Malaria Prevalence Around Maferinyah, Guinea

Cross-Sectional Survey of Plasmodium and Other Parasites in Pregnant Women and Infants Around Maferinyah, Guinea

Background:

Many women in Sub-Saharan Africa get malaria while they are pregnant. Plasmodium falciparum is a parasite that can cause malaria. Placental malaria (PM) caused by P. falciparum can cause anemia or death in first-time mothers. In infants, it can cause low birth weight, premature birth, or other problems. Some women don t show any signs of having PM. This makes it harder to know if they might have it. Researchers want to learn how much the seasons affect the number of women and infants who get PM as well as the severity of the disease. To do this, they are going to test women and babies who visit a health center in Guinea.

Objective:

To learn the seasonal burden of P. falciparum infection in pregnant women and otherwise healthy infants.

Eligibility:

Pregnant women ages 18 years and older (or emancipated minors) and infants ages 6-12 months.

Design:

Participants will include women and infants who visit the health center in Maf(SqrRoot)(Registered Trademark)rinyah, Guinea, for routine care. They can take part only once per pregnancy.

For screening, mothers will talk about their medical history. They will talk about their past pregnancies and their current pregnancy. They will answer questions about where they live and what they do to keep from getting malaria. Babies will be screened with their medical history and demographic information.

Participants will also give a blood sample. Adults will have a finger stick. Children will have a heel stick. Or they will have blood taken from a vein.

Participation will last for 1 visit to the health center.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Malaria

Detailed Description

Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum continues to be a global problem with devastating consequences, in particular for at-risk populations such as pregnant women and young infants. Pregnancy malaria is associated with low birth weight (LBW), maternal anemia, and gestational hypertension; both inflammation and the fetal response to infection may contribute to these poor outcomes. Placental malaria (PM) is caused by P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes that bind to the placental receptor chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) and sequester in the placenta, where they cause disease and may lead to death for the mother and her offspring. Women become resistant to PM as they acquire antibodies that target surface proteins of placental parasites. In areas of stable transmission, acute severe malaria syndromes are limited to children under 5 years of age. The pathogenesis of severe malaria remains poorly understood, although some evidence suggests that parasites causing severe malaria may express distinct antigens on the surface of infected erythrocytes. Thus, vaccines to prevent malarial disease may need to target distinct antigens in order to protect pregnant women or young children.

The primary hypothesis in this study is that the burden of P. falciparum infection around Maferinyah, Guinea is sufficient to support future studies of malaria pathogenesis and immunity. We plan to enroll 1050 pregnant women and 1050 infants into a cross sectional study that will be conducted in Maferinyah and neighboring areas, Guinea. Women presenting for routine antenatal visits and older infants presenting for routine healthy visits (e.g, vaccinations, vitamins) at the health center in Maf(SqrRoot)(Registered Trademark)rinyah will be offered enrollment. Samples collected from the women and infants will be examined for evidence of infection by Pla smodium and other parasitic diseases in order to assess prevalence in these important reservoir populations. For our primary outcome, we will determine the prevalence of P. falciparum infection in these two key demographic groups, including their annual and seasonal variations, as these data will form the basis to design future natural history or interventional studies at this site. For our secondary outcomes, we will determine the prevalence of other parasitic infections based on multiplexed serologic assessments of blood samples.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 3392

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Guinea
  • Maferinyah, Guinea
    • Maferinyah Rural Health Training and Research Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 6 months and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Pregnant women 18 years of age and older (including emancipated minors) and 6-12 month old infants presenting for routine visits at Maf(SqrRoot)(Registered Trademark)rinyah Health Centers

Description

• INCLUSION CRITERIA:

For pregnant women, a study participant must satisfy the following criteria to be enrolled in this study:

• Pregnant women greater than or equal to 18 years of age (or emancipated minors) reporting for routine antenatal care at the health center without acute illness
• The study participant understands the study and gives informed consent for participation
• Willingness to share a positive test result for malaria or helminths with the health center in Maf(SqrRoot)(Registered Trademark)rinyah so treatment can be initiated if necessary
• Willingness to allow stored laboratory specimens to be used for future research

For children, a study participant must satisfy the following criteria to be enrolled in this study:

• Children 6-12 months of age at time of visit presenting for routine care at the health center without acute illness
• The parent or guardian understands the study and gives informed consent for participation of their child
• Willingness of parent/guardian to share a positive test result for malaria or helminths with the health center in Maferinyah so treatment can be initiated if necessary
• Willingness of parent/guardian to allow stored laboratory specimens to be used for future research

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

-Conditions that in the judgment of the Principal Investigator or Clinical Investigators could adversely impact the safety of the study participant, including conditions that may impair the ability of the participant or participant s parent/guardian to understand the study. All such exclusions and the reason for exclusion will be documented.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Older Infants; Infants age 6-12 months presenting for routine healthy visits
Pregnant Women; Women 18 years and older (and emancipated minors) presenting for routine antenatal visits

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Estimate of the seasonal burden of Plasmodium falciparum infection among pregnant women and otherwise healthy infants	seasonal burden of Plasmodium falciparum infection	3 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Estimate of the frequency of parasitemia due to non-falciparum malaria	The frequency of parasitemia due to non-falciparum malaria and seroprevalence of parasitic infections due to organisms other than Plasmodium (e.g. filarial spp., Schistosoma spp., soil-transmitted helminths) in these cohorts	3 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Patrick E Duffy, M.D., National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Rogerson SJ, Desai M, Mayor A, Sicuri E, Taylor SM, van Eijk AM. Burden, pathology, and costs of malaria in pregnancy: new developments for an old problem. Lancet Infect Dis. 2018 Apr;18(4):e107-e118. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30066-5. Epub 2018 Jan 31.
• Kwan JL, Seitz AE, Fried M, Lee KL, Metenou S, Morrison R, Kabyemela E, Nutman TB, Prevots DR, Duffy PE. Seroepidemiology of helminths and the association with severe malaria among infants and young children in Tanzania. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018 Mar 26;12(3):e0006345. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006345. eCollection 2018 Mar.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 13, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 30, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): October 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 25, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 25, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): September 26, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 14, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 13, 2023
• Last Verified: November 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Natural History; Burden; Infections; Seasonal; Organism; Blood Smear
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infections; Vector Borne Diseases; Parasitic Diseases; Protozoan Infections; Malaria
• Other Study ID Numbers: 999919141; 19-I-N141

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No