Subject(s)
Blood Viscosity , COVID-19/blood , Plasma/chemistry , Adult , Aged , COVID-19/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Prospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The United Kingdom documented a decline of >30% in imported cases of malaria annually between 1996 and 2003; however, there are still approximately 1700 cases and 5-10 deaths each year. Prophylaxis health messages focus on families returning to their country of origin. METHODS: We reviewed 225 records of patients seen in Cambridge University Hospital Foundation Trust [CUHFT], a tertiary referral center in Cambridge, England. All records of patients seen in CUHFT between 2002-2016 were analyzed in the context of national figures from Public Health England. RESULTS: Between 2004-2016, there was no decrease in imported cases of malaria locally or nationally. Plasmodium falciparum remains responsible for most imported infections (66.7%); Plasmodium vivax contributed 15.1%, Plasmodium malariae 4%, and Plasmodium ovale 6.7%; 7.5% (17/225) of patients had an incomplete record. Most cases were reported in people coming from West Africa. Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast had the highest proportions of travelers being infected at 8 and 7 per 1000, respectively. Visiting family in the country of origin (27.8%) was the commonest reason for travel. However, this was exceeded by the combined numbers traveling for business and holidays (22.5% and 20.1%, respectively). Sixty percent of patients took no prophylaxis. Of those who did, none of the patients finished their chemoprophylaxis regimen. CONCLUSIONS: Significant numbers of travelers to malarious countries still take no chemoprophylaxis. Health advice about prophylaxis before travel should be targeted not only at those visiting family in their country of origin but also to those traveling for holiday and work.
Subject(s)
Communicable Diseases, Imported/epidemiology , Communicable Diseases, Imported/parasitology , Malaria/epidemiology , Malaria/parasitology , Plasmodium , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Malaria/drug therapy , Malaria/transmission , Male , Middle Aged , Population Surveillance , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Seasons , Sex Factors , Travel , United Kingdom/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
We report a novel hemoglobin (Hb) variant with a ß chain amino acid substitution at codon 78 (CTG>CCG) (HBB: c.236T>C), detected through prenatal screening via capillary electrophoresis (CE) in an otherwise healthy and asymptomatic 38-year-old female of Southeast Asian ancestry. The variant, named Hb Penang after the proband's Malaysian city of origin, underwent further characterization through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), reversed phase HPLC, Sanger sequencing, isopropanol stability testing and isoelectric focusing (IEF).
Subject(s)
Hemoglobins, Abnormal/genetics , Prenatal Diagnosis , beta-Globins/genetics , Adult , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Electrophoresis, Capillary , Female , Humans , Isoelectric Focusing , Malaysia , Pregnancy , Protein Stability , Sequence Analysis, DNAABSTRACT
We present case histories of four patients treated with artemether-lumefantrine for falciparum malaria in UK hospitals in 2015 to 2016. Each subsequently presented with recurrent symptoms and Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia within 6 weeks of treatment with no intervening travel to countries where malaria is endemic. Parasite isolates, all of African origin, harbored variants at some candidate resistance loci. No evidence of pfk13-mediated artemisinin resistance was found. Vigilance for signs of unsatisfactory antimalarial efficacy among imported cases of malaria is recommended.
