Abstract
BackgroundThe Republic of Korea (South Korea) is one of the countries where vivax malaria had been successfully eradicated by the late 1970s. However, re-emergence of vivax malaria in South Korea was reported in 1993. Several epidemiological studies and some genetic studies using antigenic molecules of Plasmodium vivax in the country have been reported, but the evolutionary history of P. vivax has not been fully understood. In this study, the origin of the South Korean P. vivax population was estimated by molecular phylogeographic analysis.MethodsA haplotype network analysis based on P. vivax mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences was conducted on 11 P. vivax isolates from South Korea and another 282 P. vivax isolates collected worldwide.ResultsThe network analysis of P. vivax mtDNA sequences showed that the coexistence of two different groups (A and B) in South Korea. Groups A and B were identical or close to two different populations in southern China.ConclusionsAlthough the direct introduction of the two P. vivax populations in South Korea were thought to have been from North Korea, the results of this analysis suggest the genealogical origin to be the two different populations in southern China.
Highlights
The Republic of Korea (South Korea) is one of the countries where vivax malaria had been successfully eradicated by the late 1970s
Sample collection Ten blood samples were collected from vivax malaria patients who were South Korean soldiers that served in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in 1999
A haplotype network was inferred by the 282 mtDNA sequences of P. vivax populations that had been collected worldwide, together with the 11 South Korean isolates (Figure 1)
Summary
Malaria is distributed in tropical and subtropical areas and in some temperate areas of the world. Plasmodium falciparum, which is distributed in tropical and subtropical areas, accounts for 90% of malaria cases. In 1993, the first case of indigenous vivax malaria after the eradication program was reported from the border area between North and South Korea in the western Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) [5]. In order to estimate geographical origin of the P. vivax population in the Korean peninsula, phylogeographic analysis of the P. vivax population in South Korea and the other populations worldwide (including a North Korean isolate) was conducted. Sample collection Ten blood samples were collected from vivax malaria patients who were South Korean soldiers that served in the DMZ in 1999. DNA alignment of the whole mtDNA sequences of the P. vivax isolates was performed by the DNA Alignment version 1.3.0.1 computer software (Fluxus Technology Ltd.) [22]. A haplotype network was constructed based on polymorphic sites of the whole mtDNA sequences of the isolates using the Median-Joining method in the NETWORK version 4.5.1.6 computer software (Fluxus Technology Ltd.) [23]
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