Kelch-13 Polymorphism in Plasmodium Species from Children with Febrile Cases in Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Aim: This study investigated Kelch-13 polymorphism in Plasmodium species from Children with febrile cases in Secondary and Tertiary Health Facilities, in Nasarawa-South Senatorial District, Nigeria Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology, Nasarawa State University, between December 2024 and May 2025. Methodology: This study utilized a subset of fifty archived, malaria-positive blood samples collected from febrile children, of age 1 to 12, at secondary and tertiary health facilities within the Nasarawa-South senatorial zone, Nigeria, during previous studies. Plasmodium species identification and the detection of the Kelch-13 gene were performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The Kelch-13 gene was subsequently screened for polymorphisms via Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Results: The Plasmodium species namely; Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) and Plasmodium ovale (P. ovale) were identified from the seropositive samples with P. falciparum (28; 56.0%) having the highest prevalence. The prevalence of Kelch-13 gene found to be highest in P. falciparum (6/28; 21.4%) than in P. ovale (1/6; 16.7%). The percentage proportion of non-anonymous polymorphism in the PfK13 gene (4/6; 66.7) due to non-digestion with XbaI restriction enzyme was found to be higher than the anonymous polymorphism in the Kelch-13 gene (2/6; 33.3%). The Kelch-13 gene in P. falciparum without anonymous mutation were more frequently detected among the children with suspected cases of febrile in the study area. Conclusion: This study confirms the high prevalence of P. falciparum among febrile children in the region. Notably, a significant proportion of isolates featured K13 gene mutations, dominated by non-synonymous polymorphisms. This suggests the presence of artemisinin resistance-linked mutations in the study area, underscoring the need for robust surveillance and review of current treatment protocols.