ABSTRACT
In 2023, we updated data collected since 2010 on Plasmodium falciparum K13 and MDR1 drug resistance markers in Huye district, southern Rwanda. Artemisinin resistance-associated PfK13 markers occurred in 17.5% of 212 malaria patients (561H, 9.0%; 675V, 5.7%; and 469F, 2.8%), nearly double the frequency from 2019. PfMDR1 N86, linked with lumefantrine tolerance, was close to fixation at 98%. In southern Rwanda, markers signaling resistance to artemisinin and lumefantrine are increasing, albeit at a relatively slow rate.
Subject(s)
Antimalarials , Artemisinins , Malaria, Falciparum , Humans , Plasmodium falciparum/genetics , Antimalarials/pharmacology , Antimalarials/therapeutic use , Malaria, Falciparum/drug therapy , Malaria, Falciparum/epidemiology , Rwanda/epidemiology , Prevalence , Artemisinins/pharmacology , Artemisinins/therapeutic use , Lumefantrine/therapeutic use , Drug Resistance/genetics , Protozoan Proteins/genetics , Protozoan Proteins/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum is associated with nonsynonymous mutations in the Kelch 13 (K13) propeller domain. We found that 12.1% (8/66) of clinical P. falciparum isolates from Huye district, Rwanda, exhibited K13 mutations, including R561H, a validated resistance marker. K13 mutations appear to be increasing in this region.
