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Population dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum in an unstable malaria area of eastern Sudan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2000

H. A. BABIKER ,
A. A. ABDEL-MUHSIN ,
A. HAMAD ,
M. J. MACKINNON ,
W. G. HILL  and
D. WALLIKER
H. A. BABIKER
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, Scotland, UK Malaria Administration, Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Sudan
A. A. ABDEL-MUHSIN
Affiliation:
Tropical Medicine Research Institute, National Centre for Research, Khartoum, Sudan
A. HAMAD
Affiliation:
Malaria Administration, Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Sudan
M. J. MACKINNON
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, Scotland, UK
W. G. HILL
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, Scotland, UK
D. WALLIKER
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, Scotland, UK
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Abstract

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The Plasmodium falciparum population in Asar village, eastern Sudan, where malaria transmission is markedly seasonal, was monitored monthly over a period of 15 months. A cohort of infected patients was treated and then followed monthly throughout the dry season until the next transmission season. Parasitaemia detected by microscopy among the cohort reduced dramatically following treatment, but remained sporadic during the dry season, and reappeared following the onset of the next wet season. However between 40 and 50% of the cohort retained a persisting parasitaemia detectable by PCR throughout the dry season. These parasites were genetically complex, consisting of multiple clones with a large repertoire of alleles of the studied genes. While the number of clones per host dropped significantly following treatment of acute cases during the transmission season, drug treated people nevertheless maintained an average of one clone throughout the dry season. Allele frequencies of MSP-1, MSP-2 and GLURP showed slight, statistically insignificant, fluctuations between the dry and wet seasons. A higher frequency of inbreeding was estimated among the parasites that survived the dry season compared to the wet season.

Keywords

malariaPlasmodium falciparumdynamicsSudan
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 120 , Issue 2 , February 2000 , pp. 105 - 111
Copyright
2000 Cambridge University Press