Africa: Concerns grow about new Malaria mutation as rapid tests fail to detect parasite

The threat of malaria has turned more horrific as a new study has revealed that mutations in the malaria-causing parasite are making them hard to detect. This new finding is even more concerning as several parts of Africa have been plagued by malaria. As per data given by Science Alert, malaria caused over 4,00,000 deaths in 2019 alone, which mostly included babies and toddlers.

The finding

According to Science Alert’s report, nearly 10% of malaria cases have gone undetected across Ethiopia's borders due to mutation in the malaria-causing parasite. The research led by Ethiopian Public Health Institute's immunologist Sindew Feleke revealed that it is parasite Plasmodium falciparum that is escaping the normal way to detect malaria.

Researchers are now concerned that the failure of rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) might hand this mutated strain an advantage to spread. 

Jonathan Parr, an infectious disease researcher at the University of North Carolina was reported calling it a “serious problem” and he said that misdiagnosis and malaria deaths without intervention will increase if failed negative results continue to appear. Needless to say, failure in detecting the parasite will also disrupt the malaria control efforts.

Mutation due to deletion of genes

Feleke and her team reportedly studied blood samples of over 12,500 patients along Ethiopia’s border that it shares with Eritrea and Sudan. They found that out of the total cases, 10% of the tests gave false-negative results. They explained that this was due to the deletion of the parasite gene that produces the antigen which helps in detecting the presence of the parasite in the bloodstream.

They further revealed that mutations are deleting the genetic instructions coding for the proteins pfhrp2 and pfhrp23. Since no more antigen is being detected in human blood, tracing the P. falciparum has become a challenge. 

This protein has been a huge contributor in curbing malaria spread in Africa as around 345 million RDT kits are sold annually to detect the parasite, Science Alert reports. The mutation is also likely in South America and, scarily enough, the experts say they don’t even have the RDT kits. Besides, they also emphasised that surveillance and urgent alternative malaria diagnostic approach is the need of the hour in affected African regions.

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