Artikel
Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum isolates circulating in febrile patients diagnosed with malaria and typhoid co-infection in Yaounde, Cameroon
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Veröffentlicht: | 17. Dezember 2014 |
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Gliederung
Text
Malaria and typhoid co-infection commonly occur in individuals in Cameroon and may render disease management complicated. Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum has been extensively studied but not in the context of malaria and typhoid co-infections. This paper presents evidence of genetic diversity of P.falciparum strains in patients positive for malaria only (M+) and both malaria and typhoid (M+T+) and highlights the seasonal pattern of malaria and typhoid co-infections in Cameroon.
One year hospital record analysis of malaria and typhoid cases in and around Yaounde was conducted. DNA was extracted by the Chelex method from filter paper blood spots of consented febrile patients diagnosed with malaria or malaria-typhoid co-infection in Yaounde. Nested PCR products of msp2 variable regions were amplified by PCR, stained with ethidium bromide and analysed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The allelic frequencies, genetic diversity and multiplicity of infection in M+, and M+T+ groups were compared.
Hospital records from four health units in and around Yaounde showed that out of the 587 suspected malaria-typhoid co-infections, 174(30%) were M+, 164(27%) were T+(positive for S. typhi alone), 165 (28%) were M+T+ and 90(15%) negative for both. Most of M+T+ cases seem to appear at the start of the dry season. Typing the malaria samples revealed a total of 6 different msp2 alleles in each of the M+T+ and M+ group. The major subtypes in the M+T+ and M+ groups were the 621bp (25.93%) and 584bp (32.26%) alleles, respectively. Diverse range of P. falciparum isolates were detected in febrile patients diagnosed with malaria and malaria-typhoid co-infections in Yaounde. The prevalence of malaria-typhoid co-infections remains significantly high even with the upscale of malaria control measures in Cameroon.