Eight Week Primaquine Regimen for the Treatment of Vivax Malaria
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2007-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Plasmodium vivax represents a major health problem throughout the tropics. Outside Africa it
accounts for over 50% of cases, affecting an estimated 70-80 million people per year. A
substantial proportion of clinical cases are not caused by infective bites of Anopheles spp,
but by activation of latent hypnozoites in the liver. These relapses may significantly impede
development since each illness may result in 5-15 days of absence from work or school.
Primaquine(PQ) is the only drug available that eliminates hypnozoites, though its use is
beset by clinical problems; it may precipitate haemolytic anaemia in individuals deficient in
the blood enzyme glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). Without affordable G6PD testing,
primaquine use is precluded. Evidence suggests, however, that a course of 8 weekly doses may
be a safe and effective alternative to the traditional 14 day course of the drug. The aim of
the proposed study, therefore, is to test whether 8 weekly doses of primaquine is as
effective as the 14 day course at preventing relapse malaria, without the risk of hemolysis
in G6PD deficient individuals.
Phase:
Phase 3
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Gates Malaria Partnership London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine