Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34320992›Full record

ArticleMalaria journal2021

Decreased prevalence of the Plasmodium falciparum Pfcrt K76T and Pfmdr1 and N86Y mutations post-chloroquine treatment withdrawal in Katete District, Eastern Zambia.

Mwenda C Mulenga, Lungowe Sitali, Ilinca I Ciubotariu, Moonga B Hawela, Busiku Hamainza, James Chipeta, Sungano Mharakurwa

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Malaria journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
4.3field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 28 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Drug Resistance of ImportedChina CDC weekly · 2025
    Article
  2. Observational
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Mwenda C MulengaPATH Malaria Control and Elimination Partnership in Africa (MACEPA), National Malaria Elimination Centre, Ministry of Health, Chainama Grounds, Lusaka, Zambia. mchimfwembe@path.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9962-7027
Lungowe Sitali *School of Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences Department, Ridgeway campus, Lusaka, Zambia.
Ilinca I Ciubotariu *Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Moonga B HawelaMalaria Elimination Centre, Ministry of Health, Chainama Hospital and College Grounds, Lusaka, Zambia.
Busiku HamainzaMalaria Elimination Centre, Ministry of Health, Chainama Hospital and College Grounds, Lusaka, Zambia.
James ChipetaSchool of Medicine, University Teaching Hospital Malaria Research Unit (SMUTH-MRU), Lusaka, Zambia.
Sungano MharakurwaCollege of Health, Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe.
Ministry of Health · ZMUniversity Teaching Hospital · ZMAfrica University · ZWPurdue University West Lafayette · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn 2002, Zambia withdrew chloroquine as first-line treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria due to increased treatment failure and worldwide spread of chloroquine resistance. The artemisinin combination regimen, artemether-lumefantrine, replaced chloroquine (CQ) as first choice malaria treatment. The present study determined the prevalence of CQ resistance molecular markers in the Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 genes in Eastern Zambia at 9 and 13 years after the removal of drug pressure.

methodsSamples collected from Katete District during the drug therapeutic efficacy assessments conducted in 2012 and 2016 were assayed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) to determine the prevalence of genetic mutations, K76T on the Pfcrt gene and N86Y on the Pfmdr1 gene. A total of 204 P. falciparum-positive DBS samples collected at these two time points were further analysed.

resultsAmong the samples analysed for Pfcrt K76T and Pfmdr1 N86Y in the present study, 112 (82.4%) P. falciparum-infected samples collected in 2012 were successfully amplified for Pfcrt and 94 (69.1%) for Pfmdr1, while 69 (65.7%) and 72 (68.6%) samples from 2016 were successfully amplified for Pfcrt and Pfmdr1, respectively. In 2012, the prevalence of Pfcrt 76K (sensitive) was 97.3%, 76T (resistant) was 1.8%, and 0.8% had both 76K and 76T codons (mixed). Similarly in 2012, the prevalence of Pfmdr1 86N (sensitive) was 97.9% and 86Y (resistant) was 2.1%. In the 2016 samples, the prevalence of the respective samples was 100% Pfcrt 76K and Pfmdr1 86N.

conclusionThis study shows that there was a complete recovery of chloroquine-sensitive parasites by 2016 in Katete District, Eastern Zambia, 13 years following the withdrawal of CQ in the country. These findings add to the body of evidence for a fitness cost in CQ-resistant P. falciparum in Zambia and elsewhere. Further studies are recommended to monitor resistance countrywide and explore the feasibility of integration of the former best anti-malarial in combination therapy in the future.

Indexed as

AntimalarialsATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family C ProteinsChildChild, PreschoolChloroquineFemaleHumansMalaria, FalciparumMaleMembrane Transport ProteinsMutationPlasmodium falciparumPrevalenceProtozoan ProteinsZambiaAntimalarialsATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family C ProteinsChloroquineMdr1 protein, Plasmodium falciparumMembrane Transport ProteinsPfCRT protein, Plasmodium falciparumProtozoan ProteinsChloroquine resistanceChloroquine sensitivityGenotypesMalariaMutation

Identifiers

PMID34320992
PMCPMC8317340
OpenAlexW3154684688

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.