Abstract
BACKGROUND: While malaria elimination efforts in West African countries focus primarily on Plasmodium falciparum, non-falciparum malaria species could replace P. falciparum if their elimination is neglected. It is within this malaria control and elimination context that this article reviews the circulation of non-falciparum malaria species in the West African region. METHODS: Non-falciparum related articles with a focus on the West African sub-region, published between 2000 and 2024, were selected using internet search engines Google Search, PubMed Central®, and the National Library of Medicine. The methodologies, including the study type, period, population, clinical symptoms, and diagnostic techniques used, plus the frequency of non-falciparum species, were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 31 articles about non-falciparum malaria were reviewed, including 2 (6.5%) each from Benin, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast, 4 (12.9%) each from Ghana and Nigeria, 5 (16.1%) from Mali, 3 (9.7%) from Niger, and 9 (29.0%) from Senegal. Of the 31 reviewed papers, P. falciparum was reported in 29 (93.5%), P. malariae in 25 (80.6%), P. ovale in 24 (77.4%), P. vivax in 11 (35.5%). Overall, 17 (54.8%) of the review papers used RDTs including 12 (70.6%) PfHRP2-based RDTs, and 5 (29.4%) of the malaria Ag P.f/Pan-based RDTs. CONCLUSION: This review describes and provides a better understanding of the circulation of non-falciparum malaria species in West Africa. In addition, it underscores the need to adapt malaria diagnostics by using more sensitive techniques, and to modify control strategies to investigate asymptomatic Plasmodium infections.