Abstract
Malaria is a parasitic disease defined as a major problem of public health in Cote d'Ivoire. One of the constraints of the control of this disease might be the genetic diversity of the main pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum. This study aims to evaluate the genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in individuals at the regional health center in Daloa, Cote d’Ivoire. A total of 380 blood samples were collected from patients, from June to October, 2015, based on malaria clinical signs and symptoms. Whole DNA was extracted from blood samples tested positive by microscopic examination for P. falciparum. A nested PCR targeting the msp-1(block 2) allelic families was implemented for the parasite genetic diversity. The associations between malaria infection and socio-environment factors were estimated. Out of the 380 examined patients, 262 were tested positive by microscopic examination representing a prevalence of 68.95%. Genotyping from 160 sample randomly chosen allowed to identify 35 alleles comprising 13 K1, 12 Mad 20 and 10 Ro33 type. Mixed infections were significantly correlated with the parasite load. The number of parasite strains hosted by a patient was significantly linked to the level of anemia and the parasite density. The multiplicity of the infection (MOI) decreased significantly with the age. Genetic variability of strains is a very important parameter to be taken into account in the epidemiology of malaria. The present results should draw the attention of decision-makers to develop a better monitoring strategy for the elimination of malaria in an endemic country such as Cote d'Ivoire. Key words: Plasmodium falciparum, malaria, infection rate, genetic diversity, Cote d’Ivoire.
Highlights
Malaria, a disease caused mainly by Plasmodium falciparum, is a major public health concern in subSaharan Africa (Menard et al, 2013)
This study aims to fill this gap by assessing the impact of malaria infection and the genetic diversity of P. falciparum based on the msp-1 gene polymorphism in patients attending the regional health center in Daloa
Malaria was found to be associated with various factors: the level of education, use of insecticide, mosquito nets, the immediate environment of dwellings and patient age were significantly correlated with parasite infection (p < 0. 05) (Table 1)
Summary
A disease caused mainly by Plasmodium falciparum, is a major public health concern in subSaharan Africa (Menard et al, 2013). In Côte d'Ivoire, a country located in subequatorial area, malaria circulates into continuous mode with seasonal peaks. It is the leading cause of morbidity with an incidence of 105 per 1000 in the general population (Yavo et al, 2019) and the first cause of consultation in hospitals. The professional work absence and losses of agricultural revenue due to malaria are enormous (Silue et al, 2006) Faced with this alarming situation, the Ivorian government created a malaria national control program leading to several activities in favor of the fight against the disease (Kimou, 2010). Despite all these efforts, which helped to reduce around 47% of disease burden and mortality due to P. falciparum between 2000 and 2013 (WHO, 2014), much remains to be done and parasite resistance to drugs remains a critical issue for sustainable control or elimination of the disease because of the parasite antigenic diversity in response to the drug pressure (Khaminsou et al, 2011)
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