The role of asymptomatic P. falciparum parasitaemia in the evolution of antimalarial drug resistance in areas of seasonal transmission

Babiker, Hamza A., Gadalla, Amal A.H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3131-725X and Ranford-Cartwright, Lisa C. 2013. The role of asymptomatic P. falciparum parasitaemia in the evolution of antimalarial drug resistance in areas of seasonal transmission. Drug Resistance Updates 16 (1-2) , pp. 1-9. 10.1016/j.drup.2013.02.001

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Abstract

In areas with seasonal transmission, proper management of acute malaria cases that arise in the transmission season can markedly reduce the disease burden. However, asymptomatic carriage of Plasmodium falciparum sustains a long-lasting reservoir in the transmission-free dry season that seeds cyclical malaria outbreaks. Clinical trials targeting asymptomatic parasitaemia in the dry season failed to interrupt the malaria epidemics that follow annual rains. These asymptomatic infections tend to carry multiple-clones, capable of producing gametocytes and infecting Anopheles mosquitoes. Different clones within an infection fluctuate consistently, indicative of interaction between clones during the long course of asymptomatic carriage. However, the therapy-free environment that prevails in the dry season dis-advantages the drug resistant lineages and favors the wild-type parasites. This review highlights some biological and epidemiological characteristics of asymptomatic parasitaemia and calls for consideration of polices to diminish parasite exposure to drugs “therapy-free” and allow natural selection to curb drug resistance in the above setting.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	1368-7646
Date of Acceptance:	11 February 2013
Last Modified:	09 Nov 2022 09:55
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/137631

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