Demonstration of a High Level of Parasite Population Homology by Quantification of Plasmodium falciparum Alleles in Matched

Plasmodium falciparum msp-1 and msp-2 genes were quantified by fragment analysis in matched placental, peripheral, and cord blood samples. In the three compartments, the multiplicity of infection values were similar, and parasite populations only partially overlapped, as reported. However, identical alleles represented 80 to 95 % of the overall parasite populations of each compartment, demonstrating much more homogenous parasite populations than previously thought. In areas where malaria is endemic, it is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. During pregnancy, especially the first pregnancy, women are more susceptible and more frequently infected with high levels of placental parasitemia, causing com-plications for both mothers and newborn babies (5). The ma-ture forms of Plasmodium falciparum sequester in deep mi-crovessels in cerebral malaria and in placental intervillous spaces in pregnant women, while ring stages circulate in the peripheral blood. This phenomenon distorts the analysis of parasites in peripheral blood, revealing only parasites circulat