Malaria is caused by different Plasmodium species parasites, which have different biology. P. vivax is common in our region, and can lie dormant in the liver for months, making it hard to detect and treat.

Drug resistance in the parasite can cause treatments not to work, and so we are developing sequencing in P. vivax to find drug resistance markers, and to track infections in one person to see if treatments are failing, or if people are getting new infections.

We are also using long read sequencing to look at genes that people carry in these areas that can also make treatments ineffective, or even dangerous. This will lead to better treatments personalised to different populations.

Team members: Sarah Charnaud, Yi Wan Quah and Lyndal Henden