Population dynamics and drug resistance mutations in Plasmodium falciparum on the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau

Genomic analysis of Plasmodium falciparum isolates from the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau, reveals that malaria parasites here closely resemble mainland West African populations without forming a distinct phylogenetic cluster. The study, the first to sequence P. falciparum genomes from this UNESCO-listed coastal ecosystem, identified fixed drug resistance mutations (PfDHFR N51I and S108N) linked to sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance, alongside persistent chloroquine resistance (PfCRT K76T). Using 1.3 million SNPs across 795 African isolates, researchers analyzed dried blood spots from 15 asymptomatic cases, providing critical data for tracking drug resistance amid rising antimalarial use and regional chemoprevention efforts.

Moss, S., Mańko, E., Vasileva, H., Da Silva, E. T., Goncalves, A., Osborne, A., Phelan, J., Rodrigues, A., Djata, P., D’Alessandro, U., Mabey, D., Krishna, S., Last, A., Clark, T. G., & Campino, S. (2023). Population dynamics and drug resistance mutations in Plasmodium falciparum on the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau. Scientific Reports, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33176-1