1. Assessing the burden of submicroscopic Plasmodium infections in a pre-elimination malaria setting in sub-Saharan Africa, Guinea-Bissau
- Author
-
Ronise Silva, Luis Filipe Lopes, Amabelia Rodrigues, Ana Paula Arez, and Márcia M. Medeiros
- Subjects
Plasmodium 18S rRNA genes ,Nested polymerase chain reaction ,Submicroscopic Plasmodium infections ,Mixed Plasmodium infections ,Asymptomatic malaria ,Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine ,RC955-962 ,Infectious and parasitic diseases ,RC109-216 - Abstract
Abstract Background Submicroscopic Plasmodium infections can be a source of persistent malaria transmission. The aim of this study was to assess their frequency, distribution, morbidity and associated factors in a pre-elimination malaria setting in sub-Saharan Africa, Guinea-Bissau, where the Plasmodium falciparum is the predominant Plasmodium species. Methods Dried fingerprick whole blood samples from 601 participants in the 2017 national, household-based, cross-sectional survey to estimate malaria prevalence were subjected to DNA extraction. The DNA was used in nested end-point PCR assays targeting genus- and species-specific regions of the Plasmodium 18S rRNA genes. Statistical analysis of socio-demographic, clinical and molecular data was carried out using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 29. Factors associated with submicroscopic P. falciparum infections and their magnitude were sought using Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression models, respectively. Statistically significant level was considered at P-value
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF