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Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western Kenya
BACKGROUND: Studies on Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte development and dynamics have almost exclusively focused on patients treated with antimalarial drugs, while the majority of parasite carriers in endemic areas are asymptomatic. This study identified factors that influence gametocytaemia in asym...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
BioMed Central
2004
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC441400/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15202944 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-3-18 |
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author | Bousema, J Teun Gouagna, Louis C Drakeley, Chris J Meutstege, Annemiek M Okech, Bernard A Akim, Ikupa NJ Beier, John C Githure, John I Sauerwein, Robert W |
author_facet | Bousema, J Teun Gouagna, Louis C Drakeley, Chris J Meutstege, Annemiek M Okech, Bernard A Akim, Ikupa NJ Beier, John C Githure, John I Sauerwein, Robert W |
author_sort | Bousema, J Teun |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: Studies on Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte development and dynamics have almost exclusively focused on patients treated with antimalarial drugs, while the majority of parasite carriers in endemic areas are asymptomatic. This study identified factors that influence gametocytaemia in asymptomatic children in the absence and presence of pyrimethamine-sulphadoxine (SP) antimalarial treatment. METHODS: A cohort of 526 children (6 months – 16 years) from western Kenya was screened for asexual parasites and gametocytes and followed weekly up to four weeks. Children with an estimated parasitaemia of ≥1,000 parasites/μl were treated with SP according to national guidelines. Factors associated with gametocyte development and persistence were determined in untreated and SP-treated children with P. falciparum mono-infection. RESULTS: Gametocyte prevalence at enrolment was 33.8% in children below five years of age and decreased with age. In the absence of treatment 18.6% of the children developed gametocytaemia during follow-up; in SP-treated children this proportion was 29.8%. Age, high asexual parasite density and gametocyte presence at enrolment were predictive factors for gametocytaemia. The estimated mean duration of gametocytaemia for children below five, children from five to nine and children ten years and above was 9.4, 7.8 and 4.1 days, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study shows that a large proportion of asymptomatic untreated children develop gametocytaemia. Gametocytaemia was particularly common in children below five years who harbor gametocytes for a longer period of time. The age-dependent duration of gametocytaemia has not been previously shown and could increase the importance of this age group for the infectious reservoir. |
format | Text |
id | pubmed-441400 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2004 |
publisher | BioMed Central |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-4414002004-07-02 Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western Kenya Bousema, J Teun Gouagna, Louis C Drakeley, Chris J Meutstege, Annemiek M Okech, Bernard A Akim, Ikupa NJ Beier, John C Githure, John I Sauerwein, Robert W Malar J Research BACKGROUND: Studies on Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte development and dynamics have almost exclusively focused on patients treated with antimalarial drugs, while the majority of parasite carriers in endemic areas are asymptomatic. This study identified factors that influence gametocytaemia in asymptomatic children in the absence and presence of pyrimethamine-sulphadoxine (SP) antimalarial treatment. METHODS: A cohort of 526 children (6 months – 16 years) from western Kenya was screened for asexual parasites and gametocytes and followed weekly up to four weeks. Children with an estimated parasitaemia of ≥1,000 parasites/μl were treated with SP according to national guidelines. Factors associated with gametocyte development and persistence were determined in untreated and SP-treated children with P. falciparum mono-infection. RESULTS: Gametocyte prevalence at enrolment was 33.8% in children below five years of age and decreased with age. In the absence of treatment 18.6% of the children developed gametocytaemia during follow-up; in SP-treated children this proportion was 29.8%. Age, high asexual parasite density and gametocyte presence at enrolment were predictive factors for gametocytaemia. The estimated mean duration of gametocytaemia for children below five, children from five to nine and children ten years and above was 9.4, 7.8 and 4.1 days, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study shows that a large proportion of asymptomatic untreated children develop gametocytaemia. Gametocytaemia was particularly common in children below five years who harbor gametocytes for a longer period of time. The age-dependent duration of gametocytaemia has not been previously shown and could increase the importance of this age group for the infectious reservoir. BioMed Central 2004-06-17 /pmc/articles/PMC441400/ /pubmed/15202944 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-3-18 Text en Copyright © 2004 Bousema et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL. |
spellingShingle | Research Bousema, J Teun Gouagna, Louis C Drakeley, Chris J Meutstege, Annemiek M Okech, Bernard A Akim, Ikupa NJ Beier, John C Githure, John I Sauerwein, Robert W Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western Kenya |
title | Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western Kenya |
title_full | Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western Kenya |
title_fullStr | Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western Kenya |
title_full_unstemmed | Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western Kenya |
title_short | Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western Kenya |
title_sort | plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western kenya |
topic | Research |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC441400/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15202944 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-3-18 |
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