ABSTRACT
32 subjects with Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes, and 31 cases with Plasmodium vivax infection from two military hospitals (Lashio, Mandalay) were treated with quinine 600 mg three times a day for 7 days followed by primaquine 45 mg single dose for gametocytes and 45 mg weekly x 8 weeks for vivax malaria. Although screening of red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) was done prior to primaquine treatment, G6PD deficient subjects were not excluded from the trial. 20 patients hemizygous for mild G6PD deficiency (GdB- variant), 2 patients hemizygous for severe deficiency (Gd-Myanmar variant) completed the trial. No case of acute hemolysis was observed in all 22 patients with two genotypes of red cell G6PD deficiency status. Therefore, a single dose of primaquine 45 mg and/or weekly for 8 weeks is adequate for the treatment of patients with P. falciparum gametocytes and/or P. vivax malaria ignoring these red cell G6PD enzyme deficient variants in Myanmar.