Decreasing pfmdr1 Copy Number Suggests that Plasmodium falciparum in Western Cambodia Is Regaining In Vitro Susceptibility to Mefloquine |
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| Authors: | Pharath Lim Dalin Dek Vorleak Try Sokunthea Sreng Seila Suon Rick M Fairhurst |
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| Institution: | aLaboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA;bNational Center for Parasitology, Entomology, and Malaria Control, Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
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| Abstract: | Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is the current frontline artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) for Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Cambodia but is now failing in several western provinces. To investigate artesunate plus mefloquine (AS+MQ) as a replacement ACT, we measured the prevalence of multiple pfmdr1 copies—a molecular marker for MQ resistance—in 844 P. falciparum clinical isolates collected in 2008 to 2013. The pfmdr1 copy number is decreasing in Western Cambodia, suggesting that P. falciparum is regaining in vitro susceptibility to MQ. |
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