Bhavna GuptaDaniel M. ParkerQi FanB. P.Niranjan ReddyGuiyun YanJetsumon SattabongkotLiwang CuiPennsylvania State UniversityMahidol UniversityDalian Institute of BiotechnologyUniversity of California, Irvine2018-12-112019-03-142018-12-112019-03-142016-11-01Infection, Genetics and Evolution. Vol.45, (2016), 341-34615677257156713482-s2.0-84988985916https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/42899© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Malaria transmission along international borders of the Greater Mekong Subregion is a big challenge for regional malaria elimination. At the Thai-Myanmar border, Plasmodium falciparum cases have dropped dramatically; however, increasing P. vivax prevalence and the emerging reports on hidden malaria burden due to asymptomatic infections demand attention. We conducted cross-sectional surveys to detect asymptomatic malaria infections in a small village located at Thai-Myanmar border and genotyped P. vivax infections in order to understand the level of genetic diversity on such a microgeographic scale. PCR/RFLP and DNA sequencing identified high levels of genetic polymorphisms at both Pvmsp3α and Pvmsp3β loci among P. vivax infections. Combining the PCR/RFLP patterns of Pvmsp3α and Pvmsp3β, a total of 10 genotypes were observed among 17 samples, while concatenated DNA sequences of Pvmsp3α and 3β generated 14 haplotypes with haplotype diversity of 0.97. These markedly diverse parasites on a microgeographic scale suggest the circulation of a considerably large parasite population at the international border.Mahidol UniversityAgricultural and Biological SciencesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyImmunology and MicrobiologyMedicineMicrogeographically diverse Plasmodium vivax populations at the Thai-Myanmar borderArticleSCOPUS10.1016/j.meegid.2016.09.021