Topological analysis of data on the epidemiological effects of malaria transmission at the micro-territorial level in Colombia on the genetic diversity of parasite populations.

The effect of selection with antimalarial drugs on parasitic populations of the causative agent of malaria Plasmodium falciparum and human demographic movements result in the emergence and dissemination of strains of the parasite resistant to drugs.

However, the way in which the epidemiological variables of transmission and the genetic variables of the parasite interact to give rise to the emergence of resistance are poorly understood.

The objective of this study is to carry out a genetic-epidemiological analysis of the populations of P. falciparum, the causal agent of the most severe form of malaria, circulating in Colombia and other places in South America.

Using a high density of genetic variability data from the sequence of complete genomes together with demographic data and the spatial and temporal distribution of infections, this study aims to use the methodology of topological data analysis to infer in a multidimensional way the effect of the epidemiology of transmission in the patterns of genetic variability of the parasite due to effects such as selection, dispersal, migrations, mining, etc., on genetic variables such as the persistence of circulating genotypes and the frequency of recombination.

It is expected that the topological analysis of data captures the interaction between the similarities at the genetic level of the sample, its dates and places of incidence and the different changes at the socio-environmental level that are around, obtaining a mechanism for visualization and exploration of these interactions.

This result will allow the team to develop a theory that seeks to understand how contextual variables, epidemiological peaks and the geographical distribution of the samples influence the mutations that characterize the resistance of the parasite.