Population structure of recrudescent Plasmodium falciparum isolates from western Uganda

It has been proposed that polymorphisms of the Merozoite Surface Protein 1 and 2 (MSP1 and MSP2) and the Glutamate Rich Protein (GLURP) genes can be considered as genetic markers for the genotyping of field populations of Plasmodium falciparum. During a field study on in vivo drug resistance against chloroquine, sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (S/P) and cotrimoxazole in West Uganda, sensitive and resistant isolates were collected from patients by fingerprick for genotyping. 59 (72.8%) of the 81 P. falciparum samples isolated at day 0 showed multiclonal infection with 2-7 clones. Among the isolates we investigated, presence of the allelic family MAD20 of MSP1 at day 0 was significantly (P = 0.0041) associated with decreased resistance to antimalarials. Use of this method in a field study on in vivo drug resistance demonstrates another potential application of genotyping as a tool for epidemiological investigations.