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This study used microsatellite analysis to evaluate the genetic diversity and population dynamics of <jats:italic>P. falciparum<\/jats:italic> parasites circulating in three ecological zones of Ghana.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>A total of 1168 afebrile children aged between 3 to 13\u2009years were recruited from five (5) Primary schools in 3 different ecological zones (Sahel (Tamale and Kumbungu), Forest (Konongo) and Coastal (Ada and Dodowa)) of Ghana. Asymptomatic malaria parasite carriage was determined using microscopy and PCR, whilst fragment analysis of 6 microsatellite loci was used to determine the diversity and population structure of <jats:italic>P. falciparum<\/jats:italic> parasites.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Out of the 1168 samples examined, 16.1 and 39.5% tested positive for <jats:italic>P. falciparum<\/jats:italic> by microscopy and nested PCR respectively. The genetic diversity of parasites in the 3 ecological zones was generally high, with an average heterozygosity (<jats:italic>He<\/jats:italic>) of 0.804, 0.787 and 0.608 the rainy (peak) season for the Sahel, Forest and Coastal zones respectively. The mean <jats:italic>He<\/jats:italic> for the dry (off-peak) season were 0.562, 0.693 and 0.610 for the Sahel, Forest and Coastal zones respectively. Parasites from the Forest zone were more closely related to those from the Sahel than from the Coastal zone, despite the Coastal zone being closer in physical distance to the Forest zone. The fixation indexes among study sites ranged from 0.049 to 0.112 during the rainy season and 0.112 to 0.348 during the dry season.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>A large asymptomatic parasite reservoir was found in the school children during both rainy and dry seasons, especially those in the Forest and Sahel savannah zones where parasites were also found to be related compared to those from the Coastal zone. Further studies are recommended to understand why despite the roll out of several malaria interventions in Ghana, high transmission still persist.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-021-06120-9","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,13]],"date-time":"2021-05-13T13:02:58Z","timestamp":1620910978000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["Population structure and diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in children with asymptomatic malaria living in different ecological zones of Ghana"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Linda Eva","family":"Amoah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zakaria","family":"Abukari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maame Esi","family":"Dawson-Amoah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cheikh Cambel","family":"Dieng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eugenia","family":"Lo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yaw Asare","family":"Afrane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,13]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"6120_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"211","DOI":"10.1186\/1475-2875-10-211","volume":"10","author":"KP Asante","year":"2011","unstructured":"Asante KP, Zandoh C, Dery DB, Brown C, Adjei G, Antwi-Dadzie Y, et al. 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