Background: Efforts on a global scale for combating malaria have achieved substantial progress over the past twenty years. Two Central American nations have accomplished their goal of eliminating malaria: El Salvador and Belize. Honduras has decreased the incidence of malaria and now reports fewer than 4000 malaria cases annually, aspiring to reach elimination by 2030. To accomplish this goal, it is essential to assess the existing strategies employed for malaria control and to address the task of incorporating novel intervention strategies to identify asymptomatic reservoirs. Methods: A survey for detecting asymptomatic cases was carried out in the community of Kaukira, in Gracias a Dios, Honduras, focusing on malaria transmission during 2023. Asymptomatic community members were recruited as participants, malaria screening was performed through a rapid diagnostic test in situ, and a blood sample was collected on filter paper. Highly sensitive molecular assays based on photo-induced electron transfer PCR (PET-PCR) were performed to detect the two species of Plasmodium circulating in Honduras: Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum. In addition, the identification of the parasite species was verified by amplifying three genetic markers (Pvmsp3α, Pvmsp3ß, and Pfmsp1). Results: A total of 138 participants were recruited, mostly adult women. All individuals tested negative on the rapid diagnostic test. Positive results for malaria were detected by PET-PCR in 17 samples (12.3%). Most samples (12 out of 17) were amplified with a Ct value between 37 and 42, indicating very low parasitemias. Out of the 17 samples, 16 of them also showed amplification in the species assays. There were nine cases of P. falciparum infections and seven cases of P. vivax infections that were further confirmed by nested PCR (nPCR) of Pvmsp3 and Pfmsp1. Parasitemias ranged from 100 p/μL to less than 0.25 p/μL. One sample showed mixed infection. Conclusions: The existence of asymptomatic malaria reservoirs in Honduras can contribute to disease transmission and pose a challenge that may hinder elimination efforts, requiring public health authorities to modify surveillance strategies to identify the disease and treat this population accordingly.

Bark beetles are one of the major causes of tree mortality in coniferous forests worldwide. The large-scale disturbances by beetle outbreaks have strongly increased in Honduras and other countries, leading to significant ecological, economic, and social consequences. However, the taxonomy, local distribution, and environmental aspects of most bark beetles and their biological predators remain poorly studied. Here, we applied a morphological approach to identify Scolytinae individuals across different forest areas in Honduras. Moreover, the barcoding approach was used by amplifying and sequencing the mitochondrial COI gene. The intraspecific genetic diversity of Ips apache was also analyzed. 1,131 individuals were examined, and 27 genera were identified. Most of the specimens were identified as belonging to the genus Ips, accounting for 53.2% of the total. Xyleborus accounted for 16.5% and Temnoscheila accounted for 10%. Less than four individuals were found for fifteen genera. Ips, Temnoscheila, Xyleborus, Hypothenemus and Pityophthorus exhibited the most extensive geographic distribution among the sampled sites. At the genus level, Olancho, El Paraíso, and Copán displayed the highest diversity. This study is the first report of two genera (Xylomeira and Stephanopachys) in Honduran pine forests. Among individuals of I. apache, there was evidence of intraspecific genetic diversity, but no population structure was detected. While our findings update the list of bark beetles and biological predators associated with Honduran coniferous forests, more taxonomic inventories and ecological studies are required to understand the spread of bark beetles in pine forests.