Browsing by Author "Proietti, Carla."

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    Continuing Intense Malaria Transmission in Northern Uganda
    (The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2011-05-05) Proietti, Carla.; Pettinato, Davide D.; Kanoi, Bernard N.; Ntege, Edward.; Crisanti, Andrea.; Riley, Eleanor M.; Egwang, Thomas G.; Drakeley, Chris.; Bousema, Teun.
    Recent reports of reductions in malaria transmission in several African countries have resulted in optimism that malaria can be eliminated in parts of Africa where it is currently endemic. It is not known whether these trends are global or whether they are also present in areas where political instability has hindered effective malaria control. We determined malaria parasite carriage and age-dependent antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum antigens in cross-sectional surveys in Apac, northern Uganda that was affected by political unrest. Under-five parasite prevalence was 55.8% (115/206) by microscopy and 71.9% (41/57) by polymerase chain reaction. Plasmodium ovale alone, or as a co-infection, was detected in 8.6% (12/139) and Plasmodium malariae in 4.3% (6/139) of the infections. Age seroprevalence curves gave no indication of recent changes in malaria transmission intensity. Malaria control remains a tremendous challenge in areas that have not benefited from large-scale interventions, illustrated here by the district of Apac.
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    Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale infections and their association with common red blood cell polymorphisms in a highly endemic area of Uganda
    (The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2019-07) Subissi, Lorenzo.; Kanoi, Bernard N.; Balikagala, Betty.; Egwang, Thomas G.; Oguike, Mary.; Verra, Federica.; Proietti, Carla.; Bousema, Teun.; Drakeley, Chris J.; Sepúlveda, Nuno.
    Background Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malariae infections are scarcely studied in sub-Saharan Africa, where the Plasmodium falciparum species predominates. The objective of this study is to investigate the prevalence of P. ovale and P. malariae infections and their relationship with common red blood cell polymorphisms in a cohort of 509 individuals from Uganda. Methods Three cross-sectional surveys were conducted in individuals of 1–10 and >20 y of age from the Apac district at baseline and 6 and 16 weeks after drug treatment. Malaria infections were assessed by polymerase chain reaction and genotyping was performed for the sickle-cell allele, α-thalassaemia and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Results At baseline, the prevalence of infection was 7.5%, 12.6% and 57.4% for P. ovale, P. malariae and P. falciparum species, respectively. Co-infections were present in 14.1% of individuals, all including P. falciparum parasites. In children 1–5 y of age, the prevalence of P. ovale mono-infections increased significantly from 1.7% to 7.3% over time (p=0.004) while the prevalence of P. malariae and P. falciparum infections declined significantly during this study. After adjusting for confounding and multiple testing, only α-thalassaemia had a statistically significant increase in the odds of P. falciparum infections (odds ratio 1.93 [95% confidence interval 1.26 to 2.94]). Conclusions Common red blood cell polymorphisms do not show strong effects on mild Plasmodium infections in this Ugandan population. To understand the extent of this result, similar studies should be carried out in other populations using larger cohorts.