Low-high season variation in Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte binding antigen 175 (eba-175) allelic forms in malaria endemic area of Burkina Faso

Objective To assess the impact of seasonal variation on the distribution of the eba-175 allelic forms in the area where malaria transmission is markedly seasonal. Methods Blood samples were collected from 291 and 239 children under 5 years of age during the low and the high malaria transmission season, respectively, in four villages named Dawelgué, Kounda, Tanghin and Watenga of Saponé Health District, then screened for eba 175 F- and C- alleles by nested PCR analysis. Results F- alleles were more prevalent than C-alleles in the low [0.66 vs. 0.34 (P < 0.0001)] and high transmission season [0.67 vs. 0.33 (P < 0.0001)]. No significant seasonal variation was observed in the distribution of the two alleles. However, according to Sewall Wright rules, the population pairwise FST values, between Dawelgué and Tanghin during the low transmission season (FST- value = 0.10415, P-value = 0.0090 and during the high season (F ST-value = 0.08244, P-value < 0.00001), between Tanghin and Watenga during the low season (FST value = 0.07414, P-value = 0.009) indicated a moderate but statistically significant genetic differentiation. Conclusion Although there was a moderate but significant genetic differentiation between some study villages at different times of the year, this study result in the seasonal stability of eba-175 allele's distribution in the study area. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.