Where the Rubber Meets the Road - Research in the Amazon.

Antimalarial Research in the AmazonMany patients who receive treatment for vivax malaria in the Americas present with recurrent infection within six months after completing treatment. This raises an important question: Does higher-dose primaquine work better than the treatment currently used in the Americas to prevent recurrences? This Clinical Trial Case Study describes the behind-the-scenes story of a randomized trial to evaluate antimalarial treatment efficacy in the Brazilian Amazon.

Higher-Dose Primaquine to Prevent Relapse of Malaria.

Background: In most of the Americas, the recommended treatment to prevent relapse of malaria is primaquine at a total dose of 3.5 mg per kilogram of body weight, despite evidence of only moderate efficacy.

Methods: In this trial conducted in Brazil, we evaluated three primaquine regimens to prevent relapse of malaria in children at least 5 years of age and in adults with microscopy-confirmed monoinfection.