An update on glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in children from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

Abstract Background Malaria transmission-blocking anti-malarial drugs, such as primaquine, offers an effective strategy for reducing the incidence of falciparum malaria. However, this drug induces haemolytic anaemia among glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient individuals. The distributi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Malaria Journal
Main Authors: Nerly Shirère Gampio Gueye, Simon Marie Peko, David Nderu, Felix Koukouikila-Koussounda, Christevy Vouvoungui, Simon Charles Kobawila, Thirumalaisamy P. Velavan, Francine Ntoumi
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: BMC 2019
Subjects:
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
Uncomplicated malaria
Republic of Congo
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Infectious and parasitic diseases
RC109-216
Arctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2688-z
https://doaj.org/article/ad02b3d064da4b9abc2391327a43824f
Description
Summary:Abstract Background Malaria transmission-blocking anti-malarial drugs, such as primaquine, offers an effective strategy for reducing the incidence of falciparum malaria. However, this drug induces haemolytic anaemia among glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient individuals. The distribution of G6PD deficiency in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo and the association of G6PD deficiency with haemoglobin levels and blood cell counts were investigated. Methods A total of 212 febrile children were recruited for this study. Plasmodium falciparum diagnosis was conducted by microscopy and nested PCR. Sanger sequencing was used to assess G6PD deficiency by detecting 202G>A (rs1050828) and 376A>G (rs1050829) single nucleotide polymorphisms. Results Two hundred and twelve children were successfully genotyped for G6PD variants. Overall, 13% (27/212) of the children were G6PD deficient and 25% (25/100) females were heterozygous (11 BA− and 14 A+A−). The remaining 160 children had a normal G6PD genotype. The mean red blood and mean platelet counts were significantly lower in hemizygous male (G6PD A−) participants than in normal male (G6PD A+ or B) participants (p < 0.05). Conclusion This study gives an update on G6PD deficiency among Congolese children. Understanding the distribution of G6PD deficiency in other geographical regions is recommended before primaquine is adopted in the malaria control programme.

Similar Items