Drug and Insecticide Resistances among Malaria Parasites and Vectors: Advances in Research and Mitigation Approaches

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitic Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2022) | Viewed by 8465

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus-Liebig University Gießen, Winchesterstr. 2, 35394 Gießen, Germany
Interests: vector borne; parasitic diseases; vector bionomics and control; insecticide resistance; mosquitoes; pesticides

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Guest Editor
Centre Pasteur Cameroon, Malaria Research Service, Yaoundé. P.O. Box 1274 Yaoundé, Cameroun
Interests: antimalarial drug resistance and surveillance; operational evaluation of integrated malaria control; HIV epidemiology and vector borne; parasitic diseases

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Guest Editor
Département de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Médecine Tropicale, Université des Sciences de la Sciences de la Santé, B.P. 769 Libreville, Gabon
Interests: infectious disease; fever; malaria; diarrhea; drug resistance

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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812 Yaounde, Cameroon
Interests: malaria; Anopheles Plasmodium; drug and insecticide resistance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium parasites and transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito species. Its global burden has substantially decreased between 2000 and 2015, with 68%, 22% and 10% contributions by Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets, Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs) and Insecticide indoor Residual Spraying interventions, respectively. However, the progress toward its elimination is stagnating since 2015, due to biological and operational challenges. Of great concerns is the rapid expansion of parasite resistance to drugs and vector resistance to insecticides, which jeopardize the effectiveness of the treatments and core insecticide-based vector control interventions. Therefore, there is a need for streamlining drug administration with currently available and new drugs, development alternative case management and vector control strategies (e.g., rationalization of ACTs, non-chemical interventions to mitigate drug and insecticide resistances), as well as new resistance diagnostic tools for sustainable parasite and vector surveillance.

This Special Issue is focused on, but not limited to local and global evidence of resistance developments, new tools for resistance detection and monitoring, resistance management strategies, alternative products and interventions, metabolic pathways of drugs and insecticides, molecular basis of resistance, etc. We intend to update the knowledge on the landscape and factors governing the evolution of the resistance threats among malaria parasites and mosquito vectors, and how to sustain malaria control while mitigating the resistance problems. We look forward to your contribution.

Dr. Josiane Etang
Dr. Carole Else Eboumbou Moukoko
Dr. Jean Bernard Lekana-Douki
Dr. Philippe Nwane
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • malaria parasites and vectors
  • antimalarial drugs
  • mosquito control
  • drug and insecticide resistance
  • molecular markers

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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7 pages, 1368 KiB  
Communication
Pfkelch13 Plasmodium falciparum Mutations in Huambo, Angola
by Ana Beatriz Batista Rodrigues, Rebecca de Abreu-Fernandes, Zoraima Neto, Domingos Jandondo, Natália Ketrin Almeida-de-Oliveira, Aline Rosa de Lavigne Mello, Joana Morais, Cláudio Tadeu Daniel-Ribeiro, Didier Menard and Maria de Fátima Ferreira-da-Cruz
Pathogens 2022, 11(5), 554; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11050554 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2097
Abstract
Artemisinin (ART) is recommended as the first-line drug for P. falciparum infections combined with a long-acting partner drug. The emergence of P. falciparum resistance to ART (ARTR) is a concern for malaria. The most feared threat remains the spread of ARTR from Southeast [...] Read more.
Artemisinin (ART) is recommended as the first-line drug for P. falciparum infections combined with a long-acting partner drug. The emergence of P. falciparum resistance to ART (ARTR) is a concern for malaria. The most feared threat remains the spread of ARTR from Southeast Asia to Africa or the independent emergence of ARTR in Africa, where malaria accounts for 93% of all malaria cases and 94% of deaths. To avoid this worst-case scenario, surveillance of Pfkelch13 mutations is essential. We investigated mutations of Pfkelch13 in 78 P. falciparum samples from Huambo, Angola. Most of the parasites had a wild-type Pfkelch13 allele. We identified one synonymous mutation (R471R) in 10 isolates and one non-synonymous mutation (A578S) in two samples. No Pfkelch13 validated or candidate ARTR mutants were identified. The finding suggests that there is little polymorphism in Pfkelch13 in Huambo. Since cases of late response to ART in Africa and the emergence of ARTR mutations in Rwanda and Uganda have been reported, efforts should be made toward continuous molecular surveillance of ARTR. Our study has some limitations. Since we analyzed P. falciparum parasites from a single health facility, the study may not be representative of all Angolan endemic areas. Full article
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17 pages, 2401 KiB  
Article
Patterns of Kdr-L995F Allele Emergence Alongside Detoxifying Enzymes Associated with Deltamethrin Resistance in Anopheles gambiae s.l. from North Cameroon
by Josiane Etang, Stanislas Elysée Mandeng, Philippe Nwane, Herman Parfait Awono-Ambene, Jude D. Bigoga, Wolfgang Eyisap Ekoko, Achille Jerome Binyang, Michael Piameu, Lili Ranaise Mbakop, Narcisse Mvondo, Raymond Tabue, Rémy Mimpfoundi, Jean Claude Toto, Immo Kleinschmidt, Tessa Bellamy Knox, Abraham Peter Mnzava, Martin James Donnelly and Etienne Fondjo
Pathogens 2022, 11(2), 253; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11020253 - 15 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2542
Abstract
Understanding how multiple insecticide resistance mechanisms occur in malaria vectors is essential for efficient vector control. This study aimed at assessing the evolution of metabolic mechanisms and Kdr L995F/S resistance alleles in Anopheles gambiae s.l. from North Cameroon, following long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) [...] Read more.
Understanding how multiple insecticide resistance mechanisms occur in malaria vectors is essential for efficient vector control. This study aimed at assessing the evolution of metabolic mechanisms and Kdr L995F/S resistance alleles in Anopheles gambiae s.l. from North Cameroon, following long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) distribution in 2011. Female An. gambiae s.l. emerging from larvae collected in Ouro-Housso/Kanadi, Be-Centre, and Bala in 2011 and 2015, were tested for susceptibility to deltamethrin + piperonyl butoxide (PBO) or SSS-tributyl-phosphoro-thrithioate (DEF) synergists, using the World Health Organization’s standard protocol. The Kdr L995F/S alleles were genotyped using Hot Ligation Oligonucleotide Assay. Tested mosquitoes identified using PCR-RFLP were composed of An. arabiensis (68.5%), An. coluzzii (25.5%) and An. gambiae (6%) species. From 2011 to 2015, metabolic resistance increased in Ouro-Housso/Kanadi (up to 89.5% mortality to deltametnrin+synergists in 2015 versus <65% in 2011; p < 0.02), while it decreased in Be-Centre and Bala (>95% mortality in 2011 versus 42–94% in 2015; p < 0.001). Conversely, the Kdr L995F allelic frequencies slightly decreased in Ouro-Housso/Kanadi (from 50% to 46%, p > 0.9), while significantly increasing in Be-Centre and Bala (from 0–13% to 18–36%, p < 0.02). These data revealed two evolutionary trends of deltamethrin resistance mechanisms; non-pyrethroid vector control tools should supplement LLINs in North Cameroon. Full article
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Review

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14 pages, 2127 KiB  
Review
Systematic Review on Diversity and Distribution of Anopheles Species in Gabon: A Fresh Look at the Potential Malaria Vectors and Perspectives
by Neil Michel Longo-Pendy, Larson Boundenga, Pyazzi Obame Ondo Kutomy, Clark Mbou-Boutambe, Boris Makanga, Nancy Moukodoum, Judicaël Obame-Nkoghe, Patrice Nzassi Makouloutou, Franck Mounioko, Rodolphe Akone-Ella, Lynda Chancelya Nkoghe-Nkoghe, Marc Flaubert Ngangue Salamba, Jean Bernard Lekana-Douki and Pierre Kengne
Pathogens 2022, 11(6), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11060668 - 9 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3164
Abstract
Gabon is located in the malaria hyper-endemic zone, where data concerning malaria vector distribution remains fragmentary, making it difficult to implement an effective vector control strategy. Thus, it becomes crucial and urgent to undertake entomological surveys that will allow a better mapping of [...] Read more.
Gabon is located in the malaria hyper-endemic zone, where data concerning malaria vector distribution remains fragmentary, making it difficult to implement an effective vector control strategy. Thus, it becomes crucial and urgent to undertake entomological surveys that will allow a better mapping of the Anopheles species present in Gabon. In this review, we examined different articles dealing with Anopheles in Gabon from ProQuest, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google scholar databases. After applying the eligibility criteria to 7543 articles collected from four databases, 42 studies were included that covered a 91-year period of study. The review revealed a wide diversity of Anopheles species in Gabon with a heterogeneous distribution. Indeed, our review revealed the presence of 41 Anopheles species, of which the most abundant were members of the Gambiae and Nili complexes and those of the Funestus and Moucheti groups. However, our review also revealed that the major and minor vectors of malaria in Gabon are present in both sylvatic, rural, and urban environments. The observation of human malaria vectors in sylvatic environments raises the question of the role that the sylvatic environment may play in maintaining malaria transmission in rural and urban areas. Ultimately, it appears that knowledge of biodiversity and spatial distribution of Anopheles mosquitoes is fragmentary in Gabon, suggesting that additional studies are necessary to complete and update these entomological data, which are useful for the implementation of vector control strategies. Full article
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