Fitness cost of resistance for lumefantrine and piperaquine-resistant Plasmodium berghei in a mouse model

Abstract

The evolution of drug-resistant parasites is a major hindrance to malaria control, and thus understanding the behaviour of drug-resistant mutants is of clinical relevance. The study aimed to investigate how resistance against lumefantrine (LU) and piperaquine (PQ), anti-malarials used as partner drugs in artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), impacts parasite fitness. This is important since resistance to ACT, the first-line anti-malarial regimen is increasingly being reported.