Comparison Between 7 and 14 Day Primaquine Combined With Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine or 3 Day Chloroquine Radical Cure of P. Vivax (BPD)

In Southeast Asia, Plasmodium vivax (Pv) infection reaches 50-80% and bears a greater burden of disease than Plasmodium falciparum (Pf). As control over Pf improves, Pv will assume increasingly larger percentages of malaria prevalence. The chronicity of Pv, due to the latent liver stage (hypnozoite) not eradicated by chloroquine, causes recurring disability and compounds the economic burden of those with symptomatic disease. The only widely available treatment for hypnozoites is primaquine, which, because of challenges with tolerability, safety in G6PD deficient persons, and compliance, is not commonly prescribed for the treatment of Pv. Currently, chloroquine is used for the treatment of the blood stages of Pv, however, there are concerns about increasing parasite resistance. Alternative treatments, such as artesunate, should be considered in the future of the treatment of blood stage Pv. The use of primaquine in the treatment of hypnozoites (radical cure) should be emphasized so that transmission of Pv can be controlled.

This study aims to determine the optimal primaquine regimen for radical cure of Plasmodium vivax. Chloroquine is currently the standard of treatment for Plasmodium vivax. Chloroquine may have synergistic effects when used with primaquine and due to its long half-life may delay the first relapse of vivax malaria. In contrast, artesunate does not have documented interactions with primaquine and has a very short half-life, thus, presumably will have no impact on first relapse. Combining primaquine with these two anti-malarials may lead to an alternative regimen for Pv infection and changing the primaquine dosing regimen may lead to a more practical and efficacious therapy.