Abstract
BackgroundVivax malaria was successfully eliminated in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in the late 1970s, but it was found to have re-emerged from 1993. In order to control malaria and evaluate the effectiveness of malaria controls, it is important to develop a spatiotemporal understanding of the genetic structure of the parasite population. Here, we estimated the population structure and temporal dynamics of the transmission of Plasmodium vivax in South Korea by analyzing microsatellite DNA markers of the parasite.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe analyzed 14 microsatellite DNA loci of the P. vivax genome from 163 South Korean isolates collected from 1994 to 2008. Allelic data were used to analyze linkage disequilibrium (LD), genetic differentiation and population structure, in order to make a detailed estimate of temporal change in the parasite population. The LD analysis showed a gradual decrease in LD levels, while the levels of genetic differentiation between successive years and analysis of the population structure based on the Bayesian approach suggested that a drastic genetic change occurred in the South Korean population during 2002 and 2003.Conclusions/SignificanceAlthough relapse and asymptomatic parasite carriage might influence the population structure to some extent, our results suggested the continual introduction of P. vivax into South Korea through other parasite population sources. One possible source, particularly during 2002 and 2003, is North Korea. Molecular epidemiology using microsatellite DNA of the P. vivax population is effective for assessing the population structure and temporal dynamics of parasite transmission; information that can assist in the elimination of vivax malaria in endemic areas.
Highlights
Plasmodium vivax, which is the second most prevalent species of the human malaria parasite, is widely distributed around the world especially in Asia, Melanesia, the Middle East, South and Central America
Conclusions/Significance: relapse and asymptomatic parasite carriage might influence the population structure to some extent, our results suggested the continual introduction of P. vivax into South Korea through other parasite population sources
We previously examined the characteristics of P. vivax in South Korea, a temperate area, temporally, using 10 microsatellite DNA in the parasite genome and found the population to have low genetic diversity and a low recombination rate in comparison to tropical areas
Summary
Plasmodium vivax, which is the second most prevalent species of the human malaria parasite, is widely distributed around the world especially in Asia, Melanesia, the Middle East, South and Central America. Treatment and/or prophylactic failures of chloroquine to vivax malaria have been reported from several endemic countries since the late 1980s [3]. Treatment failures of primaquine to hypnozoites of P. vivax have been reported, it should be noted that it is difficult to discriminate between reinfection and parasite tolerance [3]. Severe cases of vivax malaria were reported in endemic areas [4,5]. Vivax malaria was successfully eliminated in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in the late 1970s, but it was found to have re-emerged from 1993. We estimated the population structure and temporal dynamics of the transmission of Plasmodium vivax in South Korea by analyzing microsatellite DNA markers of the parasite
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