A trial of combination antimalarial therapies in children from Papua New Guinea.

Background: Malaria control is difficult where there is intense year-round transmission of multiple plasmodium species, such as in Papua New Guinea.

Methods: Between April 2005 and July 2007, we conducted an open-label, randomized, parallel-group study of conventional chloroquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and artesunate-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine, and artemether-lumefantrine in children in Papua New Guinea 0.5 to 5 years of age who had falciparum or vivax malaria.