Treating Malaria in Areas with Multiple Plasmodium Species

Drugs that are effective against falciparum malaria work poorly against vivax; treatment choices for vivax malaria are limited.

Coexistence of multiple plasmodium species in a region complicates treatment choices. Researchers conducted an open-label, parallel-group study of four antimalarial regimens in Papua New Guinea, an area with intense year-round transmission of falciparum and vivax malaria. Children aged 6 months to 5 years with acute malaria (482 falciparum, 195 vivax) were randomized to receive chloroquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (CSP; the current first-line therapy in Papua New Guinea), artesunate-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (ASP), dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP), or artemether-lumefantrine (AL). Follow-up evaluations, including blood smears, were performed on days 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 42.

Among children with falciparum malaria at enrollment, one thi…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Treating Malaria in Areas with Multiple Plasmodium Species

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Reviewing Author