title: Placental malaria in women with South-East Asian ovalocytosis.
abstract: Malaria during pregnancy, which is characterized by the accumulation of infected erythrocytes in the placenta, often has severe consequences for the mother and newborn. We assessed the effect of the genetic trait South-East Asian ovalocytosis (SAO) on placental malaria in women from Papua New Guinea. In children, this trait confers protection against cerebral malaria, but not against mild malaria disease, malaria parasitemia, or severe malaria anemia. Using a case-control approach, we found that SAO women suffer from placental malaria, and SAO-infected erythrocytes can sequester in the placenta, but heavy placental infections tended to be less common in SAO than in control pregnant women. Reduced prevalence and severity of placental infection associated with SAO were observed only for primigravid women, who are the group at highest risk of suffering from severe manifestations of placental malaria. Furthermore, we found that the prevalence of the SAO trait was lower among pregnant women than among non-pregnant controls.
authors.affiliation: Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang, Papua New Guinea. ariadnabm@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ariadna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benet
authors.forename: T Yee
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Khong
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ura
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samen
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lorry
authors.forename: Mata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mellombo
authors.forename: Livingstone
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tavul
authors.forename: Key
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baea
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Rogerson
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cortés
mesh_terms: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D001724:Birth Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004612:Elliptocytosis, Hereditary / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D020073:Gravidity; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008288:Malaria / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010219:Papua New Guinea / Q000453:epidemiology; D010920:Placenta / Q000469:parasitology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan