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. 2018 Aug;24(8):1591-1593.
doi: 10.3201/eid2408.180370. Epub 2018 Aug 17.

Plasmodium falciparum Plasmepsin 2 Duplications, West Africa

Juliana Inoue, Miguel Silva, Bakary Fofana, Kassim Sanogo, Andreas Mårtensson, Issaka Sagara, Anders Björkman, Maria Isabel Veiga, Pedro Eduardo Ferreira, Abdoulaye Djimde, José Pedro Gil

Plasmodium falciparum Plasmepsin 2 Duplications, West Africa

Juliana Inoue et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2018 Aug.

Abstract

Dihydroartemisinin/piperaquine (DHA/PPQ) is increasingly deployed as antimalaria drug in Africa. We report the detection in Mali of Plasmodium falciparum infections carrying plasmepsin 2 duplications (associated with piperaquine resistance) in 7/65 recurrent infections within 2 months after DHA/PPQ treatment. These findings raise concerns about the long-term efficacy of DHA/PPQ treatment in Africa.

Keywords: DHA-PPQ; Pfpm2; Plasmodium falciparum; West Africa; dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine; malaria; moquitoborne diseases; piperaquine; plasmepsin 2; resistance; vector-borne infections.

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Figures

Figure
Figure
Timeline distribution of Plasmodium falciparum pfpm2 copy number status during post–DHA/PPQ treatment follow-up for artemisinin combination therapy efficacy trials conducted by the West African Network for Antimalarial Drugs, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, October 2011–February 2016. Dark gray bar highlights the period (3 d) of treatment; lighter, longer gray bars represent PPQ average half-life (≈20 d). Circles represent recurrent infections; white circles indicate 1 pfpm2 copy, and gray circles indicate 2 pfpm2 copies. DHA/PPQ, dihydroartemisinin/piperaquine; PPQ, piperaquine.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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