in sub-Saharan Africa over the years 1990-2010, based on predictions of a geospatial mathematical model

Find out how these Surveyors can help your research.