LAUSR.org creates dashboard-style pages of related content for over 1.5 million academic articles. Sign Up to like articles & get recommendations!

Molecular detection of drug resistant malaria in Southern Thailand

Photo from wikipedia

BackgroundDrug resistance within the major malaria parasites Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum threatens malaria control and elimination in Southeast Asia. Plasmodium vivax first-line treatment drug is chloroquine together with primaquine,… Click to show full abstract

BackgroundDrug resistance within the major malaria parasites Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum threatens malaria control and elimination in Southeast Asia. Plasmodium vivax first-line treatment drug is chloroquine together with primaquine, and the first-line treatment for P. falciparum malaria is artemisinin in combination with a partner drug. Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum parasites resistant to their respective first-line therapies are now found within Southeast Asia. The resistance perimeters may include high transmission regions of Southern Thailand which are underrepresented in surveillance efforts.MethodsThis study investigated blood samples from malaria centres in Southern Thailand. Genetic loci associated with drug resistance were amplified and sequenced. Drug resistance associated genes Pvmdr1, Pvcrt-o, Pvdhfr, and Pvdhps were characterized for 145 cases of P. vivax malaria, as well as the artemisinin resistance-associated Pfkelch13 gene from 91 cases of P. falciparum malaria.ResultsPlasmodium vivax samples from Southern Thai provinces showed numerous chloroquine and antifolate resistance-associated mutations, including SNP and Pvcrt-oK10-insertion combinations suggestive of chloroquine resistant P. vivax phenotypes. A high proportion of the C580Y coding mutation (conferring artemisinin resistance) was detected in P. falciparum samples originating from Ranong and Yala (where the mutation was previously unreported).ConclusionsThe results demonstrate a risk of chloroquine and antifolate resistant P. vivax phenotypes in Southern Thailand, and artemisinin resistant P. falciparum observed as far south as the Thai–Malaysian border region. Ongoing surveillance of antimalarial drug resistance markers is called for in Southern Thailand to inform case management.

Keywords: falciparum; drug; vivax; resistance; chloroquine; southern thailand

Journal Title: Malaria Journal
Year Published: 2019

Link to full text (if available)


Share on Social Media:                               Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!

Related content

More Information              News              Social Media              Video              Recommended



                Click one of the above tabs to view related content.