Plasmodium vivax isolates from Cambodia and Thailand show high genetic complexity and distinct patterns of P. vivax multidrug resistance gene 1 (pvmdr1) polymorphisms.

ABSTRACT: Plasmodium vivax accounts for an increasing fraction of malaria infections in Thailand and Cambodia. We compared P. vivax genetic complexity and antimalarial resistance patterns in the two countries. Use of a heteroduplex tracking assay targeting the merozoite surface protein 1 gene revealed that vivax infections in both countries are frequently polyclonal (84%), with parasites that are highly diverse (HE = 0.86) but closely related (GST = 0.18). Following a history of different drug policies in Thailand and Cambodia, distinct patterns of antimalarial resistance have emerged: most Cambodian isolates harbor the P. vivax multidrug resistance gene 1 (pvmdr1) 976F mutation associated with chloroquine resistance (89% versus 8%, P < 0.001), whereas Thai isolates more often display increased pvmd

SUBMITTER: Lin JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3752811 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature