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Ansah F, Nyame K, Laryea R, Owusu R, Amon D, Boyetey MJB, Ayeke D, Razak N, Kornu VE, Ashitei S, Owusu-Appiah C, Chirawurah JD, Abugri J, Aniweh Y, Opoku N, Sutherland CJ, Binka FN, Kweku M, Awandare GA, Dinko B. The temporal dynamics of Plasmodium species infection after artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) among asymptomatic children in the Hohoe municipality, Ghana. Malar J 2023; 22:271. [PMID: 37710288 PMCID: PMC10500816 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-023-04712-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The routine surveillance of asymptomatic malaria using nucleic acid-based amplification tests is essential in obtaining reliable data that would inform malaria policy formulation and the implementation of appropriate control measures. METHODS In this study, the prevalence rate and the dynamics of Plasmodium species among asymptomatic children (n = 1697) under 5 years from 30 communities within the Hohoe municipality in Ghana were determined. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The observed prevalence of Plasmodium parasite infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was 33.6% (571/1697), which was significantly higher compared to that obtained by microscopy [26.6% (451/1697)] (P < 0.0001). Based on species-specific analysis by nested PCR, Plasmodium falciparum infection [33.6% (570/1697)] was dominant, with Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium vivax infections accounting for 0.1% (1/1697), 0.0% (0/1697), and 0.0% (0/1697), respectively. The prevalence of P. falciparum infection among the 30 communities ranged from 0.0 to 82.5%. Following artesunate-amodiaquine (AS + AQ, 25 mg/kg) treatment of a sub-population of the participants (n = 184), there was a substantial reduction in Plasmodium parasite prevalence by 100% and 79.2% on day 7 based on microscopy and nested PCR analysis, respectively. However, there was an increase in parasite prevalence from day 14 to day 42, with a subsequent decline on day 70 by both microscopy and nested PCR. For parasite clearance rate analysis, we found a significant proportion of the participants harbouring residual Plasmodium parasites or parasite genomic DNA on day 1 [65.0% (13/20)], day 2 [65.0% (13/20)] and day 3 [60.0% (12/20)] after initiating treatment. Of note, gametocyte carriage among participants was low before and after treatment. CONCLUSION Taken together, the results indicate that a significant number of individuals could harbour residual Plasmodium parasites or parasite genomic DNA after treatment. The study demonstrates the importance of routine surveillance of asymptomatic malaria using sensitive nucleic acid-based amplification techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Ansah
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Kwamina Nyame
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Rukaya Laryea
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Fred Newton Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana
| | - Richard Owusu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Fred Newton Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana
| | - Denick Amon
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Mark-Jefferson Buer Boyetey
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Dzidzor Ayeke
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Nasibatu Razak
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Victor E Kornu
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Sarah Ashitei
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Caleb Owusu-Appiah
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Jersley D Chirawurah
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - James Abugri
- Department of Biochemistry and Forensic Sciences, School of Chemical and Biochemical Sciences, C. K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Navrongo, Ghana
| | - Yaw Aniweh
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Nicholas Opoku
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Fred Newton Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana
| | - Colin J Sutherland
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Fred N Binka
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Fred Newton Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana
| | - Margaret Kweku
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Fred Newton Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana
| | - Gordon A Awandare
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Bismarck Dinko
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, School of Medicine and Dentistry College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana.
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