Treatment of Chloroquine-Resistant Plasmodium vivax Malaria in India

ABSTRACT

Background: Treatment failure in P. vivax Malaria is a major dilemma that faces health care workers. True drug resistance is one of the causes after ruling out compliance and drug quality issues. The other two causes are re-infection during the treatment period or the release of hypnozoites from the liver. Objectives: To find out what antimalarials can be prescribed in India for treating Chloroquine-resistant P. vivax Malaria. Methods: By reviewing documents prepared by the National Center for Vector-Borne Diseases Control (NCVBDC) and doing a PUBMED search for articles that deal with Chloroquine-resistant P. vivax Malaria treatment. Results: It was found that a fixed-dose combination of oral Artemether and Lumefantrine can be given for Chloroquine-resistant P. vivax Malaria. Conclusions: There is a lack of awareness among health care providers on how to treat Chloroquine-resistant P. vivax Malaria. This paper addresses this concern.