White Samuel J, Tchuenkam Valery P K, Mbouh Mariama, Gaither Claudia, Bouopda-Tuedom Aline Gaelle, Kiam Belinda, Popkin-Hall Zachary R, Sadler Jacob M, Carey-Ewend Kelly, Hand Emily, Ngum Miriam N, Ngomsi Yannick N, Bailey Jeffrey A, Kaunda Darlin B, Mafo Lethicia K, Lemogo Giresse N, Dinka Clifford L, Nsani Clifford A, Noubom Michel, Goel Varun, Ibrahima Ibrahima, Onguene Janvier C, Lin Feng-Chang, Lin Jessica T, Nsango Sandrine E, Dinglasan Rhoel R, Juliano Jonathan J, Ali Innocent M
Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Université de Dschang, Dschang, West Region, Cameroon.
medRxiv. 2025 Apr 28:2025.04.28.25326551. doi: 10.1101/2025.04.28.25326551.
Despite global malaria control efforts, the disease caused 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths in 2023. While accounts for most cases in Africa, non-falciparum species, such as spp. and , can cause relapse infections and are increasingly recognized as significant contributors to human disease. In particular, the highlands of West Cameroon have previously been reported to have high infection rates. This study presents preliminary results from the Relapsing Malaria in Africa (ReMA) study, conducted in Dschang, Cameroon, to assess the prevalence and epidemiology of and . A cross-sectional survey of 3,661 participants from 871 households across seven health areas identified a low prevalence of (0.1%) and spp. (0.64%) using quantitative real time PCR (qPCR), while remained prevalent at 8.1%. Co-infections of spp. with were observed in 23.1% of spp. cases. While gametocytemia was common among falciparum infections, leveraging a new ovale gametocyte assay, we found that gametocytemia was uncommon among the qPCR-positive ovale infections. Spatial analysis found and spp. infections concentrated in Penka-Michel and Baleveng, the former having higher spp. abundance than other areas assessed. Risk factor analysis revealed children and those with recent domestic travel had higher odds of infection, but no significant associations were found for spp. infections. Entomological surveys confirmed high densities of () and (s.l.), with significantly higher human landing capture rates for s.l compared to other mosquito species. While these findings suggest that the relapsing malarias are not as widespread as previously thought in West Cameroon, understanding factors driving their persistent transmission, especially without prevalent gametocytemia, will be important for disease control.
尽管全球在努力控制疟疾,但该疾病在2023年仍导致了2.63亿例感染和59.7万人死亡。虽然恶性疟原虫导致了非洲的大多数病例,但间日疟原虫属和卵形疟原虫等非恶性疟原虫物种可引起复发感染,并且越来越被认为是人类疾病的重要促成因素。特别是,此前有报道称喀麦隆西部高地的卵形疟原虫感染率很高。本研究展示了在喀麦隆的贾格开展的非洲复发性疟疾(ReMA)研究的初步结果,以评估卵形疟原虫和间日疟原虫的流行情况及流行病学特征。对来自七个卫生区域871户家庭的3661名参与者进行的横断面调查显示,使用定量实时PCR(qPCR)检测到卵形疟原虫的患病率较低(0.1%),间日疟原虫属的患病率为(0.64%),而恶性疟原虫的患病率仍高达8.1%。在23.1%的间日疟原虫属病例中观察到间日疟原虫属与恶性疟原虫的合并感染。虽然配子体血症在恶性疟原虫感染中很常见,但利用一种新的卵形疟原虫配子体检测方法,我们发现qPCR阳性的卵形疟原虫感染中配子体血症并不常见。空间分析发现卵形疟原虫和间日疟原虫属感染集中在彭卡 - 米歇尔和巴莱旺,前者的间日疟原虫属丰度高于其他评估区域。风险因素分析显示,儿童和近期有国内旅行史的人感染卵形疟原虫的几率较高,但未发现与间日疟原虫属感染有显著关联。昆虫学调查证实了冈比亚按蚊(指名亚种)和按蚊(复合组)的高密度,与其他蚊种相比,按蚊(复合组)的人饵捕获率显著更高。虽然这些发现表明复发性疟疾在喀麦隆西部并不像之前认为的那样广泛传播,但了解驱动其持续传播的因素,尤其是在没有普遍配子体血症的情况下,对于疾病控制将至关重要。