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A cohort of 344 children aged less than five years were followed for one year to establish the
relationship between haptoglobin genotype, haptoglobin plasma level and malaria infection and
susceptibility. Haptoglobin genotyping was undertaken using PCR, with plasma haptoglobin levels
measured using indirect ELISA. The number of children carrying the genotypes Hp 1-1 , Hp 1-2 and Hp 2-2
were 85, 171 and 88, respectively. The state of malaria infection was assessed using standard
microscopy method to detect parasitemia. Higher plasma haptoglobin level tended to be associated
with negative parasitemia (P=0.01). During malaria infection, haptoglobin level decreased in all
individuals and, the decrease significantly varied by genotype, whereby the decrease was greater in
Hp 2-2 individuals than the other genotypes. A longitudinal examination of blood smears revealed a
slightly higher proportion of children carrying the Hp 2-2 genotype (12.4%) to be positive for malaria, as
compared to children with the genotype Hp 1-1 (11.7%) and Hp 1-2 (11.6%). The present study has
demonstrated that malaria infection in children affects the haptoglobin plasma level and the effect is
influenced by haptoglobin genotype. The study has also revealed a limited influence of haptoglobin
genotype to malaria infection and disease development. |
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