Abstract
Evidence of emerging resistance to chloroquine by Plasmodium vivax is described from Irian Jaya (Indonesian New Guinea). Sixteen of 24 residents in the village of Arso PIR II taking supervised weekly chloroquine prophylaxis (5 mg base/kg) had asexual parasitemia with P. vivax at least once during eight weeks of surveillance. An American working in the same village developed symptomatic P. vivax parasitemia despite chloroquine prophylaxis. Five days after therapy with 600 mg chloroquine base, the asexual parasitemia in the American increased 40-fold, but cleared after treatment with 1,500 mg chloroquine base. Serum samples were not available from many of the cases, but six local residents and the American had serum levels of chloroquine in excess of the ordinarily suppressive 15 ng/ml at the time of their asexual parasitemias (16-70 ng/ml). The weekly 300 mg base tablet of chloroquine, which has been the standard for prophylaxis against malaria for more than 40 years, was not effective against P. vivax in Arso PIR, Irian Jaya.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.