Limited polymorphism in k13 gene of Plasmodium falciparum and k12 of Plasmodium vivax isolates imported from African and Asian countries between 2014 and 2019 in Hangzhou city, China

BACKGROUND: Malaria causes major public health problems globally and drug resistance hinders its control and elimination. Molecular markers associated with drug resistance are considered as a beneficial tool to monitor the disease trends, evolution and distribution so as to help improve drug policy. METHODS: We collected 148 Plasmodium falciparum and 20 Plasmodium vivax isolates imported into Hangzhou city, China between 2014 and 2019. k13 gene of P. falciparum and k12 of P. vivax were sequenced. Polymorphisms and prevalence of k13 and k12 were analyzed. RESULTS: Most (98.65%, 146/148) P. falciparum infections were imported from Africa, and half P. vivax cases came from Africa and the other half from Asia. Nucleotide mutation prevalence was 2.03% (3/148) and the proportion of amino acid mutations was 0.68% (1/148). The amino acid mutation, A676S, was observed in an isolate from Nigeria. No mutation of k12 was observed from the parasites from African and Asian countries. CONCLUSIONS: Limited polymorphism in k13 gene of P. falciparum isolates imported from African countries, but no evidence for the polymorphism of k12 in P. vivax samples from African and Asian countries was found. These results provide information for drug policy update in study region. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-021-06579-6.