Browsing by Author "Kaddumukasa, M"

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Malariometric indices from Iganga, Uganda: baseline characterization in preparation of GMZ2 vaccine trial
(2014) Kaddumukasa, M; Buwembo, W; Sekikubo, M; Naiwumbwe, H; Namusoke, F; Kiwuwa, S; Oketch, B; Noor, R; Chilengi, R; Mworozi, E; Kironde, Fred
Background: Malaria still remains the leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in Uganda. Interventions like malaria vaccines which reduce the malaria burden are needed in malaria endemic communities. There is need to establish baseline characteristics in vaccine trial study sites. This study determined the following baseline malariometric indices: spleen rates, bed net use, malaria parasitaemia and malaria episodes in an inception cohort of children aged 12 – 60 months in Iganga district, Uganda. Methods: In a longitudinal cohort study, 748 children were enrolled with 397 in an active follow up arm and 351 in a passive arm. The children in the two arms were followed for 6 months to determine the incidence of malaria episodes. Results: The overall baseline spleen rate was 8.2% (61/748) among the study participants. Of the households surveyed, about 36% reported using bed nets and almost 30% of the users had insecticide-treated nets. 274 (36.6%) of the study participants had a history of fever in the past 24 hrs at the time of the baseline survey. All participants had a peripheral blood smear for malaria parasites done at enrollment with 76.8% having the asexual form of malaria parasites. The malaria episodes per child per year were 1.5 and 0.79 in the active and passive follow up arms respectively. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of malaria asexual parasitaemia in children below five years. The bed net usage still remains low among this population. These baseline malariometric indices have important implication for malaria control interventions.
Parasite Specific Antibody Increase Induced by an Episode of Acute P. falciparum Uncomplicated Malaria
(2015) Kaddumukasa, M; Lwanira, C; Lugaajju, A; Katabira, E; Persson, K. E. M.; Wahlgren, M; Kironde, Fred
Introduction There is no approved vaccine for malaria, and precisely how human antibody responses to malaria parasite components and potential vaccine molecules are developed and maintained remains poorly defined. In this study, antibody anamnestic or memory response elicited by a single episode of P. falciparum infection was investigated. Methods This study involved 362 malaria patients aged between 6 months to 60 years, of whom 19% were early-diagnosed people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). On the day malaria was diagnosed and 42 days later, blood specimens were collected. Parasite density, CD4+ cells, and antibodies specific to synthetic peptides representing antigenic regions of the P. falciparum proteins GLURP, MSP3 and HRPII were measured. Results On the day of malaria diagnosis, Immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies against GLURP, MSP3 and HRP II peptides were present in the blood of 75%, 41% and 60% of patients, respectively. 42 days later, the majority of patients had boosted their serum IgG antibody more than 1.2 fold. The increase in level of IgG antibody against the peptides was not affected by parasite density at diagnosis. The median CD4+ cell counts of PLWHAs and HIV negative individuals were not statistically different, and median post-infection increases in anti-peptide IgG were similar in both groups of patients. Conclusion In the majority (70%) of individuals, an infection of P. falciparum elicits at least 20% increase in level of anti-parasite IgG. This boost in anti-P. falciparum IgG is not affected by parasite density on the day of malaria diagnosis, or by HIV status.