Bertin Gwladys auteur aut IRD Ndam N.T. auteur aut IRD Jafari Guemouri S. auteur aut IRD Fievet Nadine auteur aut IRD Renart E. auteur aut IRD Sow S. auteur aut IRD Le Hesran Jean-Yves auteur aut IRD Deloron Philippe auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Objectives: The risk of malaria infection is increased during pregnancy, and many countries recommend chloroquine prophylaxis in pregnant women, despite Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance. Chloroquine resistance is associated with the pfcrt gene K76T mutation. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence rate of pfcrt T76 mutation in P. falciparum isolates from infected pregnant and non-pregnant individuals from Senegal. Methods: The study was conducted in the rural maternity hospital of Thiadiaye, Senegal, where malaria is seasonal. Sixty-nine P. falciparum isolates from infected women were collected at delivery. These women were part of a cohort study; they were followed from their first antenatal visit and advised to take chloroquine prophylaxis. For each woman, the earliest P. falciparum-infected blood sample was also used. A control group of 49 non-pregnant individuals with asymptomatic P. falciparum infection was enrolled. Results: During pregnancy, prevalence of T76 mutant parasites was higher than in the 49 non-pregnant controls (P < 0.001). Among pregnant women, this rate was highest at delivery (P=0.06), and tended to be higher in women who had taken chloroquine prophylaxis, as assessed in urine samples (P=0.08). Conclusions: Chloroquine prophylaxis is responsible for increased drug consumption and increased drug pressure that may lead to the selection of drug-resistant parasites. This is the first report showing that P. falciparum-infected pregnant women harbour pfcrt T76 mutant parasites more often than non-pregnant individuals, and that the prevalence of this mutation is higher at term than earlier during pregnancy. specialized malaria pregnancy drug resistance 052 55 5 788-791 2005 0305-7453 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010042952 10.1093/jac/dki097 0305-7453 [F B010042952] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010042952 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2024-12/010042952.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2006-03-29 2024-12-18 fdi:010042952 fre