Semi-nested, multiplex polymerase chain reaction for detection of human malaria parasites and evidence of Plasmodium vivax infection in Equatorial Guinea.

Rubio, José Miguel; Benito, Agustín; Roche, Jesús; Berzosa, Pedro; Garcia, Mary L; Micó, M. C. Cebrián; Edú, M.; Alvar, Jorge

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1999.60.183

Cited by 155 publications

(144 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In two African studies, PCR prevalence of P. malariae was 23.3% and 39.2%, and P. ovale prevalence was 6.9% and 9.3%. By contrast, LM detected no non-P. falciparum infections in the first study [58] and 18.7% P. malariae and 2.8% P. ovale in the second [59]. Findings consistent with these observations have been generated recently in a study of >1200 Kenyans.…”

Section: Improved Diagnosis Of P Malariae and P Ovale Infections Bysupporting

confidence: 84%

Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale – the ‘bashful’ malaria parasites

Müeller

Zimmerman

Reeder

2007

Trends in Parasitology

264

245

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Although Plasmodium malariae was first described as an infectious disease of humans by Golgi in 1886 and Plasmodium ovale identified by Stevens in 1922, there are still large gaps in our knowledge of the importance of these infections as causes of malaria in different parts of the world. They have traditionally been thought of as mild illnesses that are caused by rare and, in case of P. ovale, short-lived parasites. However, recent advances in sensitive PCR diagnosis are causing a re-evaluation of this assumption. Low-level infection seems to be common across malaria-endemic areas, often as complex mixed infections. The potential interactions of P. malariae and P. ovale with Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax might explain some basic questions of malaria epidemiology, and understanding these interactions could have an important influence on the deployment of interventions such as malaria vaccines. Geographical distributionAlthough distribution of Plasmodium malariae infection is reported as being patchy, it has been observed in all major malaria-endemic regions of the world [1]. P. malariae infections are most common in sub-Saharan Africa and the southwest Pacific, where age-specific prevalence in mass blood surveys have exceeded 15-30% [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. By contrast, when P. malariae has been detected in malaria-endemic regions of Asia [9][10][11][12], the Middle East [13], South America [14] and Central America [15], it is observed as an infrequent infection, with blood-smear light microscopy (LM) prevalence rarely exceeding 1-2%. Much higher levels of infection were, however, found in montagnard refugees from the Cambodian-Vietnamese border [16]. In South America, P. malariae is thought to be a zoonotic infection because the genetically identical Plasmodium brasilianum infects new-world monkeys [17] and both monkeys and humans in endemic areas show high levels of seropositivity to P. malariae and P. brasilianum antigens [18].Plasmodium ovale was thought to have a much more limited distribution, with endemic transmission traditionally described as being limited to areas of tropical Africa, New Guinea, the eastern parts of Indonesia and the Philippines [19,20]. Infections with P. ovale, however, have also been reported in the Middle East [13], the Indian subcontinent [21] and different parts of Southeast Asia [11,22,23]. In West Africa (and to a lesser extent Central Africa), age specific LM prevalence of >10% have been observed [3,6] places where P. ovale is observed, it is relatively uncommon and its prevalence (as detected by LM) rarely exceeds 3-5% [22,[24][25][26].Indepth descriptions of the epidemiology of both infections based upon LM data are, thus, restricted almost exclusively to highly endemic areas in Africa and the Southwest Pacific. Detailed epidemiological studies from South America and Asia are lacking. Variation in parasite prevalenceIn West Africa, P. malariae prevalence has been reported to peak at ages similar to those of P. falciparum (i.e. in children under ten years of...

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Section: Improved Diagnosis Of P Malariae and P Ovale Infections Bysupporting

confidence: 84%

Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale – the ‘bashful’ malaria parasites

Müeller

Zimmerman

Reeder

2007

Trends in Parasitology

264

245

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…These data differ from results of others who have reported the presence of P. vivax in Equatorial Guinea and Angola. In these studies, the P. vivaxinfected individuals were either Duffy positive (37) or diagnosed solely based on P. vivax-specific PCR products without sequence verification (38). Given the frequency of off-target amplification even with P. vivax-specific primers (SI Appendix, Table S6), any P. vivax diagnosis in central Africa should be confirmed by sequence analysis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasmodium falciparum -like parasites infecting wild apes in southern Cameroon do not represent a recurrent source of human malaria

Sundararaman

Liu²,

Keele

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Wild-living chimpanzees and gorillas harbor a multitude of Plasmodium species, including six of the subgenus Laverania , one of which served as the progenitor of Plasmodium falciparum . Despite the magnitude of this reservoir, it is unknown whether apes represent a source of human infections. Here, we used Plasmodium species-specific PCR, single-genome amplification, and 454 sequencing to screen humans from remote areas of southern Cameroon for ape Laverania infections. Among 1,402 blood samples, we found 1,000 to be Plasmodium mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) positive, all of which contained human parasites as determined by sequencing and/or restriction enzyme digestion. To exclude low-abundance infections, we subjected 514 of these samples to 454 sequencing, targeting a region of the mtDNA genome that distinguishes ape from human Laverania species. Using algorithms specifically developed to differentiate rare Plasmodium variants from 454-sequencing error, we identified single and mixed-species infections with P. falciparum , Plasmodium malariae , and/or Plasmodium ovale . However, none of the human samples contained ape Laverania parasites, including the gorilla precursor of P. falciparum . To characterize further the diversity of P. falciparum in Cameroon, we used single-genome amplification to amplify 3.4-kb mtDNA fragments from 229 infected humans. Phylogenetic analysis identified 62 new variants, all of which clustered with extant P. falciparum , providing further evidence that P. falciparum emerged following a single gorilla-to-human transmission. Thus, unlike Plasmodium knowlesi -infected macaques in southeast Asia, African apes harboring Laverania parasites do not seem to serve as a recurrent source of human malaria, a finding of import to ongoing control and eradication measures.

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“…[13][14][15] The PCR was also found to be more sensitive than the QBC™ 15 method and dipstick assays (sensitivity ‫ס‬ 100% versus 88%). 16 Compared with examination of thin blood smears, the specificity of the PCR was excellent, 12,[17][18][19][20] and greater than that of the QBC™ or dipstick assays. 15 While the PCR appears to have overcome the two major problems of the diagnosis of imported malaria, namely sensitivity and specificity, the routine feasibility of this method still remained to be assessed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One year's experience with the polymerase chain reaction as a routine method for the diagnosis of imported malaria.

Morassin¹,

Fabre²,

Berry³

et al. 2002

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. Given the problems encountered in westernized countries with the laboratory diagnosis of malaria, namely sensitivity of the conventional methods and detection of mixed infections, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnosis has been developed and routinely used. The PCR used two sets of primers to simultaneously detect any infection due to the genus Plasmodium, or to the species P. falciparum. The PCR results were available within six hours. Five hundred twenty-nine patients were tested, of whom 136 were found positive by the PCR, and only 104 by the quantitative buffy coat (QBC™) method. The 32 discrepancies were analyzed on the basis of the clinical data, and technical, molecular, and sequencing findings to ascertain the presence of Plasmodium DNA. The PCR-based diagnosis of malaria appeared to be a useful tool that was suitable as a second-line method when the results of conventional techniques were negative in patients presenting a syndrome consistent with malaria, as well as yielding an accurate species identification.

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Semi-nested, multiplex polymerase chain reaction for detection of human malaria parasites and evidence of Plasmodium vivax infection in Equatorial Guinea.

Cited by 155 publications

References 19 publications

Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale – the ‘bashful’ malaria parasites

Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale – the ‘bashful’ malaria parasites

Plasmodium falciparum -like parasites infecting wild apes in southern Cameroon do not represent a recurrent source of human malaria

One year's experience with the polymerase chain reaction as a routine method for the diagnosis of imported malaria.

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