Integrating Malaria Molecular Epidemiology into Routine Surveillance in Kenya

Malaria resistance has become a growing concern across Africa, deeply threatening treatment efficacy and malaria elimination goals. New molecular biology techniques such as PfSMARRTer and sWGA can enable the detection of new resistance mutations, track how parasites spread, and show how infections are related. To understand malaria resistance in Kenya, 549 regional Kenyan samples were processed through the PfSMARRTer assay to evaluate resistance. Pfk13 mutations associated with artemisinin resistance were present as mixed genotype infections for the M476I, Y493H, P553L, R561H mutation, and the A675V mutation in 31 different samples. The genomic surveillance of these samples across Kenya provides an early warning signal for at least 3 artemisinin resistance mutations circulating in the region.