Eugenia Lo1, Gianluca Russo2, Kareen Pestana3, Daniel Kepple3, Beka Raya Abagero4, Ghyslaine Bruna Djeunang Dongho5, Karthigayan Gunalan6, Louis H Miller6, Muzamil Mahdi Abdel Hamid7, Delenasaw Yewhalaw4, Giacomo Maria Paganotti8. 1. Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA. Electronic address: eugenia.lo@uncc.edu. 2. Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: gianluca.russo@uniroma1.it. 3. Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA. 4. Tropical Infectious Disease Research Center, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia. 5. Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy; Evangelical University of Cameroon, Bandjoun, Cameroon. 6. Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID/NIH, Bethesda, USA. 7. Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan. 8. Botswana-University of Pennsylvania Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana; Division of Infectious Diseases, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Plasmodium vivax malaria was thought to be rare in Africans who lack the Duffy blood group antigen expression. However, recent studies indicate that P. vivax can infect Duffy-negative individuals and has spread into areas of high Duffy negativity across Africa. Our study compared epidemiological and genetic features of P. vivax between African regions. METHODS: A standardized approach was used to identify and quantify P. vivax from Botswana, Ethiopia, and Sudan, where Duffy-positive and Duffy-negative individuals coexist. The study involved sequencing the Duffy binding protein (DBP) gene and inferring genetic relationships among P. vivax populations across Africa. RESULTS: Among 1215 febrile patients, the proportions of Duffy negativity ranged from 20-36% in East Africa to 84% in southern Africa. Average P. vivax prevalence among Duffy-negative populations ranged from 9.2% in Sudan to 86% in Botswana. Parasite density in Duffy-negative infections was significantly lower than in Duffy-positive infections. P. vivax in Duffy-negative populations were not monophyletic, with P. vivax in Duffy-negative and Duffy-positive populations sharing similar DBP haplotypes and occurring in multiple, well-supported clades. CONCLUSIONS: Duffy-negative Africans are not resistant to P. vivax, and the public health significance of this should not be neglected. Our study highlights the need for a standardized approach and more resources/training directed towards the diagnosis of vivax malaria in Africa.
OBJECTIVES: Plasmodium vivax malaria was thought to be rare in Africans who lack the Duffy blood group antigen expression. However, recent studies indicate that P. vivax can infect Duffy-negative individuals and has spread into areas of high Duffy negativity across Africa. Our study compared epidemiological and genetic features of P. vivax between African regions. METHODS: A standardized approach was used to identify and quantify P. vivax from Botswana, Ethiopia, and Sudan, where Duffy-positive and Duffy-negative individuals coexist. The study involved sequencing the Duffy binding protein (DBP) gene and inferring genetic relationships among P. vivax populations across Africa. RESULTS: Among 1215 febrile patients, the proportions of Duffy negativity ranged from 20-36% in East Africa to 84% in southern Africa. Average P. vivax prevalence among Duffy-negative populations ranged from 9.2% in Sudan to 86% in Botswana. Parasite density in Duffy-negative infections was significantly lower than in Duffy-positive infections. P. vivax in Duffy-negative populations were not monophyletic, with P. vivax in Duffy-negative and Duffy-positive populations sharing similar DBP haplotypes and occurring in multiple, well-supported clades. CONCLUSIONS: Duffy-negative Africans are not resistant to P. vivax, and the public health significance of this should not be neglected. Our study highlights the need for a standardized approach and more resources/training directed towards the diagnosis of vivax malaria in Africa.
Authors: Karthigayan Gunalan; Juliana M Sá; Roberto R Moraes Barros; Sarah L Anzick; Ramoncito L Caleon; J Patrick Mershon; Kishore Kanakabandi; Monica Paneru; Kimmo Virtaneva; Craig Martens; John W Barnwell; Jose M Ribeiro; Louis H Miller Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2019-03-14 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Karthigayan Gunalan; Eugenia Lo; Jessica B Hostetler; Delenasaw Yewhalaw; Jianbing Mu; Daniel E Neafsey; Guiyun Yan; Louis H Miller Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2016-05-17 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Musab M A Albsheer; Kareen Pestana; Safaa Ahmed; Mohammed Elfaki; Eiman Gamil; Salma M Ahmed; Muntaser E Ibrahim; Ahmed M Musa; Eugenia Lo; Muzamil M Abdel Hamid Journal: Genes (Basel) Date: 2019-06-08 Impact factor: 4.096