Malaria Journal (Nov 2023)

Assessing the histidine-rich protein 2/3 gene deletion in Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Burkina Faso

  • Casimire Wendlamita Tarama,
  • Harouna Soré,
  • Mafama Siribié,
  • Siaka Débé,
  • Réné Kinda,
  • Wendyam Gérard Nonkani,
  • Farida Tiendrebeogo,
  • Winnie Bantango,
  • Kassoum Yira,
  • Esther Yéri Hien,
  • Moussa Wandaogo Guelbéogo,
  • Yves Traoré,
  • Didier Ménard,
  • Adama Gansané

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-023-04796-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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Abstract Background Dual hrp2/hrp3 genes deletions in P. falciparum isolates are increasingly reported in malaria-endemic countries and can produce false negative RDT results leading to inadequate case management. Data on the frequency of hrp2/hrp3 deleted parasites are rarely available and it has become necessary to investigate the issue in Burkina Faso. Methods Plasmodium falciparum-positive dried blood spots were collected during a cross-sectional household survey of the malaria asymptomatic children from Orodara, Gaoua, and Banfora. Amplicons from the target regions (exon 2 of hrp2 and hrp3 genes) were generated using multiplexed nested PCR and sequenced according to Illumina’s MiSeq protocol. Results A total of 251 microscopically positive parasite isolates were sequenced to detect hrp2 and hrp3 gene deletions. The proportion of RDTs negative cases among microscopy positive slides was 12.7% (32/251). The highest prevalence of negative RDTs was found in Orodara 14.3% (5/35), followed by Gaoua 13.1%(24/183), and Banfora 9.1% (3/33). The study found that 95.6% of the parasite isolates were wild type hrp2/ hrp3 while 4.4% (11/251) had a single hrp2 deletion. Of the 11 hrp2 deletion samples, 2 samples were RDT negative (mean parasitaemia was 83 parasites/ μL) while 9 samples were RDT positive with a mean parasitaemia of 520 parasites /μL (CI95%: 192–1239). The highest frequency of hrp2 deletion 4/35 (11.4%) was found in Orodara, while it was similar in the other two sites (< 3.5%). No single deletion of the hrp3 or dual deletion hrp2/3 gene was detected in this study. Conclusion These results demonstrate that P. falciparum isolates lacking hrp2 genes are present in 4.4% of samples obtained from the asymptomatic children population in three sites in Burkina Faso. These parasites are circulating and causing malaria, but they are also still detectable by HRP2-based RTDs due to the presence of the intact pfhrp3 gene.

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