Reducing the Burden of Malaria in HIV-uninfected Pregnant Women and Infants

Pregnant women will be scheduled to be seen in the clinic every 4 weeks during their pregnancy and 6 weeks following delivery. In addition, pregnant women will be instructed to come to the study clinic for all their medical care and avoid the use of any outside medications. Children will be scheduled to be seen in the clinic every 4 weeks and parents /guardians of children will be instructed to bring their child to the study clinic for all medical care and avoid the use of any outside medications. The study clinic will remain open 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Each time a study participant is seen in the clinic a standardized history and physical exam will be performed. Patients who are febrile (tympanic temperature > 3 8.0˚C) or report history of fever in the past 24 hours will have blood obtained by finger prick for a thick blood smear. If the thick blood smear is positive, the patient will be diagnosed with malaria. If the thick blood smear is negative, the patient will be managed by study physicians for a non-malarial febrile illness. If the patient is afebrile and does not report a recent fever, a thick blood smear will not be obtained, except when following routine testing schedules.

Routine assessments will be done in the clinic every 4 weeks for both pregnant women and children. Pregnant women and children will receive standards of care as designated in the Uganda MOH guidelines. Routine care in children will use Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines. During routine assessments subjects will be asked about visits to outside health facilities and the use of any medications outside the study protocol. Standardized assessment of adherence will also be done for study drugs administered at home and Insecticide Treated Net use. A routine history and physical exam will be performed using a standardized clinical assessment form. Blood will be collected by finger prick for thick smear, collection of plasma for PK studies, and filter paper samples. Phlebotomy for routine laboratory tests (CBC and ALT) to monitor for potential adverse events from study medications and for immunology studies will be performed every 8 weeks in pregnant women and every 16 weeks in children. Non malaria screening will also include stool ova and parasite examination, circulating filarial antigens (by ICT card for Wucheria), and blood smear for microfilaremia (including Mansonella perstans) using Knott's technique. For pregnant women and children 2-24 months of age, study drugs will be administered at the time of each routine visit.

Inclusion criteria

• Pregnancy confirmed by positive urine pregnancy test or intrauterine pregnancy by ultrasound
• Estimated gestational age between 12-20 weeks
• Confirmed to be HIV uninfected by rapid test
• 16 years of age or older
• Residency within 30km of the study clinic
• Provision of informed consent by the pregnant woman for herself and her unborn child
• Agreement to come to the study clinic for any febrile episode or other illness and avoid medications given outside the study protocol
• Plan to deliver in the hospital

Exclusion criteria

• History of serious adverse event to SP or DP
• Active medical problem requiring inpatient evaluation at the time of screening
• Intention of moving more than 30km from the study clinic
• Chronic medical condition requiring frequent medical attention
• Prior SP preventive therapy or any other antimalarial therapy during this pregnancy
• Early or active labor (documented by cervical change with uterine contractions)