Plasmodium falciparum susceptibility to standard and potential anti-malarial drugs in Dakar, Senegal, during the 2013-2014 malaria season

• Published in: Malaria journal Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 60
• Main Authors: Fall, Bécaye, Camara, Cheikhou, Fall, Mansour, Nakoulima, Aminata, Dionne, Pierre, Diatta, Bakary, Diemé, Yaya, Wade, Boubacar, Pradines, Bruno
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 06.02.2015; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Antimalarials - pharmacology; Drug Resistance; Female; Humans; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Life Sciences; Malaria, Falciparum - epidemiology; Malaria, Falciparum - parasitology; Male; Microbiology and Parasitology; Plasmodium falciparum - drug effects; Prevalence; Senegal - epidemiology; Virology; Senegal; Resistance; Plasmodium falciparum; Anti-malarial; Proveblue; Malaria; Senegal; In vitro; Methylene blue
• ISSN: 1475-2875; 1475-2875
• DOI: 10.1186/s12936-015-0589-3

In 2006, the Senegalese National Malaria Control Programme recommended artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) as the first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria. Since the introduction of ACT, there have been very few reports on the level of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to anti-malarial drugs. An ex vivo susceptibility study was conducted on local isolates obtained from the Hôpital Principal de Dakar (Dakar, Senegal) from November 2013 to January 2014. Eighteen P. falciparum isolates were sussessfully assessed for ex vivo susceptibility to chloroquine (CQ), quinine (QN), monodesethylamodiaquine (MDAQ), the active metabolite of amodiaquine, mefloquine (MQ), lumefantrine (LMF), artesunate (AS), dihydroartemisinin (DHA), the active metabolite of artemisinin derivatives, pyronaridine (PND), piperaquine (PPQ), and, Proveblue (PVB), a methylene blue preparation, using the HRP2-based ELISA test. The prevalence of isolates with reduced susceptibility was 55.6% for MQ, 50% for CQ, 5.6% for QN and MDAQ, and 0% for DHA, AS and LMF. The mean IC₅₀ for PND, PPQ and PVB were 5.8 nM, 32.2 nM and 5.3 nM, respectively. The prevalence of isolates with a reduced susceptibility to MQ remains high and stable in Dakar. Since 2004, the prevalence of CQ resistance decreased, but rebounded in 2013 in Dakar. PND, PPQ and PVB showed high in vitro activity in P. falciparum parasites from Dakar.