Abstract
Biennial therapeutic efficacy monitoring is a crucial activity for ensuring the efficacy of currently used artemisinin-based combination therapy in Angola. Children with acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infection in sentinel sites in the Benguela, Zaire, and Lunda Sul Provinces were treated with artemether-lumefantrine (AL) or artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and monitored for 28 days to assess clinical and parasitological responses. Molecular correction was performed using seven microsatellite markers. Samples from treatment failures were genotyped for the pfk13, pfcrt, and pfmdr1 genes. Day 3 clearance rates were ≥95% in all arms. Uncorrected day 28 Kaplan-Meier efficacy estimates ranged from 84.2 to 90.1% for the AL arms and 84.7 to 100% for the ASAQ arms. Corrected day 28 estimates were 87.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 81 to 95%) for the AL arm in Lunda Sul, 92.2% (95% CI, 87 to 98%) for AL in Zaire, 95.6% (95% CI, 91 to 100%) for ASAQ in Zaire, 98.4% (95% CI, 96 to 100%) for AL in Benguela, and 100% for ASAQ in Benguela and Lunda Sul. All 103 analyzed samples had wild-type pfk13 sequences. The 76T pfcrt allele was found in most (92%; 11/12) ASAQ late-failure samples but in only 16% (4/25) of AL failure samples. The N86 pfmdr1 allele was found in 97% (34/35) of treatment failures. The AL efficacy in Lunda Sul was below the 90% World Health Organization threshold, the third time in four rounds that this threshold was crossed for an AL arm in Angola. In contrast, the observed ASAQ efficacy has not been below 95% to date in Angola, including this latest round.
Highlights
IntroductionChildren with acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infection in sentinel sites in the Benguela, Zaire, and Lunda Sul Provinces were treated with artemether-lumefantrine (AL) or artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and monitored for 28 days to assess clinical and parasitological responses
Biennial therapeutic efficacy monitoring is a crucial activity for ensuring the efficacy of currently used artemisinin-based combination therapy in Angola
Most cases are caused by Plasmodium falciparum, and the cornerstone of malaria case management is prompt diagnosis and treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT)
Summary
Children with acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infection in sentinel sites in the Benguela, Zaire, and Lunda Sul Provinces were treated with artemether-lumefantrine (AL) or artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and monitored for 28 days to assess clinical and parasitological responses. The AL efficacy in Lunda Sul was below the 90% World Health Organization threshold, the third time in four rounds that this threshold was crossed for an AL arm in Angola. Three ACTs are used as first-line treatments in the public health sector in Angola: artemether-lumefantrine (AL), artesunateamodiaquine (ASAQ), and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP). There have been recent reports of the independent emergence of artemisinin resistance in Rwanda [4] To mitigate these threats, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends periodic reassessment of the efficacy of currently used antimalarials in countries where the disease is endemic [5]
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