Table 1 Model parameter description and data sources

n _a,d

Number of humans of age group a that are P. falciparum-infected with gametocytes at density d in Southern Malawi

Calculated, Eq. 1

\(n_{a ,d} = N_{a} \alpha_{a} g_{a ,d}\)

N _a

Number of people in age group a in Southern Malawi

2008 Census [27]

α _a

Prevalence of P. falciparum in age group a

ICEMR-Malawi primary data

See Table 2

g _a,d

Proportion of infections in age group a with gametocyte density d

ICEMR-Malawi primary data

See Table 2

κ _d

Percent of mosquitoes infected with oocysts after a blood meal from a person with gametocytes at density d

Churcher et al. [24]

0.015 d = 1 (< 1/μL)

0.04 d = 2 (1–200/μL)

0.10 d = 3 (> 200–400/μL)

0.18 d = 4 (> 400/μL)

κ _a

Relative infectivity per blood meal by age category a

Ouédraogo et al. [17] (including personal data communication)

2.5 a = 1 (< 5 years)

1.7 a = 2 (5–15 years)

1.0 (ref) a = 3 (> 15–30 years)

0.6 a = 4 (> 30 years)

b _a

Relative mosquito biting frequency by human age group a

Calculated, Eq. 2

\(b_{a} = \delta_{a} \left( {\sigma_{a} \gamma + \left( {1 - \sigma_{a} } \right)} \right)\)

δ _a

Vector’s relative feeding preference for human age group a

Stone et al. [21]

1.0 (ref) a = 1 (< 5 years)

3.0 a = 2 (5–15 years)

4.0 a = 3 (> 15–30 years)

4.0 a = 4 (> 30 years)

g _a

Proportion of people in age group a who use a bed net

ICEMR-Malawi primary data

See Table 2

γ

Relative reduction in nightly biting frequency for bed net users compared to non-users

Killeen et al. [28]

M _a

Relative number of new mosquito oocyst infections attributable to human age group a

Calculated, Eq. 3

\(M_{a} = \kappa_{a} b_{a} \sum\limits_{d = 1}^{4} {\left( {n_{a ,d} k_{d} } \right)}\)

F _a

Fraction of all new mosquito infections attributable to human age group a

Calculated, Eq. 4

\(F_{a} = \frac{{M_{a} }}{{\sum_{a = 1}^{4} {M_{a} } }}\)