Multidrug-Resistant P. falciparum, Myanmar | CDC EID

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Volume 17, Number 3–March 2011
Dispatch
Multidrug-Resistant Genotypes of Plasmodium falciparum, Myanmar
Zhaoqing Yang,1 Chaoqun Li,1 Miao Miao, Zaixing Zhang, Xiaodong Sun, Hao Meng, Jie Li, Qi Fan, and Liwang Cui

Author affiliations: Kunming Medical University, Yunnan, People's Republic of China (Z. Yang, C. Li, J. Li); Yunnan Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Pu'er, Yunnan, (Z. Zhang, X. Sun); The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA (M. Miao, H. Meng, L. Cui); and Dalian Institute of Biotechnology, Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China (Q. Fan)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
We performed a molecular epidemiologic survey of mutations associated with drug-resistance genes in Plasmodium falciparum in northeastern Myanmar. In this region, 3 highly mutated drug-resistance haplotypes and 1 associated with decreased quinine susceptibility were prevalent, which suggests that parasites may be resistant to multiple commonly used antimalarial drugs.

Malaria is a major impediment to socioeconomic development in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) of Southeast Asia (1). Malaria distribution in the GMS is extremely uneven, with areas of high endemicity in some countries and along international borders. In Myanmar, malaria is particularly problematic; more than half of malaria cases and approximately three fourths of malaria-related deaths in the GMS during 2007 occurred in Myanmar. The GMS has been the breeding ground of multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, and resistance to chloroquine and antifolates arose there and spread to Africa (2,3). In particular, recent detection of reduced artemisinin susceptibility at the Thailand–Cambodia border is a major concern (4). As a result, drug resistance has been monitored extensively in this region. In contrast, information about resistance to antimalarial drugs in Myanmar is exceptionally scarce. Accordingly, as our initial step toward a comprehensive antimalarial drug study in Myanmar, we performed a molecular survey of drug resistance in the northeastern region of this country.

full-text:
Multidrug-Resistant P. falciparum, Myanmar | CDC EID


Suggested Citation for this Article
Yang Z, Li C, Miao M, Zhang Z, Sun X, Meng H, et al. Multidrug-resistant genotypes of Plasmodium falciparum, Myanmar. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2011 Mar [date cited].
http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/17/3/498.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1703.100870



1These authors contributed equally to this article.


Comments to the Authors
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Liwang Cui, Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, 501 ASI Bldg, University Park, PA 16801, USA; email: luc2@psu.edu