AI Article Synopsis

  • The study examined the prevalence and diversity of Plasmodium falciparum genotypes in symptomatic children in Togo's maritime region, involving 309 individuals from malaria-endemic areas.
  • Results showed a high number of positive genotypes for merozoite surface proteins (msp) 1, 2, and 3, with multiple alleles found for each; however, there was no correlation between specific genotypes and the severity of malaria.
  • The findings suggest that malaria severity isn't linked to higher levels of genotypic diversity and recommend further research into other factors like immunity and nutrition to better understand the disease's impact.

Article Abstract

Objective: To assess the genotype prevalence and the multiplicity of Plasmodium falciparum infections in the maritime region of Togo.

Methods: We enrolled 309 symptomatic individuals aged from 6 months to 15 years from Bè/Lomé and Tsévié, two malaria endemic zones. The number and the proportions of merozoite surface proteins 1, 2 and 3 genotypes in patients were determined using capillary electrophoresis genotyping. We further investigated the possible association between transaminases and homocysteine, and the severity of the disease.

Results: Of the 309 samples genotyped, 210 tested positive to msp-1, 227 to msp-2 and 193 to msp-3. The nested PCR revealed 22 different alleles for the allelic family msp-1, 33 for msp-2 and 13 for msp-3. At each locus, the family distribution was 54.58% of K1, 25% of MAD20 and 20.42% of RO33 for msp-1, and 51.71% and 48.29% of FC27 and 3D7, respectively, for msp-2. For all these allelic variants, the distribution was associated with neither the severity of malaria nor the zone of habitation. Pearson correlation coefficients between either the levels of homocysteine or the transaminase and the severity of the disease were very low.

Conclusion: The severity of malaria was not associated with higher multiplicity of infections and did not appear restricted to particular genotypes. More comprehensive explorations including immunity, genetic factors, nutritional and sociologic status of the population could clarify the situation.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2011.02913.xDOI Listing

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