Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2023 Jun 20;109(2):273-276. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0715. Print 2023 Aug 2.
Histidine-rich protein 2- (HRP2-) based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are widely used to detect Plasmodium falciparum in sub-Saharan Africa. Reports of parasites with pfhrp2 and/or pfhrp3 (pfhrp2/3) gene deletions in Africa raise concerns about the long-term viability of HRP2-based RDTs. We evaluated changes in pfhrp2/3 deletion prevalence over time using a 2018-2021 longitudinal study of 1,635 enrolled individuals in Kinshasa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Samples collected during biannual household visits with ≥ 100 parasites/µL by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were genotyped using a multiplex real-time PCR assay. Among 2,726 P. falciparum PCR-positive samples collected from 993 participants during the study period, 1,267 (46.5%) were genotyped. No pfhrp2/3 deletions or mixed pfhrp2/3-intact and -deleted infections were identified in our study. Pfhrp2/3-deleted parasites were not detected in Kinshasa Province; ongoing use of HRP2-based RDTs is appropriate.
富含组氨酸蛋白 2（HRP2）的快速诊断检测（RDT）被广泛用于检测撒哈拉以南非洲的恶性疟原虫。关于非洲存在 pfhrp2 和/或 pfhrp3（pfhrp2/3）基因缺失的寄生虫的报告引起了人们对 HRP2 为基础的 RDT 的长期有效性的担忧。我们使用刚果民主共和国金沙萨省 2018 年至 2021 年期间对 1635 名入组个体进行的一项纵向研究，评估了 pfhrp2/3 缺失流行率随时间的变化。使用多重实时 PCR 检测方法对在研究期间通过定量实时聚合酶链反应在每个家庭访问中采集的每微升≥100 个寄生虫的样本进行基因分型。在研究期间从 993 名参与者中采集的 2726 个疟原虫 PCR 阳性样本中，对 1267 个样本（46.5%）进行了基因分型。在我们的研究中，未发现 pfhrp2/3 缺失或混合 pfhrp2/3 完整和缺失感染。在金沙萨省未检测到 pfhrp2/3 缺失寄生虫；目前仍适合使用 HRP2 为基础的 RDT。
