Background: In Thailand, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been used to treat uncomplicated falciparum malaria since 1995. Unfortunately, artemisinin resistance has been reported from Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries since 2003. Malarone, a combination of atovaquone-proguanil (ATQ-PG), has been used to cease artemisinin pressure in some areas along Thai-Cambodia border, as part of an artemisinin resistance containment project since 2009. This study aimed to determine genotypes and phenotypes of Plasmodium falciparum isolates collected from the Thai-Cambodia border after the artemisinin resistance containment project compared with those collected before.
Results: One hundred and nine of P. falciparum isolates collected from Thai-Cambodia border from Chanthaburi and Trat provinces during 1988-2016 were used in this study. Of these, 58 isolates were collected after the containment. These parasite isolates were characterized for in vitro antimalarial sensitivities including chloroquine (CQ), quinine (QN), mefloquine (MQ), piperaquine (PPQ), artesunate (AS), dihydroartemisinin (DHA), ATQ and PG and genetic markers for drug resistance including the Kelch13 (k13), Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (pfcrt), P. falciparum multidrug resistance 1 (pfmdr1) and cytochrome b (cytb) genes. Mean CQ, QN, MQ, PPQ and AS ICs of the parasite isolates collected from 2009 to 2016 exhibited significantly higher than those of parasites collected before 2009. Approximately 57% exhibited in vitro MQ resistance. Approximately 94% of the isolates collected from 2009 to 2016 contained the pfmdr1 184F allele. Mutations of the k13 gene were detected in approximately 90% of the parasites collected from 2009 to 2016 which were significantly higher than the parasite isolates collected before. No ATQ-resistant genotype and phenotype of P. falciparum were found among the isolates collected after the containment project.
Conclusions: Although the containment project had been implemented in this area, the expansion of artemisinin-resistant parasites did not decline. In addition, reduced sensitivity of the partner drugs of ACT including MQ and PPQ were identified.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5952644 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2347-9 | DOI Listing |
Influenza Other Respir Viruses
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
Background: Nonpharmaceutical interventions for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, during the pandemic altered the epidemiology of respiratory viruses. This study aimed to determine the changes in respiratory viruses among children hospitalized from 2018 to 2023.
Methods: Nasopharyngeal specimens were collected from children aged under 15 years with fever and/or respiratory symptoms admitted to a medical institution in Fukushima Prefecture between January 2018 and December 2023.
Influenza Other Respir Viruses
January 2025
Virology and Pathogenesis, Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), SERGAS-UVIGO, Vigo, Spain.
Background: The global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in millions of people experiencing long COVID condition, a range of persistent symptoms following the acute phase, with an estimated prevalence of 27%-64%.
Materials And Methods: To understand its pathophysiology, we conducted a longitudinal study on viral load and cytokine dynamics in individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. We used reverse transcriptase droplet digital PCR to quantify viral RNA from nasopharyngeal swabs and employed multiplex technology to measure plasma cytokine levels in a cohort of people with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Parasit Vectors
January 2025
Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7, 14163, Berlin, Germany.
Background: Faecal egg counts (FECs) are essential for diagnosing helminth infections and guiding treatment decisions. For camels, no evaluations of coproscopic methods regarding precision, sensitivity and correlation between individual and pooled faecal samples are currently available.
Methods: Here, 410 camel faecal samples were collected in 2022 from South Darfur State, Sudan, and analysed to compare the semi-quantitative flotation, McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC methods in terms of precision, sensitivity, inter-rater reliability and helminth egg count correlations, as well as the effects of pooling samples.
BMC Oral Health
January 2025
Clinical Genetics Lab, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Research, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, 162, Poonamallee High Road, Velappanchavadi, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600077, India.
Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most prevalent oral cancers in the world. The major etiological factors are considered to be tobacco and alcohol. However, the etiological factors for non-habit associated oral squamous cell carcinoma (NHOSCC) remains an enigma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Genomics
January 2025
Integrative Genomics of Ageing Group, Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L7 8TX, UK.
Age-related muscle wasting, sarcopenia is an extensive loss of muscle mass and strength with age and a major cause of disability and accidents in the elderly. Mechanisms purported to be involved in muscle ageing and sarcopenia are numerous but poorly understood, necessitating deeper study. Hence, we employed high-throughput RNA sequencing to survey the global changes in protein-coding gene expression occurring in skeletal muscle with age.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!