Plasmodium vivax gametocyte infectivity in sub-microscopic infections
| Autor: | Andrés B. Amado-Garavito, Andres F. Vallejo, Jhon García, Myriam Arévalo-Herrera, Sócrates Herrera |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Adult Male Adolescent 030231 tropical medicine Plasmodium vivax Asymptomatic 03 medical and health sciences Young Adult 0302 clinical medicine parasitic diseases Anopheles medicine Gametocyte Animals Humans Malaria Falciparum Infectivity biology Research Middle Aged biology.organism_classification medicine.disease Asymptomatic infections Virology 3. Good health 030104 developmental biology Infectious Diseases Parasitology Female medicine.symptom Asymptomatic carrier Malaria |
| Zdroj: | Malaria Journal |
| ISSN: | 1475-2875 |
| Popis: | Background The use of molecular techniques has put in the spotlight the existence of a large mass of malaria sub-microscopic infections among apparently healthy populations. These sub-microscopic infections are considered an important pool for maintained malaria transmission. Methods In order to assess the appearance of Plasmodium vivax gametocytes in circulation, gametocyte density and the parasite infectivity to Anopheles mosquitoes, a study was designed to compare three groups of volunteers either experimentally infected with P. vivax sporozoites (early infections; n = 16) or naturally infected patients (acute malaria, n = 16 and asymptomatic, n = 14). In order to determine gametocyte stage, a quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-qPCR) assay targeting two sexual stage-specific molecular markers was used. Parasite infectivity was assessed by membrane feeding assays (MFA). Results In early infections P. vivax gametocytes could be detected starting at day 7 without giving rise to infected mosquitoes during 13 days of follow-up. Asymptomatic carriers, with presumably long-lasting infections, presented the highest proportion of mature gametocytes and were as infective as acute patients. Conclusions This study shows the potential role of P. vivax asymptomatic carriers in malaria transmission should be considered when new policies are envisioned to redirect malaria control strategies towards targeting asymptomatic infections as a tool for malaria elimination. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-016-1104-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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