Current clinical efficacy of chloroquine for the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum infections in urban Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania

Z. Premji, C. Makwaya, J. N. Minjas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Reported is the use of a 14-day WHO protocol, which takes into account the clinical, parasitological and haematological responses to antimalarial drugs, to determine the efficacy of chloroquine in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in young children (n = 200) in urban Dar es Salaam. Chloroquine failure was found in 43% of the children. Of these, 12.5% were considered to be early treatment failures and were given a single dose of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. Fever subsided in all children treated with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and there were no parasitological failures. In addition, children treated with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine because of early treatment failure with chloroquine had better haematological recovery than the chloroquine-sensitive group. It is concluded that chloroquine can no longer be considered an effective therapy for P. falciparum malaria in young children in Dar es Salaam.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)740-744
Number of pages5
JournalBulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume77
Issue number9
Publication statusPublished - 1999
Externally publishedYes

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