• About Us
  • Board of Advisors
  • Contact

MALARIA.com

A Malaria Information and Community Portal

  • Home
  • Malaria Overview
  • Malaria Research
  • News
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Malaria Q&A
  • Events
  • Jobs
Home / Malaria Q&A / Primaquine for Malaria Treatment

Primaquine for Malaria Treatment

August 7, 2011 By Malaria Q&A Leave a Comment

QUESTION:

In India what is the duration of primaquine therapy in confirmed Malaria infection?

ANSWER:

Primaquine is usually used to kill the hypnozoite stages of Plasmodium vivax or P. ovale. This life stage of the malaria parasite can reside, dormant in the liver’s hepatocyte cells, even after the patient has completed the normal course of treatment for the infection; at this stage, the patient might not have visible malaria parasites in the bloodstream, and thus be considered “cured”. Despite this, the patient is actually potentially at risk from recurrence of malaria if the dormant liver hepatocytes re-enter the blood stream.

For this reason, patients with P. vivax or P. ovale should complete a course of primaquine in addition to the standard malaria treatment offered. The usual adult dosage for primaquine is 15-30mg base, taken orally, once a day for 14 days.

Filed Under: Malaria Q&A Tagged With: hepatocyte, hypnozoite, Malaria Treatment, Plasmodium Ovale, Plasmodium Vivax, Primaquine, recurrence

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stay Informed

WWARN Corner

About WWARN

The WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) generates innovative resources and reliable evidence to inform the malaria community on the factors affecting the efficacy of antimalarial medicines. Learn more…

  • Fighting Malaria Requires Protecting the Effectiveness of Antimalarial Medicines
  • Data Sharing at IDDO
  • Evidence to inform equitable dosing in very young and malnourished children

More WWARN Stories...

  • Home
  • Malaria Overview
  • Malaria Research
  • News
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Malaria Q&A
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • About Us
  • Board of Advisors
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Malaria.com ยท Log in