Specific and nonspecific responses to Plasmodium falciparum blood-stage parasites and observations on the gametocytemia in schoolchildren living in a malaria-endemic area of Mozambique
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We have observed specific and nonspecific reactivities to the asexual states and gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum and examined the effect of chloroquine and Fansidar (pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine) on the dynamics of gametocytemia. Schoolchildren peripheral blood films positive for P. falciparum gametocytes were identified in a malaria-endemic area of Mozambique. The children were randomly allocated into two groups to receive chloroquine or pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine, and were followed for 28 days after treatment. In patients harboring drug-sensitive parasites, asexual parasitemias were cleared by day 4, but gametocytes persisted for an additional 17 days. The prevalence of the asexual parasites was 67.6% in the chloroquine-treated group at day 0 and 61.1% at day 28, whereas in the pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine treated group, the initial parasite prevalence of 70.7% was reduced to 2.4% at day 28, suggesting a high prevalence of chloroquine-resistant parasites. On day 0, gametocyte prevalence was 59.5% in the chloroquine-treated group and in 68.3% in the pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine-treated group; these values were reduced to 5.6% and 2.4%, respectively, at day 28. Our results suggest strongly that there is no induction of gametocytogenesis by either course of chemotherapy.
Original language | English |
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Journal | American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 1 |
Pages (from-to) | 50-9 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISSN | 0002-9637 |
Publication status | Published - Jan 1995 |
- Adolescent, Animals, Antibodies, Protozoan/blood, Antigens, Protozoan/immunology, Antimalarials/pharmacology, Blotting, Western, C-Reactive Protein/analysis, Child, Chloroquine/pharmacology, Computer Simulation, Drug Combinations, Drug Resistance, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Haptoglobins/analysis, Humans, Luminescent Measurements, Malaria, Falciparum/drug therapy, Models, Biological, Mozambique/epidemiology, Parasitemia/drug therapy, Plasmodium falciparum/drug effects, Prevalence, Pyrimethamine/pharmacology, Recombinant Proteins/immunology, Sulfadoxine/pharmacology
Research areas
ID: 203011340