Seasonal malaria chemoprevention and the spread of Plasmodium falciparum quintuple-mutant parasites resistant to sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine: a modelling study

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine prevents millions of clinical malaria cases in children younger than 5 years in Africa's Sahel region. However, Plasmodium falciparum parasites partially resistant to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (with quintuple mutations) potentially threaten the protective effectiveness of SMC. We evaluated the spread of quintuple-mutant parasites and the clinical consequences.

Citation:
Masserey T, Lee T, Kelly SL, Hastings IM, Penny MA. Seasonal malaria chemoprevention and the spread of Plasmodium falciparum quintuple-mutant parasites resistant to sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine: a modelling study. Lancet Micr. 2024

Keywords:
Malaria; chemoprevention; Africa

Abstract:
Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine prevents millions of clinical malaria cases in children younger than 5 years in Africa's Sahel region. However, Plasmodium falciparum parasites partially resistant to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (with quintuple mutations) potentially threaten the protective effectiveness of SMC. We evaluated the spread of quintuple-mutant parasites and the clinical consequences.