title: Population structure of Plasmodium falciparum isolates during an epidemic in southern Mauritania.
abstract: While the population structure of Plasmodium falciparum is well analysed in selected areas with high malaria endemicity in East and West Africa, only limited data are available for low endemicity regions bordering the Saharan desert. This is one of the first studies for the Sahel, where atypically strong rainfalls in 1998 and 1999 led to a severe outbreak of falciparum malaria in south-east Mauritania. During a study on in vivo-drug resistance against chloroquine we collected blood samples of patients with fever in two medical centres located in non-endemic and hypoendemic areas. We analysed 386 samples by polymerase chain reaction for infection with P. falciparum, and 173 (45%) tested positive. The isolates were genotyped for three polymorphic genetic markers: merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1), MSP2 and glutamate-rich protein (GLURP). Differences between the two regions could be shown in either number of clones per infection or in their distribution on the different allelic groups. While the mean minimal number of clones in the non-endemic region around Aioun was 1.57, blood samples collected in the hypoendemic region around Kobeni showed multiple infections with an average of 2.34 clones (P < 0.001). In addition, clear differences between endemic regions were apparent in three of the investigated allelic groups: RO33 of the MSP1 gene and FC and Indochina of the MSP2 gene.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jelinek
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Aida
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peyerl-Hoffmann
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Heuschkel
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: el Valy
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Christophel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008435:Mauritania / Q000453:epidemiology; D020066:Merozoite Surface Protein 1; D008875:Middle Aged; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012423:Rural Health
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D020066:Merozoite Surface Protein 1; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; C103348:msp2 protein, Anaplasma marginale; C072492:glutamate-rich protein, Plasmodium; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases