Plasmodium that causes malaria
disese is transmitted by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria causes high morbidity and mortality rates in
sub-Saharan Africa compared to other parts of the world. Critical to malaria prevantion is the breaking of malaria transmission
which is currently achieved by vector control methods or by chemotherapeutical
approaches utilising antimalarial drugs such as primaquine. However, in many
malaria endemic countries in Africa, including Zambia, primaquine use cannot be used due to less information on the
prevalence of Glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD), which causes haemolysis. Literature on the prevalence
of (G6PD) in Sub-Saharan Africa,
especially Zambia, is little. In malaria prevention, the importance of
asymptomatic and subclinical parasitaemia which normally go along with gametocytaemia
are not well stated in Zambia. The objectives of this study were to
determine the prevalence of subclinical gametocytaemia and G6PD deficiency in
high malaria transmission zones of Zambia as well as to assess the relationship
between age and Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage Pfs25
gene in the study population. A total of 320 participants were enrolled into a
cross sectional study from 5th
September 202022 to 29th September 2023.
Ethical clearance
to conduct the study was obtained from Kesmonds International University Research Ethics
Committee and informed
consent process was completed with participants and or caregivers prior to
enrolments. Finger-prick blood specimens were collected from all the 320
participants for the CareStart G6PD rapid diagnostic test (RDT) strip with assay buffer detecting
conversion of pentose phosphate pathway co-enzyme nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) to its reduced form to detect G6PD enzyme deficiency, heat-fixed thick and
alcohol-fixed thin films both stained in 10% Giemsa stain and examined
microscopically to detect
sexual and asexual forms of Plasmodium and identify Plasmodium
species and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR),
conventional and nested PCR to
detect Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage Pfs25
gene. Gametocytaemia prevalence in the high transmission zone was 2.8%
(9/320) by microscopy and
9.1% (29/320) by PCR. Prevalence of G6PDd in high transmission zone was 2.5%
(8/320), with seven (87.5%) of the G6PDd individuals, being males and only one (12.5%) was a female. The study reviewed 100% Plasmodium falciparum species.
Presence of Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage Pfs25
gene did not differ significantly by age group. We demonstrate the presence of Plasmodium
falciparum sexual stage Pfs25
gene in high malaria transmission zones indicating that malaria transmission
still occurs in although the prevalence is expectedly higher in the high
transmission zone. With the non-significant occurrence of Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage Pfs25 gene by age group, we conclude that all age groups are
capable of transmission and attention must be paid to all age groups in the
control and prevention programmes. We suggest that Primaquine use can be used
in the high malaria transmission zones when G6PDd was absent. Though
preliminary and notwithstanding the study limitations, the generated results on
subclinical gametocytaemia and G6PDd profiles in high malaria transmission
zones are important and will inform national policy in the ongoing current
national malaria pevention activities. Reverse
Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), Plasmodium falciparum, gametocytaemia (Pfs25) gene, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDd),
high malaria transmission zones, malaria prevention, Zambia.