| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Plasmodium vivax </it>accounts for about 40% of all malaria infection in Ethiopia. Chloroquine (CQ) is the first line treatment for confirmed <it>P. vivax </it>malaria in the country. The first report of CQ treatment failure in <it>P. vivax </it>was from Debre Zeit, which suggested the presence of chloroquine resistance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An <it>in vivo </it>drug efficacy study was conducted in Debre Zeit from June to August 2006. Eighty-seven patients with microscopically confirmed <it>P. vivax </it>malaria, aged between 8 months and 52 years, were recruited and treated under supervision with CQ (25 mg/kg over three days). Clinical and parasitological parameters were assessed during the 28 day follow-up period. CQ and desethylchloroquine (DCQ) blood and serum concentrations were determined with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in patients who showed recurrent parasitaemia.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 87 patients recruited in the study, one was lost to follow-up and three were excluded due to <it>P. falciparum </it>infection during follow-up. A total of 83 (95%) of the study participants completed the follow-up. On enrolment, 39.8% had documented fever and 60.2% had a history of fever. The geometric mean parasite density of the patients was 7045 parasites/μl. Among these, four patients had recurrent parasitaemia on Day 28. The blood CQ plus DCQ concentrations of these four patients were all above the minimal effective concentration (> 100 ng/ml).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Chloroquine-resistant <it>P. vivax </it>parasites are emerging in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. A multi-centre national survey is needed to better understand the extent of <it>P. vivax </it>resistance to CQ in Ethiopia.</p>
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