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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Protocol for Plasmodium falciparum Infections in Mosquitoes and Infection Phenotype Determination
Published on: July 4, 2007
Asymptomatic Plasmodium vivax infections among Duffy-negative population in Kedougou, Senegal
Makhtar Niang1, Rokhaya Sane1,2, Abdourahmane Sow3,4
11Immunology Unit, Pasteur Institute of Dakar, BP 220 Dakar, Senegal.
Background:
In the southeastern Senegal, the report of Plasmodium vivax infections among febrile patients in Kedougou constitutes a new emerging health problem.
Methods:
Samples from 48 asymptomatic schoolchildren sampled twice a year over 2 years were used to explore the reservoir of P. vivax parasite infections in this region. Both Duffy genotyping and Plasmodium species diagnostic assays were performed.
Results:
PCR assays detected Plasmodium genomic DNA in 38.5% (74/192) of samples. Pure P. falciparum and P. vivax infections were identified in 79.7% (59/74) and 20.3% (15/74) of samples, respectively. All schoolchildren were classified as Duffy-negative by genotyping. P. vivax infections were detected in five children: in two children during both years, in one child in 2010 and on May 2011, and only in 2010 for the remaining two children.
Conclusions:
This unexpectedly high proportion of P. vivax infections in asymptomatic Duffy-negative children highlights to consider vivax malaria as an emerging problem in Senegal.
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