POINT MUTATIONS IN THE DIHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE AND DIHYDROPTEROATE SYNTHASE GENES OF PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM AND RESISTANCE TO SULFADOXINE-PYRIMETHAMINE IN SRI LANKA

HAPUARACHCHIGE C. HAPUARACHCHI Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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MEEGODA Y. D. DAYANATH Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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KANDEYAYE BANDARALAGE A. T. BANDARA Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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SUDUSINGHE ABEYSUNDARA Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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WIMALADHARMA ABEYEWICKREME Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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NILANTHI R. DE SILVA Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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SONIA Y. HUNT Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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CAROL HOPKINS SIBLEY Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka; Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is the second-line treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Sri Lanka. Resistance to SP is caused by point mutations in the dihydrofolate reductase (Pf-dhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (Pf-dhps) genes of P. falciparum. We determined the genotype of Pf-dhfr and Pf-dhps and the clinical response to SP in 30 field isolates of P. falciparum from Sri Lanka. All patients treated with SP had an adequate clinical response. Eighty-five percent (23 of 27) of pure field isolates carried parasites with double mutant alleles of Pf-dhfr (C59R + S108N) and showed about 200-fold higher levels of resistance to pyrimethamine than the wild type in a yeast system. None of the isolates had either known or novel mutations at other positions in the dhfr domain. In contrast, 67% (20 of 30) of the isolates carried parasites that were wild type for Pf-dhps. In Sri Lanka, detection of the triple mutant allele of Pf-dhfr will require tracking mutations at codon 51.

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