First report of a phylogenetic analysis of an autochthonous Plasmodium vivax strain isolated from a malaria case in East Attica, Greece

Malaria has become an emerging infection in Greece, which is the doorstep to Europe for thousands of immigrants. With increasing immigration, cases with evidence of domestic transmission (autochthonous) are being reported. In the present study, an isolate of Plasmodium vivax from an autochthonous clinical case was subjected to phylogenetic analysis of the genes encoding the merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP-1) and the circumsporozoite protein (CSP). In the MSP region, the strain was related with strains from Brazil, South Korea, Turkey and Thailand, whereas in the CSP region, with strains from Brazil, Colombia and New Guinea. The present study establishes for the first time in Greece the basis for the creation of a database comprising genotypic and phylogenetic characteristics of Plasmodium spp.