Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage, sex ratios and asexual parasite rates in Nigerian children before and after a treatment protocol policy change instituting the use of artemisinin-based combination therapies

Bibliographic Details
Title: Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage, sex ratios and asexual parasite rates in Nigerian children before and after a treatment protocol policy change instituting the use of artemisinin-based combination therapies
Authors: Gbotosho, Grace Olusola, Sowunmi, Akintunde, Happi, Christian Tientcha, Okuboyejo, Titilope Modupe
Source: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. September 2011 106(6)
Publisher Information: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde, 2011.
Publication Year: 2011
Subject Terms: P. falciparum, gametocyte carriage, sex ratio, parasite rate, artemisinin drugs, children
More Details: The effects of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) on transmission of Plasmodium falciparum were evaluated after a policy change instituting the use of ACTs in an endemic area. P. falciparum gametocyte carriage, sex ratios and inbreeding rates were examined in 2,585 children at presentation with acute falciparum malaria during a 10-year period from 2001-2010. Asexual parasite rates were also evaluated from 2003-2010 in 10,615 children before and after the policy change. Gametocyte carriage declined significantly from 12.4% in 2001 to 3.6% in 2010 (@@χ² for trend = 44.3, p < 0.0001), but sex ratios and inbreeding rates remained unchanged. Additionally, overall parasite rates remained unchanged before and after the policy change (47.2% vs. 45.4%), but these rates declined significantly from 2003-2010 (@@χ² for trend 35.4, p < 0.0001). Chloroquine (CQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) were used as prototype drugs before and after the policy change, respectively. AL significantly shortened the duration of male gametocyte carriage in individual patients after treatment began compared with CQ (log rank statistic = 7.92, p = 0.005). ACTs reduced the rate of gametocyte carriage in children with acute falciparum infections at presentation and shortened the duration of male gametocyte carriage after treatment. However, parasite population sex ratios, inbreeding rates and overall parasite rate were unaffected.
Document Type: article
File Description: text/html
Language: English
ISSN: 0074-0276
DOI: 10.1590/S0074-02762011000600007
Access URL: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762011000600007
Rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Accession Number: edssci.S0074.02762011000600007
Database: SciELO
More Details
ISSN:00740276
DOI:10.1590/S0074-02762011000600007
Published in:Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Language:English