Monitoring Plasmodium vivax chloroquine sensitivity along China-Myanmar border of Yunnan Province, China during 2008-2013

• Published in: Malaria journal 2014-09, Vol.13 (1), p.364-364, Article 364
• Main Authors: Liu, Hui, Yang, Heng-lin, Tang, Lin-hua, Li, Xing-liang, Huang, Fang, Wang, Jia-zhi, Li, Chun-fu, Wang, Heng-ye, Nie, Ren-hua, Guo, Xiang-rui, Lin, Ying-xue, Li, Mei, Xu, Jian-Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Antimalarials - administration & dosage; Antimalarials - pharmacology; Child; Child, Preschool; China - epidemiology; Chloroquine - administration & dosage; Chloroquine - pharmacology; Development and progression; Drug Resistance; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health aspects; Humans; Infant; Malaria; Malaria, Vivax - drug therapy; Malaria, Vivax - epidemiology; Malaria, Vivax - parasitology; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Patient outcomes; Plasmodium vivax; Plasmodium vivax - drug effects; Risk factors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1475-2875; 1475-2875
• DOI: 10.1186/1475-2875-13-364

Plasmodium vivax is the most widespread of the malaria parasites infecting human hosts. In malaria-eliminating settings, both imported and local malaria predominantly occurs in border areas, and most of them are P. vivax. Chloroquine (CQ) is the first-line drug for P. vivax treatment in China. To understand CQ sensitivity in P. vivax, in vivo monitoring of CQ resistance was conducted along the China-Myanmar border from 2008 to 2013. Eligible patients with mono-infections of P. vivax were recruited to this study after obtaining full informed consent. CQ tablets for different categories of kg body weight ranges were given once a day for three days. Patients were followed up for 28 days. PCR was conducted to distinguish between re-infection and recrudescence, to confirm the Plasmodium species. The data were entered and analysed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Treatment outcome and sensitivity were classified according to the WHO recommended standards. 603 patients were completed valid follow-up. The fever clearance time and asexual parasite clearance times were, respectively, 22.2 ± 10.2 and 38.1 ± 12.6 hours. 594 (98.5%) patients were adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR), and nine (1.5%) patients, who were late clinical failure (LCF) or resistant response level I (RI), were imported from the neighbouring districts of Myanmar. In terms of efficacy, CQ is still effective for vivax malaria treatment. Plasmodium vivax CQ sensitivity had not significantly changed along the China-Myanmar border of Yunnan Province, China.