Figure 1

Sampling of Plasmodium falciparum populations and malaria epidemiology in the Colombian Pacific region. A) Map of Colombia - South America showing four malaria endemic provinces located in the Pacific region: Chocó, Valle, Cauca and Nariño, and the cities where samples were collected. About 90% of the population in this region located between the Pacific Ocean and the Western branch of the Andean Mountains are Afro-Colombians. Lines represent distance between sample collection sites: Quibdó-Tadó: ~66 km; Quibdó-Buenaventura: ~253 km; Buenaventura-Guapi: ~149 km and Guapi-Tumaco: ~109 km. B) Malaria endemicity in the four states defined by the annual parasite incidence (API) between 2000 – 2007. Data was not available from 2000 – 2001 in Nariño. For complementary information see Table 1.