Molecular epidemiology of malaria parasite amongst patients in a displaced people's camp in Sudan

Hamza Adam Eshag; Elfadel Elnzer; Elkhatieb Nahied; Mustafa Talib; Ali Mussa; Abd Elhafiz M A Muhajir; Ibrahim Khider Ibrahim; Abdulwali Sabo; Salah-Eldin Gumma Elzaki; Zeehaida Mohamed; Khalid Hajissa

doi:10.1186/s41182-020-0192-3

Molecular epidemiology of malaria parasite amongst patients in a displaced people's camp in Sudan

Trop Med Health. 2020 Jan 29:48:3. doi: 10.1186/s41182-020-0192-3. eCollection 2020.

Affiliations

¹ 1Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Omdurman Islamic University, B.O.Box 382, Omdurman, Sudan.
² 2Department of Haematology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Al Neelain University, Khartoum, Sudan.
³ 3Unit of Biostatistics and Research Methodology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan Malaysia.
⁴ 4Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, National Center for Research, Khartoum, Sudan.
⁵ 5Department of Medical Microbiology & Parasitology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan Malaysia.

Abstract

Background: Despite the importance of epidemiological studies in the development of effective control strategies and provision of basic health services for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), data on the prevalence of malaria are limited. Thus, this study was conducted to estimate the molecular prevalence of malaria amongst the displaced population in Ardamata IDP camp in Al-Geneina City, Sudan.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2018 to December 2018 to estimate malaria prevalence amongst the displaced population in Ardamata IDP camp in Al-Geneina City, Sudan. A total of 380 patients with suspected malaria were recruited. Nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) assays were performed to detect the Plasmodium genus and species.

Results: Of 380 patients, 232 (61.1%) were positive for malaria. Plasmodium falciparum was the only prevalent species detected amongst the study population. nPCR analysis revealed that none of the samples had Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale or Plasmodium malariae. The malaria prevalence rate was higher amongst males (67.1%) than in females (56.8%), and gender was the only risk factor that was significantly associated with malaria infection (p = .042).

Conclusions: Despite control programmes, malaria remains a significant cause of illness amongst a displaced population. The high prevalence of malaria infection in this study indicates that additional health facilities and control strategies should be implemented in displaced camps and the surrounding areas.

Keywords: Displaced camp; Malaria; Molecular epidemiology; Nested PCR; Plasmodium; Sudan.