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RecruitingNCT01168271Updated Nov 9, 2026

Host and Parasite Factors That Influence Susceptibility to Malaria Infection and Disease During Pregnancy and Early Childhood in Ouelessebougou and Bamako, Mali

An observational study in Malaria, sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Recruiting at 2 sites in Mali. Open to participants aged 1 Day to 45 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-09.

Sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Aug 2010; still recruiting 16 years 2 months later.
Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
15,000
Ages
1 Day to 45 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum continues to be a global problem with devastating consequences. A greater understanding of the immunologic and parasitologic factors associated with infection and disease is badly needed; and will accelerate the development of highly protective vaccines for both mothers and children. Pregnancy malaria is associated with low birth weight, maternal anemia, and gestational hypertension, and both inflammation and the fetal response to infection may contribute to these poor outcomes. Childhood malaria is a major cause of mortality, and we have found that its risk is related to in utero exposure to pregnancy malaria, as well as other host factors like iron status and constitutive cytokine levels. Pregnancy malaria is caused by a distinct parasite binding phenotype, and as our primary hypothesis in this study we speculate that severe childhood malaria parasites may also have distinct features. A longitudinal cohort study will be conducted in Ouelessebougou, Mali, an area of intense seasonal transmission. Up to 2000 pregnant women and their infants and 2000 children aged 0-3 years will be enrolled and followed to age 5 years, with clinical evaluation and periodic venous and peripheral blood samples being obtained. In addition, up to 3000 febrile hospitalized and non-hospitalized children up to 10 years ofd age will be enrolled at the Ouelessebougou district health centers or the Gabriel Toure Pediatric Hospital in Bamako, Mali, with acute and convalescent samples being obtained and 500 pregnant women enrolled at the health centers and hospital in Ouelessebougou district or the Gabriel Toure Hospital in Bamako for a case-control study on pregnancy malaria and preeclampsia. Up to 1000 children originally enrolled at birth and completed the "pregnant women and their newborns study" will be re-enrolled and followed for up to 10 years as they age from later childhood through adolescence to early adulthood. Clinical, parasitologic and host response (including immunologic) endpoints will be analyzed using appropriate statistical methods, including possible confounders, to determine factors associated with infection and disease in pregnant women and young children.

Read the detailed description

Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum continues to be a global problem with devastating consequences. A greater understanding of the immunologic and parasitologic factors associated with infection and disease is badly needed; and will accelerate the development of highly protective vaccines for both mothers and children. Pregnancy malaria is associated with low birth weight, maternal anemia, and gestational hypertension, and both inflammation and the fetal response to infection may contribute to these poor outcomes. Childhood malaria is a major cause of mortality, and we have found that its risk is related to in utero exposure to pregnancy malaria, as well as other host factors like iron status and constitutive cytokine levels. Pregnancy malaria is caused by a distinct parasite binding phenotype, and as our primary hypothesis in this study we speculate that severe childhood malaria parasites may also have distinct features. A longitudinal cohort study will be conducted in Ouelessebougou, Mali, an area of intense seasonal transmission. Up to 2000 pregnant women and their infants and 2000 children aged 0-3 years will be enrolled and followed to age 5 years, with clinical evaluation and periodic venous and peripheral blood samples being obtained. In addition, up to 3000 febrile hospitalized and non-hospitalized children up to 10 years ofd age will be enrolled at the Ouelessebougou district health centers or the Gabriel Toure Pediatric Hospital in Bamako, Mali, with acute and convalescent samples being obtained and 500 pregnant women enrolled at the health centers and hospital in Ouelessebougou district or the Gabriel Toure Hospital in Bamako for a case-control study on pregnancy malaria and preeclampsia. Up to 1000 children originally enrolled at birth and completed the "pregnant women and their newborns study" will be re-enrolled and followed for up to 10 years as they age from later childhood through adolescence to early adulthood. Clinical, parasitologic and host response (including immunologic) endpoints will be analyzed using appropriate statistical methods, including possible confounders, to determine factors associated with infection and disease in pregnant women and young children.

02

Conditions studied

  • Malaria

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Keywords

  • Observational
  • Newborns
  • Hospitalized
  • Febrile
  • Resistance
  • Natural History
03

In context

Malaria

1,184 studies on the registry are indexed under Malaria; 79 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 15,000 is above the median of 582 across 204 observational studies indexed under Malaria.

Browse Malaria studies →

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is the lead sponsor of 2,446 studies on the registry; 179 are open to participants now.

Of its 405 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 302 (75%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
1 Day to 45 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Pregnant women presenting for antenatal consultations and delivery and their newborns; children aged 0-3 years in Ouelessebougou and Febrile children ages 0-10 years hospitalized and non-hospitalized in Ouelessebougou or the Pediatric service of Gabriel Toure Hospital in Bamako; Re-enrollees who were originally enrolled at birth and completed the Pregnant Women and Newborn Cohort

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

A study participant must satisfy the following criteria to be or have been enrolled in this study:

  1. Pregnant women aged 15-45 years and their newborn infants who are residents of the district of Ouelessebougou for at least one year at the time of enrollment (cohort completed clinical follow up; sample and data analysis ongoing); OR
  2. Children who previously participated in the 1st cohort of "pregnant women and their newborn infants", OR
  3. Children aged 3 years or less, who are residents of the district of Ouelessebougou for at least one year at the time of enrollment (cohort completed clinical follow up; sample and data analysis ongoing), OR
  4. Febrile hospitalized children (aged 0-10 years), including those with positive and negative blood smears for P. falciparum in Ouelessebougou or the pediatric service of Gabriel Toure Hospital in Bamako. Febrile non-hospitalized children (aged 0-10 years) with non-severe malaria will be recruited at outpatient clinics in Ouelessebougou district health hospital and nearby facilities, with no chronic or serious illness.
  5. Pregnant women aged 15-25 in Ouelessebougou district health centers or maternity unit of Gabriel Toure Hospital in Bamako and for a case-control study of pregnancy malaria and preeclampsia. Cases include women with signs/symptoms of preeclampsia. Control pregnant women without signs/symptoms of preeclampsia will be recruited sequentially after identification of individual cases, matched for parity, age (+/-2 years) and pregnancy trimester.(cohort completed clinical follow up; sample and data analysis ongoing)
  6. The study participant or parent/guardian understands the study and gives for participation of themselves and/or their child, and agrees to have samples stored.

Exclusion criteria

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

A participant will be excluded from the study if any one or more of the following criteria are met:

  1. Chronic, debilitating illness, other than malaria, determined by history and physical examination of mother or study participant.
  2. Conditions that in the judgment of the investigator could increase the risk to the volunteer.
  3. History of previous participation in a malaria vaccine trial.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
15,000 participants (estimated)

Groups and cohorts

  • Children Ages 0-3 years

    Children aged 0-3 years in Ouelessebougou

  • Febrile Hospitalized Children

    Febrile hospitalized children aged 0-10 years in Ouelessebougou or the Pediatric service of Gabriel Toure Hospital in Bamako

  • Later Childhood and Adolescence

    Re-enrollees who were originally enrolled at birth and completed the Pregnant Women and Newborn Cohort

  • Non-Hospitalized Children

    Febrile non-hospitalized children aged 0-10 years in Ouelessebougou or the Pediatric service of Gabriel Toure Hospital in Bamako

  • Pregnant Women + Newborns

    Pregnant women presenting for antenatal consultations and delivery and their newborns

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Maternal, placental, parasite and host associated with resistence to malaria infection and diseases in children

    To assess the relationship between malaria exposure during pregnancy and maternal and fetal outcomes; and to determine factors (maternal, placental, parasite, and host) associated with susceptibility or resistance to malaria infection and diseases in children

    Time frame: up to 5 years for infants and children

07

Study locations

2 of 2 sites recruiting
  • Gabriel Toure Hospital
    Bamako, Mali
    Recruiting
  • Ouelessebougou Clinical Research Center
    Wolossébougou, Mali
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Fried M, Nosten F, Brockman A, Brabin BJ, Duffy PE. Maternal antibodies block malaria. Nature. 1998 Oct 29;395(6705):851-2. doi: 10.1038/27570. No abstract available. PubMed 9804416 ↗
  • Ho M, Singh B, Looareesuwan S, Davis TM, Bunnag D, White NJ. Clinical correlates of in vitro Plasmodium falciparum cytoadherence. Infect Immun. 1991 Mar;59(3):873-8. doi: 10.1128/iai.59.3.873-878.1991. PubMed 1997437 ↗
  • Muehlenbachs A, Mutabingwa TK, Edmonds S, Fried M, Duffy PE. Hypertension and maternal-fetal conflict during placental malaria. PLoS Med. 2006 Nov;3(11):e446. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030446. PubMed 17105340 ↗
  • Doritchamou JYA, Renn JP, Jenkins B, Mahamar A, Dicko A, Fried M, Duffy PE. A single full-length VAR2CSA ectodomain variant purifies broadly neutralizing antibodies against placental malaria isolates. Elife. 2022 Feb 1;11:e76264. doi: 10.7554/eLife.76264. PubMed 35103596 ↗
  • Mahamar A, Gonzales Hurtado PA, Morrison R, Boone R, Attaher O, Diarra BS, Gaoussou S, Issiaka D, Dicko A, Duffy PE, Fried M. Plasma biomarkers of hemoglobin loss in Plasmodium falciparum-infected children identified by quantitative proteomics. Blood. 2022 Apr 14;139(15):2361-2376. doi: 10.1182/blood.2021014045. PubMed 34871370 ↗
  • Mahamar A, Andemel N, Swihart B, Sidibe Y, Gaoussou S, Barry A, Traore M, Attaher O, Dembele AB, Diarra BS, Keita S, Dicko A, Duffy PE, Fried M. Malaria Infection Is Common and Associated With Perinatal Mortality and Preterm Delivery Despite Widespread Use of Chemoprevention in Mali: An Observational Study 2010 to 2014. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Oct 20;73(8):1355-1361. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab301. PubMed 33846719 ↗
  • Fried M, Kurtis JD, Swihart B, Pond-Tor S, Barry A, Sidibe Y, Gaoussou S, Traore M, Keita S, Mahamar A, Attaher O, Dembele AB, Cisse KB, Diarra BS, Kanoute MB, Dicko A, Duffy PE. Systemic Inflammatory Response to Malaria During Pregnancy Is Associated With Pregnancy Loss and Preterm Delivery. Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Oct 30;65(10):1729-1735. doi: 10.1093/cid/cix623. PubMed 29020221 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

6 registry updates since Sep 25, 2026

Started Aug 2010 (actual).

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jul 22, 2010
First posted
Jul 23, 2010
StartActual
Aug 30, 2010
Last update
Nov 9, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
Minor edits
Nothing that changes what the study is or who can join. Edited: description
6 updates, last Nov 9, 2026
Show all 6 updates
  1. Nov 9, 2026
    Minor edits only
    + 1 other change: description
  2. Nov 5, 2026
    Minor edits only
    + 1 other change: description
  3. Oct 26, 2026
    Minor edits only
    + 1 other change: description
  4. Oct 16, 2026
    Minor edits only
    + 1 other change: description
  5. Oct 13, 2026
    Minor edits only
    + 1 other change: description
  6. Oct 8, 2026
    Minor edits only
    + 1 other change: description

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01168271
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 23, 2010
Start date
Aug 30, 2010
Last update
Nov 9, 2026

Study contacts

Michal Fried, Ph.D.
Contact
michal.fried@nih.gov
(240) 747-7880
Patrick E Duffy, M.D.
Contact
duffype@niaid.nih.gov
(301) 761-5089
Patrick E Duffy, M.D.
principal investigator · National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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