Malaria as a Risk Factor for COVID-19 in Western Kenya and Burkina Faso

It is unknown whether malaria or malaria treatment affects COVID-19 severity, immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 virus, or viral loads and/or duration of shedding and therewith the onwards spread of SARS-COV-2. An observational cohort study will be conducted in 708 newly diagnosed COVID-19 patient of all ages in western Kenya and Burkina-Faso. They will be enrolled in hospitals with COVID-19 testing facilities from a source population screened for SARS-CoV-2 (N\~4,720). Approximately 142 of the 708 COVID-19 patients are expected to be co-infected with malaria. They will be enrolled in the nested malaria treatment trial and randomized to receive 3-days of artemether-lumefantrine (the current standard of care) or pyronaridine-artesunate, a highly effective antimalarial with known antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2 in-vitro, that is newly registered and being rolled out in Africa. Disease progression will be assessed and nasal swabs and blood samples will be taken during home/clinic visits on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 42. Patients self-isolating will be phoned daily in between scheduled visits for the first 14 days to assess signs and symptoms. Hospitalisation, self-isolation and home-based care will follow national guidelines. The WHO clinical progression scale and FLU-PRO plus scales will be used to compare disease progression between COVID-19 patients with and without malaria, and by malaria. Other endpoints include seroconversion/reversion rates, chemokine/cytokine responses, T and B cell responses, viral load and duration of viral carriage. Infection prevention and control (IPC), including the use of personal protection equipment (PPE), and measures for patient transport will follow national guidelines in each country. Written informed consent/assent will be sought. The study is anticipated to start in January 2021 and last for approximately 18 months.

Background: In Africa, COVID-19 has the potential to cripple the continent's fragile healthcare systems and be devastating economically. It is unknown whether malaria infection worsens COVID-19, affects the acquisition of protective antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, or contributes to its onwards spread by resulting in higher viral loads and/or longer duration of viral shedding. It is also unknown if the effective clearance of malaria parasites and/or the choice of antimalarials affects any of these potential associations. His study will determine if the antimalarial pyronaridine, in the fixed-dose combination of pyronaridine-artesunate, has a positive, negative or negligible effect on COVID-19 disease progression or duration of viral carriage and the seroconversion rate to SARS-CoV-2. Methods: A malaria treatment trial will be conducted nested within a larger observational COVID-19 cohort study in highly malaria-endemic areas in western Kenya and Burkina-Faso. The COVID-19 cohort study consists of approximately 708 newly diagnosed COVID-19 patient of all ages. They will be enrolled from a source population of approximately 4,720 individuals of all ages screened for SARS-CoV-2. It is anticipated that approximately 142 of the 708 cohort participants will be co-infected with malaria. These co-infected participants will be enrolled in the nested malaria treatment trial if they have uncomplicated malaria and are able to take oral medication. They will be randomized to receive either a standard 3-day treatment course of artemether-lumefantrine (the current first-line treatment) or pyronaridine-artesunate, a new highly effective antimalarial combination that is being rolled out as first or second-line treatment in western Kenya and Burkina Faso. All 142 patients will be followed for 42 days and nasal swabs and blood samples taken on days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28. Malaria smears will be taken on days 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 42. The primary endpoint is the rate of SARS-CoV-2 clearance by day-7. To limit the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, strict adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines, including use of personal protection equipment (PPE), and measures for patient transport will be followed as per national guidelines in each country. Written informed consent/assent will be sought. Partners: This 18-months study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is part of a collaboration between the Kenyan Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Kenya; the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM); the Ministry of Health, Kenya; the Groupe de Recherche Action en Santé (GRAS), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; the Ministry of Health in Burkina Faso, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). LSTM and LSHTM will act as sponsors for the studies in Kenya and Burkina Faso, respectively.