Molecular Surveillance of Antimalarial Drug Resistance-Associated Mutations in P. falciparum Imported from Africa into Guangdong Province, China, 2023-2025.
4 affiliations
- 1Parasitic Disease Prevention and Control Institute, Guangdong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China.
- 2State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Medicine, Shenzhen Campus, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China.
- 3Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Systems Medicine in Inflammatory Diseases, Shenzhen Campus, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China.
- 4National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Shenzhen Campus, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China.
Abstract
Imported falciparum malaria remains an important challenge in China, particularly with the emergence of antimalarial resistance in Africa. This study characterized resistance-associated mutations in pfk13, pfcrt and pfmdr1 by nested PCR and Sanger sequencing of 291 Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) isolates imported from 29 African countries into Guangdong Province during 2023-2025. Sequences were obtained for pfk13 (n = 279), pfcrt (n = 225) and pfmdr1 (n = 235). Four pfk13 variants-C469Y, Y558C, R561H and A675V-were each detected once (0.36%). These isolates originated from East and Central Africa. The wild-type pfk13 haplotype accounted for 98.57% of isolates. For pfcrt, the wild-type MNK haplotype predominated (85.33%), whereas the IET triple-mutant haplotype accounted for 14.22% and was mainly detected in isolates from West and Central Africa. Y184F was the predominant pfmdr1 variant (55.32%), with an annual prevalence of 52.59-60.78%. Other variants included N86Y (3.40%), D1246Y (1.28%), and S163N, T199S and S1217F (0.43% each). The Y184F single-mutant haplotype was most common (51.91%). The imported isolates showed a low prevalence of pfk13 variants, predominance of wild-type pfcrt and frequent pfmdr1 Y184F variants. The detection of several pfk13 variants highlights the need for continued molecular surveillance of antimalarial resistance.
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BibTeX
@article{chen2026molecular,
title = {{Molecular Surveillance of Antimalarial Drug Resistance-Associated Mutations in P. falciparum Imported from Africa into Guangdong Province, China, 2023-2025.}},
author = {Lijun Chen and Qiang Mao and De Wu and Jiahui Liu and Jiayi Zhang and Wencheng Lu and Minwu Peng and Yating Chen and Jieling Wang and Jingdiao Chen and Mang Shi},
journal = {Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/pathogens15101080},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931231},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Molecular Surveillance of Antimalarial Drug Resistance-Associated Mutations in P. falciparum Imported from Africa into Guangdong Province, China, 2023-2025.
AU - Lijun Chen
AU - Qiang Mao
AU - De Wu
AU - Jiahui Liu
AU - Jiayi Zhang
AU - Wencheng Lu
AU - Minwu Peng
AU - Yating Chen
AU - Jieling Wang
AU - Jingdiao Chen
AU - Mang Shi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/pathogens15101080
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931231
AB - Imported falciparum malaria remains an important challenge in China, particularly with the emergence of antimalarial resistance in Africa. This study characterized resistance-associated mutations in pfk13, pfcrt and pfmdr1 by nested PCR and Sanger sequencing of 291 Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) isolates imported from 29 African countries into Guangdong Province during 2023-2025. Sequences were obtained for pfk13 (n = 279), pfcrt (n = 225) and pfmdr1 (n = 235). Four pfk13 variants-C469Y, Y558C, R561H and A675V-were each detected once (0.36%). These isolates originated from East and Central Africa. The wild-type pfk13 haplotype accounted for 98.57% of isolates. For pfcrt, the wild-type MNK haplotype predominated (85.33%), whereas the IET triple-mutant haplotype accounted for 14.22% and was mainly detected in isolates from West and Central Africa. Y184F was the predominant pfmdr1 variant (55.32%), with an annual prevalence of 52.59-60.78%. Other variants included N86Y (3.40%), D1246Y (1.28%), and S163N, T199S and S1217F (0.43% each). The Y184F single-mutant haplotype was most common (51.91%). The imported isolates showed a low prevalence of pfk13 variants, predominance of wild-type pfcrt and frequent pfmdr1 Y184F variants. The detection of several pfk13 variants highlights the need for continued molecular surveillance of antimalarial resistance.
SN - 2076-0817
ER -