Safety and Efficacy of Primaquine for P. Vivax

Summary

The Melanesian states of the Western Pacific (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu) represent a unique and especially prescient challenge to malaria control and elimination. While the use of bed nets and other vector control and case management measures have achieved major advances in overall malaria control, the P. vivax and P. ovale species account for an ever-increasing burden of clinical disease. The lack of effective treatment of the hypnozoite stages of infection with these species result in ongoing relapses and a continuing reservoir of infection. The only known drug effective for treatment of the hypnozoite stage is primaquine; however the safe and effective dose of this drug in malaria treatment is still unclear. A recent study evaluated the safety and efficacy of two primaquine dosing regimens (0.25mg/kg and 0.5mg/kg) in a population in New Ireland province, PNG. This study aims to replicate this methodology in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, to provide a more complete picture of primaquine efficacy and safety in each of the three countries of this region.

Timeline

Start

2013-05

Primary completion

2014-05

Completion

2015-05

Drugs

Indications