ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2026
Epidemiological insights and genetic diversity of the Duffy binding protein of Plasmodium vivax in Duffy-negative Cameroonians.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMalaria remains a major public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa. Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax), historically considered rare due to the predominance of Duffy-negative individuals, is increasingly reported in Central and West Africa. The ability of P. vivax to infect Duffy-negative populations challenges long-standing assumptions regarding parasite invasion biology and highlight surveillance gaps across Africa. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsThis study investigated P. vivax prevalence and genetic diversity across three ecological zones in Cameroon. A total of 1,373 samples were screened by microscopy, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), and qPCR; and all participants were genotyped for Duffy antigen status. PvDBP1 region II was successfully sequenced from 75 P. vivax isolates. P. vivax prevalence was 10.8% among hospital patients (86/793) and 5.5% in community participants (32/580), and all confirmed infections occurred in Duffy-negative individuals. Hospital infections exhibited significantly higher parasitemia than asymptomatic cases. PvLDH-based RDTs failed to detect over 85% of qPCR-confirmed infections. Genetic analysis of PvDBP1 identified eight nonsynonymous mutations, with I379L (74.1%) and E225K (61.3%) as the most common variants, suggesting possible adaptive evolution. Phylogenetic analysis clustered Cameroonian P. vivaxisolates with those from Botswana, distinct from East African and Asian lineages, indicating regional adaptation and potential gene flow within Central-Southern Africa. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This study provides the first integrated epidemiological and PvDBP1 genetic characterization of P. vivax infections in Duffy-negative Central Africans, revealing widespread subclinical infections and poor diagnostic performance of current PvLDH-based RDTs. The observed genetic signatures of adaptation highlight the urgent need to prioritize P. vivax within national malaria programs and investigate alternative invasion pathways beyond PvDBP1 to guide improved diagnostic and vaccine strategies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.