Epidemiological characterization of Plasmodium falciparum in the Republic of Cabo Verde

• Autor(a) principal: Alves, Joana
• Data de Publicação: 2006
• Outros Autores: Roque, Ana Luísa, Cravo, Pedro, Valdez, Tomás, Jelinek, Tomas, Rosário, Virgilio Estólio do, Arez, Ana Paula
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/117214
• topic: risk factor; serology; adolescent; adult; aged; article; child; controlled study; disease control; environmental exposure; exposure variable; human; infant; major clinical study; malaria; Plasmodium falciparum; polymerase chain reaction; public health; Epidemiology; Infectious Diseases; Parasitology; SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Background: Malaria has come near eradication at archipelago of Cabo Verde in 1970. Infections are now only observed in Santiago, where outbreaks occur. In these islands, malaria is considered by the international community as being of limited risk and, therefore, no prophylaxis is recommended. Since the understanding of factors that determine malaria outbreaks are crucial for controlling the disease, the present study aimed to investigate if the malaria infections observed in Santiago Island are maintained in isolated foci and in asymptomatic individuals. Methods: The occurrence of asymptomatic carriers in villages with history of malaria as well as the level of exposure of these populations were investigated using PCR and serological analyses. Results: Results indicate that malaria is maintained as asymptomatic and sub-patent infections and that the majority of the circulating parasite populations harbour chloroquine-resistant mutations. Conclusion: These observations highlight the alarming prospect of malaria to become a serious public health problem and underscore the need for a tighter surveillance.