| Past two years | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 639 | 419 | 60 |
| Full Text Views | 17 | 6 | 1 |
| PDF Downloads | 23 | 10 | 2 |
High incidence of asymptomatic malara infections in a birth cohort of children less than one year of age in Ghana, detected by multicopy gene polymerase chain reaction.
G Wagner
G Wagner
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Search for other papers by G Wagner in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by G Wagner in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
K Koram
K Koram
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Search for other papers by K Koram in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by K Koram in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
D McGuinness
D McGuinness
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Search for other papers by D McGuinness in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by D McGuinness in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
S Bennett
S Bennett
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Search for other papers by S Bennett in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by S Bennett in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
F Nkrumah
F Nkrumah
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Search for other papers by F Nkrumah in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by F Nkrumah in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
E Riley
E Riley
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Search for other papers by E Riley in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by E Riley in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
The incidence of Plasmodium falciparum infection has been followed in a birth cohort of 71 infants in southern Ghana, an area of perennial malaria transmission. Parasite DNA detection established the presence of a high rate of infection in newborns (13.6%), a low level of infection from two to 26 weeks (1.5-9.7%) and a steadily increasing parasite rate from 26 weeks of age. The median age to first infection was 42 weeks. Five cases of fever (temperature > or = 37.5 degrees C) and parasite density greater than 1,000 parasites/microl of blood, all in children more than 18 weeks of age, were considered possible cases of clinical malaria. The risk of infection was almost three times higher in the wet season than in the dry season and increased significantly from the age of 18 weeks. The level of malaria-specific IgG at birth was positively correlated with risk of infection in children 6-12 months of age, indicating that maternally derived anti-malarial IgG is correlated with exposure to malaria infection. There was no association between malaria-specific IgG at birth and risk of infection in children 0-6 months of age. However, infants do appear to possess mechanisms to limit parasite growth and a role for maternal antibody cannot be ruled out.
Author Notes
| Past two years | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 639 | 419 | 60 |
| Full Text Views | 17 | 6 | 1 |
| PDF Downloads | 23 | 10 | 2 |