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Sendor R, Banek K, Kashamuka MM, Mvuama N, Bala JA, Nkalani M, Kihuma G, Atibu J, Thwai KL, Svec WM, Goel V, Nseka T, Lin JT, Bailey JA, Emch M, Carrel M, Juliano JJ, Tshefu A, Parr JB. Epidemiology of Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale spp. in Kinshasa Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6618. [PMID: 37857597 PMCID: PMC10587068 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42190-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Reports suggest non-falciparum species are an underappreciated cause of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa but their epidemiology is ill-defined, particularly in highly malaria-endemic regions. We estimated incidence and prevalence of PCR-confirmed non-falciparum and Plasmodium falciparum malaria infections within a longitudinal study conducted in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 2015-2017. Children and adults were sampled at biannual household surveys and routine clinic visits. Among 9,089 samples from 1,565 participants, incidences of P. malariae, P. ovale spp., and P. falciparum infections by 1-year were 7.8% (95% CI: 6.4%-9.1%), 4.8% (95% CI: 3.7%-5.9%) and 57.5% (95% CI: 54.4%-60.5%), respectively. Non-falciparum prevalences were higher in school-age children, rural and peri-urban sites, and P. falciparum co-infections. P. falciparum remains the primary driver of malaria in the DRC, though non-falciparum species also pose an infection risk. As P. falciparum interventions gain traction in high-burden settings, continued surveillance and improved understanding of non-falciparum infections are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Sendor
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Kristin Banek
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Melchior M Kashamuka
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Nono Mvuama
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Joseph A Bala
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Marthe Nkalani
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Georges Kihuma
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Joseph Atibu
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Kyaw L Thwai
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - W Matthew Svec
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Varun Goel
- Department of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Tommy Nseka
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Jessica T Lin
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Bailey
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Michael Emch
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Margaret Carrel
- Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Jonathan J Juliano
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Antoinette Tshefu
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Jonathan B Parr
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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Sendor R, Banek K, Kashamuka MM, Mvuama N, Bala JA, Nkalani M, Kihuma G, Atibu J, Thwai KL, Svec WM, Goel V, Nseka T, Lin JT, Bailey JA, Emch M, Carrel M, Juliano JJ, Tshefu A, Parr JB. Epidemiology of Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale spp. in a highly malaria-endemic country: a longitudinal cohort study in Kinshasa Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.04.20.23288826. [PMID: 37790376 PMCID: PMC10543032 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.20.23288826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Background Increasing reports suggest that non-falciparum species are an underappreciated cause of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, but their epidemiology is not well-defined. This is particularly true in regions of high P. falciparum endemicity such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 12% of the world's malaria cases and 13% of deaths occur. Methods and Findings The cumulative incidence and prevalence of P. malariae and P. ovale spp. infection detected by real-time PCR were estimated among children and adults within a longitudinal study conducted in seven rural, peri-urban, and urban sites from 2015-2017 in Kinshasa Province, DRC. Participants were sampled at biannual household survey visits (asymptomatic) and during routine health facility visits (symptomatic). Participant-level characteristics associated with non-falciparum infections were estimated for single- and mixed-species infections. Among 9,089 samples collected from 1,565 participants over a 3-year period, the incidence of P. malariae and P. ovale spp. infection was 11% (95% CI: 9%-12%) and 7% (95% CI: 5%-8%) by one year, respectively, compared to a 67% (95% CI: 64%-70%) one-year cumulative incidence of P. falciparum infection. Incidence continued to rise in the second year of follow-up, reaching 26% and 15% in school-age children (5-14yo) for P. malariae and P. ovale spp., respectively. Prevalence of P. malariae, P. ovale spp., and P. falciparum infections during household visits were 3% (95% CI: 3%-4%), 1% (95% CI: 1%-2%), and 35% (95% CI: 33%-36%), respectively. Non-falciparum malaria was more prevalent in rural and peri-urban vs. urban sites, in school-age children, and among those with P. falciparum co-infection. A crude association was detected between P. malariae and any anemia in the symptomatic clinic population, although this association did not hold when stratified by anemia severity. No crude associations were detected between non-falciparum infection and fever prevalence. Conclusions P. falciparum remains the primary driver of malaria morbidity and mortality in the DRC. However, non-falciparum species also pose an infection risk across sites of varying urbanicity and malaria endemicity within Kinshasa, DRC, particularly among children under 15 years of age. As P. falciparum interventions gain traction in high-burden settings like the DRC, continued surveillance and improved understanding of non-falciparum infections are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Sendor
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Kristin Banek
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | | | - Nono Mvuama
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Joseph A. Bala
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Marthe Nkalani
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Georges Kihuma
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Joseph Atibu
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Kyaw L. Thwai
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - W. Matthew Svec
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Varun Goel
- Department of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Tommy Nseka
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Jessica T. Lin
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey A. Bailey
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Michael Emch
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Margaret Carrel
- Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Jonathan J. Juliano
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Antoinette Tshefu
- Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Jonathan B. Parr
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
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Awosolu OB, Yahaya ZS, Farah Haziqah MT, Olusi TA. Performance Evaluation of Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (Nested PCR), Light Microscopy, and Plasmodium falciparum Histidine-Rich Protein 2 Rapid Diagnostic Test (PfHRP2 RDT) in the Detection of Falciparum Malaria in a High-Transmission Setting in Southwestern Nigeria. Pathogens 2022; 11:1312. [PMID: 36365063 PMCID: PMC9694681 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11111312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Malaria remains a major public health challenge worldwide. In order to ensure a prompt and accurate malaria diagnosis, the World Health Organization recommended the confirmatory parasitological diagnosis of malaria by microscopy and malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) prior to antimalarial administration and treatment. This study was designed to evaluate the performance of nested polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR), light microscopy, and Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 rapid diagnostic test (PfHRP2 RDT) in the detection of falciparum malaria in Akure, Nigeria. A cross-sectional and hospital-based study involving 601 febrile volunteer participants was conducted in Akure, Nigeria. Approximately 2-3 mL venous blood samples were obtained from each study participant for parasitological confirmation by microscopy and PfHRP2-based malaria RDT. Thick and thin films were prepared and viewed under the light microscope for parasite detection, parasite density quantification, and species identification, respectively. Dry blood spot samples were prepared on 3MM Whatman filter paper for nested PCR. The overall prevalence of microscopy, PfHRP2 RDT, and nested PCR were 64.89% (390/601), 65.7% (395/601), and 67.39% (405/601), respectively. The estimates of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy, and Youden's j index of microscopy and RDT were 96.30, 100.00, 100.00, 92.89, 97.50, 0.963, and 95.06, 94.90, 97.47, 90.29, 95.01, and 0.899, respectively. Malaria RDT recorded higher false negativity, compared microscopy (4.94% vs. 3.70%). A near perfect agreement was reported between microscopy and nested PCR, and between PfHRP2 RDT and nested PCR with Cohen's kappa (k) values of 0.94 and 0.88, respectively. This study revealed that PfHRP2 RDT and microscopy continues to remain sensitive and specific for falciparum malaria diagnosis in the study area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oluwaseun Bunmi Awosolu
- School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia
- Vector Control Research Unit, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang 11800, Malaysia
- Department of Biology, Federal University of Technology, Akure 340252, Nigeria
| | - Zary Shariman Yahaya
- School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia
- Vector Control Research Unit, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang 11800, Malaysia
| | | | - Titus Adeniyi Olusi
- Vector Control Research Unit, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang 11800, Malaysia
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Fuehrer HP, Campino S, Sutherland CJ. The primate malaria parasites Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium brasilianum and Plasmodium ovale spp.: genomic insights into distribution, dispersal and host transitions. Malar J 2022; 21:138. [PMID: 35505317 PMCID: PMC9066925 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-022-04151-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
During the twentieth century, there was an explosion in understanding of the malaria parasites infecting humans and wild primates. This was built on three main data sources: from detailed descriptive morphology, from observational histories of induced infections in captive primates, syphilis patients, prison inmates and volunteers, and from clinical and epidemiological studies in the field. All three were wholly dependent on parasitological information from blood-film microscopy, and The Primate Malarias” by Coatney and colleagues (1971) provides an overview of this knowledge available at that time. Here, 50 years on, a perspective from the third decade of the twenty-first century is presented on two pairs of primate malaria parasite species. Included is a near-exhaustive summary of the recent and current geographical distribution for each of these four species, and of the underlying molecular and genomic evidence for each. The important role of host transitions in the radiation of Plasmodium spp. is discussed, as are any implications for the desired elimination of all malaria species in human populations. Two important questions are posed, requiring further work on these often ignored taxa. Is Plasmodium brasilianum, circulating among wild simian hosts in the Americas, a distinct species from Plasmodium malariae? Can new insights into the genomic differences between Plasmodium ovale curtisi and Plasmodium ovale wallikeri be linked to any important differences in parasite morphology, cell biology or clinical and epidemiological features?
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans-Peter Fuehrer
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria
| | - Susana Campino
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Colin J Sutherland
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
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