Molecular epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to antimalarial drugs in Indonesia

Abstract

The extent of gene polymorphisms associated with resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine was examined in field isolates of Plasmodium falciparum from Indonesia. Eight malaria-endemic areas, representing a broad region of the western and eastern Indonesian Archipelago were surveyed. Blood from 20-50 patients was collected at each site. DNA was isolated, and the sequences of four different genes (dihydrofolate reductase [dhfr], dihydropteroate synthase [dhps], P. falciparum multidrug resistance 1 [pfmdrI], and P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter [pfcrt]) were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphisms to detect polymorphi..