AI Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum to various antimalarial drugs in western Colombia, focusing on drug resistance patterns in multiple municipalities.
- Antimalarial drugs chloroquine, amodiaquine, mefloquine, quinine, and artesunate were tested on P. falciparum isolates from patients, revealing high resistance rates, particularly to chloroquine and mefloquine.
- Findings indicate that while 96% of isolates are sensitive to artesunate, the presence of resistant strains suggests that the overuse of these drugs could jeopardize their future effectiveness in treating malaria.
Article Abstract
Introduction: The in vitro assays for susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum to antimalarial drugs are important tools for monitoring drug resistance, however few such studies have been undertaken in Colombia.
Objective: P. falciparum isolates were obtained from several municipalities in western Colombia (Urabá, Bajo Cauca, Pacific Coast) and characterized for their in vivo susceptibility to chloroquine (CQ), amodiaquine (AQ), mefloquine (MQ), quinine (QN) and artesunate (AS).
Material And Methods: Patients with only P. falciparum infection (parasitemia=1,000 rings/microl) were included. Each antimalaria drug was tested with 7 dilutions, two-fold doses, with 2 replications and its effect evaluated using the histidine-rich protein (HRP-2) antigen detection method. Controls included FCB2 (chloroquine-resistant) and NF54 (chloroquine-sensitive) strains. IC50>100, 80, 64, 500 and 10.5 nM were used as the threshold criteria of resistance to CQ, AQ, MQ, QN and AS, respectively. Results. Twenty-five isolates were evaluated from Urabá (18), Bajo Cauca (2) and the Pacific Coast (5). The mean IC50 obtained with CQ, AQ, MQ, QN and AS were 422.9; 131.4; 56.3; 269.7 and 1.9 nM, respectively, and the number of resistant isolates for these drugs was 19 (76%), 4 (16%), 8 (32%), 6 (24%) and 1 (4%), respectively.
Conclusions: The low sensitivity to CQ found here agrees with both in vitro and in vivo studies in Colombia. Ninety-six percent of the isolates were sensitive to AS. However, this study and previous reports have found isolates with low sensitivity to artemisinines (IC50>10.5 nM). This suggests that the indiscriminate use of these drugs put their efficacy at risk and eventually leave no options for falciparum malaria treatment.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Naturally acquired IgG responses to do not target the conserved termini of the malaria vaccine candidate Merozoite Surface Protein 2.
Front Immunol
December 2024
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine Solna and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Introduction: Malaria remains a significant burden, and a fully protective vaccine against is critical for reducing morbidity and mortality. Antibody responses against the blood-stage antigen Merozoite Surface Protein 2 (MSP2) are associated with protection from malaria, but its extensive polymorphism is a barrier to its development as a vaccine candidate. New tools, such as long-read sequencing and accurate protein structure modelling allow us to study the genetic diversity and immune responses towards antigens from clinical isolates with unprecedented detail.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPyrexia of Foreign Origin: Exploring the Impact of Travel History.
Cureus
November 2024
Internal Medicine, Portsmouth Hospitals University, Portsmouth, GBR.
Malaria remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in endemic regions of Africa, with being the most virulent species. This case report details the presentation of a 24-year-old Caucasian woman who collapsed at a train station in the United Kingdom after experiencing a week of fever, malaise, abdominal pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms. At emergency care, she was initially resuscitated with intravenous fluids and antipyretics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalaria burden and associated risk factors among malaria suspected patients attending health facilities in Kaffa zone, Southwest Ethiopia.
Malar J
December 2024
College of Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Background: Ethiopia has been progressing very well in controlling malaria in the past few years. However, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, an unpredictable malaria resurgence was observed in almost all malaria-endemic areas of the country, although the exact cause of which has not yet been identified. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate malaria burden and associated risk factors in one of the endemic zones of Ethiopia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutomated total nucleic acid extraction with magnetic beads for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum in large study cohorts.
Malar J
December 2024
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Background: Molecular methods play an important role in clinical trials assessing anti-malarial drugs and vaccines, as well as in epidemiological studies aimed at detecting Plasmodium species, especially when dealing with large sample sizes. Molecular techniques are more sensitive and generally have a higher throughput compared to the gold standard microscopy. Further optimization can be achieved with automation of nucleic acid isolation, allowing for rapid and precise extraction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMachine learning methods for predicting essential metabolic genes from Plasmodium falciparum genome-scale metabolic network.
PLoS One
December 2024
Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Essential genes are those whose presence is vital for a cell's survival and growth. Detecting these genes in disease-causing organisms is critical for various biological studies, including understanding microbe metabolism, engineering genetically modified microorganisms, and identifying targets for treatment. When essential genes are expressed, they give rise to essential proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!