
Alassane DickoMalaria Research and Training Center ; University of Science Techniques and Technologies of Bamako
Alassane Dicko
MD, PhD
About
260
Publications
30,493
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
7,147
Citations
Introduction
Malaria epidemiology, control and elimination
Vaccines and Drugs Trials in LMIC
Public Health
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (260)
The recently deployed RTS,S/AS01 E malaria vaccine induces a strong antibody response to the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) on the surface of the Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite which is associated with protection. The anti-CSP antibody titre falls rapidly after primary vaccination, associated with a decline in efficacy, but the antibody titre and...
Background
The R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine has been shown to provide high protective efficacy against malaria in a phase III trial, and has been recommended for use by WHO. The vaccine will soon be deployed at scale in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to understand the caregiver and community acceptability of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine alongside...
Malaria in pregnancy increases maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is a core vector control strategy used to reduce transmission in endemic areas; however, its efficacy in reducing the sequelae of malaria in pregnancy is not well described. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science were searched for all...
Background
Interrupting human-to-mosquito transmission is important for malaria elimination strategies as it can reduce infection burden in communities and slow the spread of drug resistance. Antimalarial medications differ in their efficacy in clearing the transmission stages of Plasmodium falciparum (gametocytes) and in preventing mosquito infect...
Climate change may be the single largest threat facing humanity and ecosystems, necessitating decarbonization across all sectors, including healthcare and academia. With the aim of informing and supporting sustainable research practices, we performed a life cycle assessment of a clinical trial conducted in Mali. The trial involved 80 malaria-infect...
Depuis la recommandation de la chimioprévention du paludisme saisonnier en 2012 par l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé, le Mali a adopté dans la même année en l’implémentant dans le district sanitaire de Koutiala. L’objectif de cette étude était d’évalué la couverture, l’acceptabilité et la tolérance de la stratégie en phase pilote à l’échelle d’u...
Background
Plasmodium falciparum malaria is still a leading cause of child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The clinical manifestations of malaria range from asymptomatic infection to severe disease. The variation in clinical presentation is partly attributed to host genetic factors with estimated narrow-sense heritability of 23%. Here, we investig...
Background
Primaquine (PQ) is the prototype 8-aminoquinoline drug, a class which targets gametocytes and hypnozoites. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends adding a single low dose of primaquine to the standard artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) in order to block malaria transmission in regions with low malaria transmission. Howev...
Background
Artemether–lumefantrine is widely used for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria; sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine is used for seasonal malaria chemoprevention. We aimed to determine the efficacy of artemether–lumefantrine with and without primaquine and sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine with and without tafenoqu...
Background: In patients with severe neutropenia, infections can rapidly become serious and life-threatening. It is essential to understand whether pregnancy induces changes in neutrophil levels thereby posing an increased threat to the health of gravidae. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in San Health District (Mali) and involv...
Background
Reducing the burden of malaria in pregnant women remains a serious challenge for control programmes. A possible waning in immunity makes pregnant women more vulnerable to infectious diseases, including malaria. In this study, the effect of neutropenia on artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACTs) effectiveness in clearing current Plasm...
Background: Artemether-lumefantrine is widely used for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria; sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine is used for seasonal malaria chemoprevention. We determined the efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine with and without primaquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine with and without tafenoquine for...
Background
Triple artemisinin-based combination therapies, such as artemether-lumefantrine-amodiaquine, can delay the spread of antimalarial drug resistance; artesunate-amodiaquine is widely used for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. We aimed to determine the efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine-amodiaquine and artesunate-amodiaquine with...
In malaria-endemic areas, pregnant women are more susceptible to Plasmodium falciparum infection, especially primigravidae. During pregnancy, parasites sequester in the placenta and bind to the receptor chondroitin sulfate (CSA). This unique adhesion is mediated by the parasite protein VAR2CSA expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes (IE)....
Background
Serosurveillance is an important method to help monitor COVID-19 in the community in Mali. We previously adapted and qualified a two-antigen Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays for use in local laboratories using venous blood samples (95% CI, 73.9% (51.6–89.8) and 99.4% (97.7–99.9)) respectively as sensitivity and specificity). However, t...
Introduction:
Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are involved in pathogen clearance by phagocytosis. However, the role of PMNs in the efficacy of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is poorly understood.
Methodology:
In a prospective longitudinal in vivo study, neutrophil rates were compared with malaria carriage after treatment with di...
Introduction
Malaria, a devastating febrile illness caused by protozoan parasites, sickened 247,000,000 people in 2021 and killed 619,000, mostly children and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. A highly effective vaccine is urgently needed, especially for Plasmodium falciparum (Pf), the deadliest human malaria parasite.
Areas covered
Sporozoite...
Background:
Seasonal vaccination with the RTS,S/AS01E vaccine combined with seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) prevented malaria in young children more effectively than either intervention given alone over a 3 year period. The objective of this study was to establish whether the added protection provided by the combination could be sustained f...
Background
In order to reignite gains and accelerate progress toward improved malaria control and elimination, policy, strategy, and operational decisions should be derived from high-quality evidence. The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) Insights project together with the Université Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Senegal, conducted a broad sta...
Introduction: Severe anemia caused by severe malaria remains concentrated in children under 5 years old in Africa. In addition to blood-transfusion-related infections that pose a health concern, transfusion of severely anemic blood to a patient with severe anemia is another important concern. Method: Following the observation of a case of severe an...
Sequence analysis of Plasmodium falciparum parasites is informative in ensuring sustained success of malaria control programmes. Whole-genome sequencing technologies provide insights into the epidemiology and genome-wide variation of P. falciparum populations and can characterise geographical as well as temporal changes. This is particularly import...
Background:
Malaria infections during pregnancy can cause adverse birth outcomes, yet many infections are undetected by microscopy. We aimed to describe the epidemiology of submicroscopic malaria infections in pregnant women in Asia, the Americas, and Africa using aggregated and individual participant data (IPD).
Methods:
For this systematic rev...
Background
Seasonal vaccination with the RTS,S/AS01 E malaria vaccine given alongside seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) substantially reduces malaria in young children. The WHO has recommended the use of RTS,S/AS01 E , including seasonal vaccination, in areas with seasonal malaria transmission. This study aimed to identify potential strategies...
Purpose: Pregnant women living in Sub-Sahara Africa (sSA) are exposed to malaria and its harmful consequences on pregnancy outcomes. Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cells (WBC) in the bloodstream and are innate immune key effectors against infections. Substantial work has been done to study the role of neutrophils in malaria, but litt...
Background
The WHO recommends use of the RTS,S/AS01E (RTS,S) malaria vaccine for young children living in areas of moderate to high Plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission and suggests countries consider seasonal vaccination in areas with highly seasonal malaria. Seasonal vaccination is uncommon and may require adaptations with potential cost co...
Host immunity has been suggested to clear drug-resistant parasites in malaria-endemic settings. However, the immunogenetic mechanisms involved in parasite clearance are poorly understood. Characterizing the host's immunity and genes involved in controlling the parasitic infection can inform the development of blood-stage malaria vaccines. This stud...
Background
In some settings, sensitive field diagnostic tools may be needed to achieve elimination of falciparum malaria. To this end, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) based on the detection of the Plasmodium falciparum protein HRP-2 are being developed with increasingly lower limits of detection. However, it is currently unclear how parasite stages t...
Background
A 2021 clinical trial of seasonal RTS,S/AS01E (RTS,S) vaccination showed that vaccination was non-inferior to seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in preventing clinical malaria. The combination of these two interventions provided significant additional protection against clinical and severe malaria outcomes. Projections of the effect...
In Sub-Saharan Africa, malaria continues to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes including stillbirth, early neonatal death, preterm delivery, and low birth weight. Current preventive measures are insufficient and new interventions are urgently needed. However, before such interventions can be tested in pregnant women, background informati...
Background
Seasonal malaria chemoprevention is used in 13 countries in the Sahel region of Africa to prevent malaria in children younger than 5 years. Resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to seasonal malaria chemoprevention drugs across the region is a potential threat to this intervention.
Methods
Between December, 2015, and March, 2016, and betwe...
Background
A recent trial of 5920 children in Burkina Faso and Mali showed that the combination of seasonal vaccination with the RTS,S/AS01 E malaria vaccine (primary series and two seasonal boosters) and seasonal malaria chemoprevention (four monthly cycles per year) was markedly more effective than either intervention given alone in preventing cl...
Background
In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended single low-dose (SLD, 0.25 mg/kg) primaquine to be added as a Plasmodium (P.) falciparum gametocytocide to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) without glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) testing, to accelerate malaria elimination efforts and avoid the spread of artemis...
This study aims to evaluate the factors influencing the adherence to the 2nd and 3rd doses of Amodiaquine (AQ) during seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Overall, 3132 people were interviewed during surveys between 2019 and 2020 in 15 health districts. In Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, the proportions of non-adh...
Malaria has been hypothesized as a factor that may have reduced the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. To evaluate the effect of recent malaria on COVID-19 we assessed a subgroup of individuals participating in a longitudinal cohort COVID-19 serosurvey that were also undergoing intensive malaria monitoring as part of antimalar...
Background
In some settings, sensitive field diagnostic tools may be needed to achieve elimination of falciparum malaria. To this end, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) based on the detection of the Plasmodium falciparum protein HRP-2 are being developed with increasingly lower limits of detection. However, it is currently unclear how parasite stages t...
This study aims to evaluate the factors influencing the adherence to the 2nd and 3rd doses during each cycle of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Overall, 3,132 people were interviewed during surveys between 2019 and 2020 in 15 health districts. The median age was 30 years. In Burkina , Mali, and Niger, the pr...
Background
The frequency and clinical presentation of malaria infections show marked heterogeneity in epidemiological studies. However, deeper understanding of this variability is hampered by the difficulty in quantifying all relevant factors. Here, we report the history of malaria infections in twins, who are exposed to the same in utero milieu, s...
Malaria transmission depends on the presence of mature Plasmodium transmission stages (gametocytes) that may render blood-feeding Anopheles mosquitos infectious. Transmission-blocking antimalarial drugs and vaccines can prevent transmission by reducing gametocyte densities or infectivity to mosquitos. Mosquito infection outcomes are thereby informa...
Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes that display the variant surface antigen VAR2CSA bind chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) to sequester in placental intervillous spaces, causing severe sequelae for mother and offspring. Here, we establish a placental malaria (PM) monkey model. Pregnant Aotus infected with CSA-binding P. falciparum CS2 parasites...
The populations of moderate or highly malaria endemic areas gradually acquire some immunity to malaria as a result of repeated exposure to the infection. When this exposure is reduced as a result of effective malaria control measures, subjects who benefitted from the intervention may consequently be at increased risk of malaria if the intervention...
Background
Tafenoquine was recently approved as a prophylaxis and radical cure for Plasmodium vivax infection, but its Plasmodium falciparum transmission-blocking efficacy is unclear. We aimed to establish the efficacy and safety of three single low doses of tafenoquine in combination with dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine for reducing gametocyte dens...
Background
A recent trial in Burkina Faso and Mali showed that combining seasonal RTS,S/AS01 E malaria vaccination with seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) substantially reduced the incidence of uncomplicated and severe malaria in young children compared to either intervention alone. Given the possible negative effect of malaria on nutrition, th...
Background
In 2012, seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) was recommended as policy for malaria control by the World Health Organization (WHO) in areas of highly seasonal malaria transmission across the Sahel sub-region in Africa along with monitoring of drug resistance. We assessed the long-term impact of SMC on Plasmodium falciparum resistance t...
Background: Spatial repellents have been widely used for the prevention of mosquito bites but their efficacy in reducing mosquito borne diseases has never been evaluated in Africa. Additionally, spatial repellents have the potential of being critical tools in the prevention of mosquito borne diseases in contexts where typical vectors control effort...
Clinical studies have shown that adding a single 0.25mg base/kg dose of primaquine to standard antimalarial regimens rapidly sterilises Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes. However, the mechanism of action and overall impact on malaria transmission is still unknown. Using data from 81 adult Malians with P. falciparum gametocytaemia who received the s...
Malaria may affect the reliability of SARS-CoV-2 seroassay performance and limit understanding of SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology in malaria-endemic regions. We present our experience conducting SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance in seasonal malaria-affected communities in Mali and discuss relevant literature regarding the effect of malaria on the performance of...
Background:
A trial in young African children showed that combining seasonal vaccination with the RTS,S/AS01E vaccine with seasonal malaria chemoprevention reduced the incidence of uncomplicated and severe malaria substantially compared to either intervention given alone. This paper reports the anti-circumsporozoite antibody response to seasonal R...
Anemia is common among young children infected with Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) and severe malarial anemia (SMA) is a major cause of their mortality. Two major mechanisms cause malarial anemia: hemolysis of uninfected as well as infected erythrocytes and insufficient erythropoiesis. In a longitudinal birth cohort in Mali, we commonly observed marked...
Malaria control has stalled in a number of African countries and novel approaches to malaria control are needed for these areas. The encouraging results of a recent trial conducted in young children in Burkina Faso and Mali in which a combination of the RTS,S/AS01 E malaria vaccine and seasonal malaria chemoprevention led to a substantial reduction...
Plasmodium falciparum -infected erythrocytes (IE) sequester in the placenta via surface protein VAR2CSA, which binds chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) expressed on the syncytiotrophoblast surface, causing placental malaria (PM) and severe adverse outcomes in mothers and their offspring. VAR2CSA belongs to the PfEMP1 variant surface antigen family; PfEMP1...
Background:
False positivity may hinder the utility of SARS-CoV-2 serological tests in sub-Saharan Africa.
Methods:
From 312 Malian samples collected prior to 2020, we measured antibodies to the commonly tested SARS-CoV-2 antigens and four other betacoronaviruses by ELISA. In a subset of samples, we assessed antibodies to a panel of P. falciparu...
Background
Pyronaridine–artesunate is the most recently licensed artemisinin-based combination therapy. WHO has recommended that a single low dose of primaquine could be added to artemisinin-based combination therapies to reduce Plasmodium falciparum transmission in areas aiming for elimination of malaria or areas facing artemisinin resistance. We...
Background
Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) has shown high protective efficacy against clinical malaria and severe malaria in a series of clinical trials. We evaluated the effectiveness of SMC treatments against clinical malaria when delivered at scale through national malaria control programmes in 2015 and 2016.
Methods and findings
Case–co...
Background
Malaria control remains a challenge in many parts of the Sahel and sub-Sahel regions of Africa.
Methods
We conducted an individually randomized, controlled trial to assess whether seasonal vaccination with RTS,S/AS01E was noninferior to chemoprevention in preventing uncomplicated malaria and whether the two interventions combined were s...
Background
The extent of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission in Mali and the surrounding region is not well understood. We aimed to estimate the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in three communities, and understand factors associated with infection.
Methods
Between July 2020 and January 2021, we collected blood samples and demographic, social,...
Background
Malaria and malnutrition remain major problems in Sahel countries, especially in young children. The direct effect of malnutrition on malaria remains poorly understood, and may have important implications for malaria control. In this study, nutritional status and the association between malnutrition and subsequent incidence of symptomati...
Plasmodium infection causes devastating disease and high mortality in young children. Immunity develops progressively as children acquire protection against severe disease, although reinfections and recrudescences still occur throughout life in areas of endemicity, partly due to parasite immunoevasion via switching of variant proteins such as Plasm...
Les pays du Sud concentrent une grande part du fardeau global de morbidité. Les maladies infectieuses y sont prédominantes et le fardeau de certaines maladies non transmissibles augmente rapidement. Les essais cliniques constituent le meilleur moyen d’évaluer l’efficacité et la tolérance de nouveaux traitements. L’efficacité et la tolérance des nou...