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Rahi M, Sharma R, Saroha P, Chaturvedi R, Bharti PK, Sharma A. Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Malaria Diagnosis Can Be Increasingly Adopted during Current Phase of Malaria Elimination in India. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2022; 106:1005-1012. [PMID: 35130488 PMCID: PMC8991334 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.21-0966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite commendable progress in control of malaria in India and other countries, there are hidden reservoirs of parasites in human hosts that continually feed malaria transmission. Submicroscopic infections are a significant proportion in low-endemic settings like India, and these infections possess transmission potential. Hence, these reservoirs of infection add to the existing roadblocks for malaria elimination. It is crucial that this submerged burden of malaria is detected and treated to curtail further transmission. The currently used diagnostic tools, including the so-called "gold standard" microscopy, are incapable of detecting these submicroscopic infections and thus are suboptimal. It is an opportune time to usher in more sensitive molecular tools like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for routine diagnosis at all levels of healthcare as an additional diagnostic tool in routine settings. PCR assays have been developed into user-friendly formats for field diagnostics and are near-point-of-collection. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, these are being used rampantly across the country. The facilities created for COVID-19 diagnosis can easily be co-opted and harnessed for malaria diagnosis to augment surveillance by the inclusion of molecular techniques like PCR in the routine national malaria control program.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manju Rahi
- Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India
- AcSIR, New Delhi, India
| | - Rishu Sharma
- Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India
- AcSIR, New Delhi, India
| | - Poonam Saroha
- Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India
| | - Rini Chaturvedi
- International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India
| | - Praveen K. Bharti
- Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India
| | - Amit Sharma
- Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India
- International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India
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Eshag HA, Elnzer E, Nahied E, Talib M, Mussa A, Muhajir AEMA, Ibrahim IK, Sabo A, Elzaki SEG, Mohamed Z, Hajissa K. Molecular epidemiology of malaria parasite amongst patients in a displaced people's camp in Sudan. Trop Med Health 2020; 48:3. [PMID: 32015668 PMCID: PMC6988308 DOI: 10.1186/s41182-020-0192-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite the importance of epidemiological studies in the development of effective control strategies and provision of basic health services for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), data on the prevalence of malaria are limited. Thus, this study was conducted to estimate the molecular prevalence of malaria amongst the displaced population in Ardamata IDP camp in Al-Geneina City, Sudan. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2018 to December 2018 to estimate malaria prevalence amongst the displaced population in Ardamata IDP camp in Al-Geneina City, Sudan. A total of 380 patients with suspected malaria were recruited. Nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) assays were performed to detect the Plasmodium genus and species. RESULTS Of 380 patients, 232 (61.1%) were positive for malaria. Plasmodium falciparum was the only prevalent species detected amongst the study population. nPCR analysis revealed that none of the samples had Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale or Plasmodium malariae. The malaria prevalence rate was higher amongst males (67.1%) than in females (56.8%), and gender was the only risk factor that was significantly associated with malaria infection (p = .042). CONCLUSIONS Despite control programmes, malaria remains a significant cause of illness amongst a displaced population. The high prevalence of malaria infection in this study indicates that additional health facilities and control strategies should be implemented in displaced camps and the surrounding areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamza Adam Eshag
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Omdurman Islamic University, B.O.Box 382, Omdurman, Sudan
| | - Elfadel Elnzer
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Omdurman Islamic University, B.O.Box 382, Omdurman, Sudan
| | - Elkhatieb Nahied
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Omdurman Islamic University, B.O.Box 382, Omdurman, Sudan
| | - Mustafa Talib
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Omdurman Islamic University, B.O.Box 382, Omdurman, Sudan
| | - Ali Mussa
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Omdurman Islamic University, B.O.Box 382, Omdurman, Sudan
| | - Abd Elhafiz M. A. Muhajir
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Omdurman Islamic University, B.O.Box 382, Omdurman, Sudan
| | - Ibrahim Khider Ibrahim
- Department of Haematology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Al Neelain University, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Abdulwali Sabo
- Unit of Biostatistics and Research Methodology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan Malaysia
| | - Salah-Eldin Gumma Elzaki
- Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, National Center for Research, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Zeehaida Mohamed
- Department of Medical Microbiology & Parasitology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan Malaysia
| | - Khalid Hajissa
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Omdurman Islamic University, B.O.Box 382, Omdurman, Sudan
- Department of Medical Microbiology & Parasitology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan Malaysia
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Mbouamboua Y, Koukouikila-Koussounda F, Ntoumi F, Adukpo S, Kombo M, Vouvoungui C, van Helden J, Kobawila SC. Sub-microscopic Plasmodium falciparum infections in matched peripheral, placental and umbilical cord blood samples from asymptomatic Congolese women at delivery. Acta Trop 2019; 193:142-147. [PMID: 30836060 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Revised: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In malaria-endemic areas, most pregnant women are susceptible to asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infections. We present here the results of a cross-sectional study conducted in Madibou, a southern district of Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo, between March 2014 and April 2015. The main aim was to characterize P. falciparum infections. Blood samples corresponding to peripheral, placental and cord from 370 asymptomatic malaria women at delivery were diagnosed for plasmodium infection by thick blood smears (microscopic infection). Sub-microscopic infection was detected by PCR, using the MSP-2 gene as marker. Microscopic infections were detected in peripheral, placental and cord blood samples with a prevalence of respectively 7.3% (27/370), 2.7% (10/370) and 0%. The negative samples were submitted to sub-microscopic detection, with respective prevalence of 25.4% (87/343), 16.7% (60/360) and 9.4% (35/370) (P < 0.001). We further investigated the genetic diversity of the parasite by characterizing MSP2 allelic families 3D7 (24 distinct alleles) and FC27 (20 distinct alleles). The total number of alleles for these two families were 31, 25 and 19 in peripheral, placental and cord samples respectively. The 3D7 MSP-2 was the predominant allelic family. The multiplicity of infections (MOI) in peripheral (mean 1.4 ± 0.01; range 1-4), placental (mean 1.2 ± 0.01; range 1-3) and cord samples (1.4 ± 0.01; range 1-3) were similar (P = 0.9) and are unaffected by age, gravidity or sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. These results shown a high prevalence of sub-microscopic infection and a high genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum strains in Congo. Age, gravidity and doses of preventive treatment based on sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine do not interfere with the multiplicity of infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvon Mbouamboua
- Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale, Brazzaville, Congo; Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville, Congo.
| | - Félix Koukouikila-Koussounda
- Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale, Brazzaville, Congo; Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville, Congo.
| | - Francine Ntoumi
- Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale, Brazzaville, Congo; Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville, Congo; Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Selorme Adukpo
- Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Immunology Department, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
| | - Michael Kombo
- Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale, Brazzaville, Congo.
| | - Christevy Vouvoungui
- Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale, Brazzaville, Congo; Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville, Congo.
| | - Jacques van Helden
- Aix-Marseille Univ, INSERM UMR_S 1090, Theory and Approaches of Genome Complexity (TAGC), F-13288 Marseille, France.
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