Pacific Vivax Malaria in the American Negro

Butler, Fred A.; Sapero, James J.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1947.s1-27.111

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Evidence suggests that the parasite’s human red cell invasion mechanism has not been restricted to the Duffy antigen. Clinical observations for decades have reported that Duffy-positive Caucasians return from travels to Duffy-negative Africa with P. vivax infections (Phillips-Howard et al, 1990; Gautret et al, 2001; Mendis et al, 2001; Muhlberger et al, 2004; Guerra et al, 2010), and records of African or African-American individuals infected with P. vivax (albeit lacking Duffy phenotype data) have appeared periodically (Butler and Sapero, 1947; Hankey et al, 1953; Bray, 1958). The alternative explanation for the sudden increase in P. vivax -positive Duffy-negative people is that molecular diagnostic methods now provide clinicians and researchers with tools that are more sensitive than the parasitological methods previously employed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors wrote that, ‘With the onset of the present war in the Pacific and the arrival of negro [sic] troops on highly malarious bases in the South Pacific (Melanesia), it was hoped that the negro [sic] might be spared the ravages of Pacific vivax malaria because of his racial tolerance to the United States strains’ (Butler and Sapero, 1947). …”

Section: The Era Of Great Biological Discoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results from the study showed that 90.5% of all re-admissions were due to P. vivax and that 41.5% of the re-admissions occurred in the African-American group. The authors conceded that if the entire 9.5% of the non-vivax re-admissions occurred in the African-American group, 32% of African-American re-admissions would have correlated with P. vivax infection (Butler and Sapero, 1947). In contrast to reports from malariotherapy trials, the conservative evaluation of this study population suggested that African-American troops were highly susceptible to blood-stage infection by Pacific strains of P. vivax when naturally exposed to the parasite.…”

Section: The Era Of Great Biological Discoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Red Blood Cell Polymorphism and Susceptibility to Plasmodium vivax

Zimmerman

Ferreira

Howes

et al. 2013

Advances in Parasitology

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Resistance to Plasmodium vivax blood-stage infection has been widely recognised to result from absence of the Duffy (Fy) blood group from the surface of red blood cells (RBCs) in individuals of African descent. Interestingly, recent studies from different malaria-endemic regions have begun to reveal new perspectives on the association between Duffy gene polymorphism and P. vivax malaria. In Papua New Guinea and the Americas, heterozygous carriers of a Duffy-negative allele are less susceptible to P. vivax infection than Duffy-positive homozygotes. In Brazil, studies show that the Fya antigen, compared to Fyb, is associated with lower binding to the P. vivax Duffy-binding protein and reduced susceptibility to vivax malaria. Additionally, it is interesting that numerous studies have now shown that P. vivax can infect RBCs and cause clinical disease in Duffy-negative people. This suggests that the relationship between P. vivax and the Duffy antigen is more complex than customarily described. Evidence of P. vivax Duffy-independent red cell invasion indicates that the parasite must be evolving alternative red cell invasion pathways. In this chapter, we review the evidence for P. vivax Duffy-dependent and Duffy-independent red cell invasion. We also consider the influence of further host gene polymorphism associated with malaria endemicity on susceptibility to vivax malaria. The interaction between the parasite and the RBC has significant potential to influence the effectiveness of P. vivax-specific vaccines and drug treatments. Ultimately, the relationships between red cell polymorphisms and P. vivax blood-stage infection will influence our estimates on the population at risk and efforts to eliminate vivax malaria.

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