Persistence of gametocytes in confirmed cases of malaria at a research center

It is estimated that in 2016 there were 216 million cases of malaria worldwide, compared to 237 million cases of the disease and 211 million cases in 2015. According to official data, in 2016, 445,000 deaths were estimated, similar to data from 2015, when there were approximately 445,000 deaths. The annual malaria report of the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights the achievements of world public health in the fight against the disease, but reveals that there was relaxation of actions to control the disease in all affected areas. Recent studies involving strategies to eliminate malaria have led to an increase in researchers’ interest in the role of the sexual stages of malaria parasites in the transmission of the disease. Gametocytes are the target evolutionary forms of the evolutionary cycle, preponderant for the control and elimination of the disease, as they are the infective forms for Anopheles sp, the main vector of malaria. Thus, the presence/persistence of gametocytes after the parasitemia becomes negative, this condition may infer a therapeutic failure, drug resistance, or that the drug did not reach the expected serum concentration in the body, whether due to physiological, genetic or external factors. The existing gap on the topic of gametocytes in our country has motivated researchers to better study the follow-up of patients diagnosed with malaria, with regard to the presence of gametocytes. It is known that the persistence of these sexual forms can be one of the sentinel events for the emergence of resistant strains, or even for the maintenance of disease transmission in endemic areas, which echoes in controlling the elimination of malaria in populations living in areas of active transmission, like the Amazon. The care and follow-up records of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of malaria, used at LECEM/IEC between January 2008 and December 2018, will be analyzed. The results found may contribute to surveillance with regard not only to the implementation of strategies for disease control, how to add to decision-making both in clinical management and in malaria control with the interruption of the disease transmission cycle with the aim of elimination..

Project details

Basic Science

Jan 2019

Brazil