Detection of persistent Plasmodium spp. infections in Ugandan children after artemether-lumefantrine treatment

Betson, Martha, Sousa-Figueiredo, José C., Atuhaire, Aaron, Arinaitwe, Moses, Adriko, Moses, Mwesigwa, Gerald, Nabonge, Juma, Kabatereine, Narcis B., Sutherland, Colin J. and Stothard, Russell ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9370-3420 (2014) 'Detection of persistent Plasmodium spp. infections in Ugandan children after artemether-lumefantrine treatment'. Parasitology, Vol 141, Issue 14, pp. 1880-1890.

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Abstract

SUMMARY: During a longitudinal study investigating the dynamics of malaria in Ugandan lakeshore communities, a consistently high malaria prevalence was observed in young children despite regular treatment. To explore the short-term performance of artemether-lumefantrine (AL), a pilot investigation into parasite carriage after treatment(s) was conducted in Bukoba village. A total of 163 children (aged 2–7 years) with a positive blood film and rapid antigen test were treated with AL; only 8·7% of these had elevated axillary temperatures. On day 7 and then on day 17, 40 children (26·3%) and 33 (22·3%) were positive by microscopy, respectively. Real-time PCR analysis demonstrated that multi-species Plasmodium infections were common at baseline, with 41·1% of children positive for Plasmodium falciparum/Plasmodium malariae, 9·2% for P. falciparum/ Plasmodium ovale spp. and 8·0% for all three species. Moreover, on day 17, 39·9% of children infected with falciparum malaria at baseline were again positive for the same species, and 9·2% of those infected with P. malariae at baseline were positive for P. malariae. Here, chronic multi-species malaria infections persisted in children after AL treatment(s). Better point-of-care diagnostics for non-falciparum infections are needed, as well as further investigation of AL performance in asymptomatic individuals.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Special Issue - Symposia of the British Society for Parasitology Volume 52 Advances in diagnostics for parasitic diseases.
Subjects:	QX Parasitology > Protozoa > QX 135 Plasmodia WA Public Health > Health Problems of Special Population Groups > WA 395 Health in developing countries WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 750 Malaria WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 770 Therapy WS Pediatrics > Diseases of Children and Adolescents > By System > WS 300 Hemic and lymphatic system
Faculty: Department:	Biological Sciences > Department of Tropical Disease Biology
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1017/S003118201400033X
Depositing User:	Martin Chapman
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2014 11:26
Last Modified:	02 Dec 2019 12:52
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/3756

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