Prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytaemia in asymptomatic school children before and after treatment with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP)

BACKGROUND: Asymptomatic Plasmodium carriers form the majority of malaria-infected individuals in most endemic areas. A proportion of these asymptomatically infected individuals carry gametocytes, the transmissible stages of malaria parasites, that sustain human to mosquito transmission. Few studies examine gametocytaemia in asymptomatic school children who may form an important reservoir for transmission. We assessed the prevalence of gametocytaemia before antimalarial treatment and monitored clearance of gametocytes after treatment in asymptomatic malaria children. METHODS: A total of 274 primary school children were screened for P. falciparum parasitaemia by microscopy. One hundred and fifty-five (155) parasite positive children were treated under direct observation with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP). Gametocyte carriage was determined by microscopy seven days prior to treatment, day 0 before treatment, and on days 7, 14 and 21 post initiation of treatment. RESULTS: The prevalence of microscopically-detectable gametocytes at screening (day −7) and enrolment (day 0) were 9% (25/274) and 13.6% (21/155) respectively. Following DP treatment, gametocyte carriage dropped to 4% (6/135), 3% (5/135) and 6% (10/151) on days 7, 14 and 21 respectively. Asexual parasites persisted in a minority of treated children, resulting in microscopically detectable parasites on days 7 (9%, 12/135), 14 (4%, 5/135) and 21 (7%, 10/151). Gametocyte carriage was inversely correlated with the age of the participants (p = 0.05) and asexual parasite density (p = 0.08). In a variate analysis, persistent gametocytaemia 7 or more days after treatment was significantly associated with post-treatment asexual parasitaemia at day 7 (P = 0.027) and presence of gametocytes on the day of treatment (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Though DP provides both excellent cure rates for clinical malaria and a long prophylactic half-life, our findings suggest that after treatment of asymptomatic infections, both asexual parasites and gametocytes may persist in a minority of individuals during the first 3 weeks after treatment. This indicates DP may be unsuitable for use in mass drug administration strategies towards malaria elimination in Africa.