TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic diversity and transmissibility of imported Plasmodium vivax in Qatar and three countries of origin
AU - Abdelraheem, Mohammed H.
AU - Bansal, Devendra
AU - Idris, Mohammed A.
AU - Mukhtar, Moawia M.
AU - Hamid, Muzamil M.Abdel
AU - Imam, Zainb S.
AU - Getachew, Sisay
AU - Sehgal, Rakesh
AU - Kaur, Hargobinder
AU - Gadalla, Amal H.
AU - Al-Hamidhi, Salam
AU - Al-Hashami, Zainab
AU - Al-Jabri, Ali
AU - Sultan, Ali A.
AU - Babiker, Hamza A.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank all patients involved in all study sites. We are grateful to the Medical and Paramedical staff of HMC, Doha, Qatar, for helping with blood samples collection, and the staff of Biochemistry department, college of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman for helping with laboratory analysis. We thank Prof Arnab Pain, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. MHA is a recipient of a PhD studentship, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. This work was supported by Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation), grant [NPRP 5-098-3-021] to AAS.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Malaria control program in the Arabian Peninsula, backed by adequate logistical support, has interrupted transmission with exception of limited sites in Saudi Arabia and sporadic outbreaks in Oman. However, sustained influx of imported malaria represents a direct threat to the above success. Here we examined the extent of genetic diversity among imported P. vivax in Qatar, and its ability to produce gametocytes, compared to parasites in main sites of imported cases, the Indian subcontinent (india) and East Africa (Sudan and Ethiopia). High diversity was seen among imported P. vivax in Qatar, comparable to parasites in the Indian subcontinent and East Africa. Limited genetic differentiation was seen among imported P. vivax, which overlapped with parasites in India, but differentiated from that in Sudan and Ethiopia. Parasite density among imported cases, ranged widely between 26.25-7985934.1 Pv18S rRNA copies/μl blood, with a high prevalence of infections carried gametocytes detectable by qRT-PCR. Parasitaemia was a stronger predictor for P. vivax gametocytes density (r = 0.211, P = 0.04). The extensive diversity of imported P. vivax and its ability to produce gametocytes represent a major threat for re-introduction of malaria in Qatar. The genetic relatedness between P. vivax reported in Qatar and those in India suggest that elimination strategy should target flow and dispersal of imported malaria into the region.
AB - Malaria control program in the Arabian Peninsula, backed by adequate logistical support, has interrupted transmission with exception of limited sites in Saudi Arabia and sporadic outbreaks in Oman. However, sustained influx of imported malaria represents a direct threat to the above success. Here we examined the extent of genetic diversity among imported P. vivax in Qatar, and its ability to produce gametocytes, compared to parasites in main sites of imported cases, the Indian subcontinent (india) and East Africa (Sudan and Ethiopia). High diversity was seen among imported P. vivax in Qatar, comparable to parasites in the Indian subcontinent and East Africa. Limited genetic differentiation was seen among imported P. vivax, which overlapped with parasites in India, but differentiated from that in Sudan and Ethiopia. Parasite density among imported cases, ranged widely between 26.25-7985934.1 Pv18S rRNA copies/μl blood, with a high prevalence of infections carried gametocytes detectable by qRT-PCR. Parasitaemia was a stronger predictor for P. vivax gametocytes density (r = 0.211, P = 0.04). The extensive diversity of imported P. vivax and its ability to produce gametocytes represent a major threat for re-introduction of malaria in Qatar. The genetic relatedness between P. vivax reported in Qatar and those in India suggest that elimination strategy should target flow and dispersal of imported malaria into the region.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41598-018-27229-z
DO - 10.1038/s41598-018-27229-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 29891983
AN - SCOPUS:85048328304
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 8
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 8870
ER -