Malaria infections among infants can be cut
by up to 30 per cent when antimalarial drugs are given intermittently over a 12
month period, a three-year clinical trial in Papua New Guinea has shown.
The
trial showed the drug regime was effective against both Plasmodium falciparum
and Plasmodium vivax malaria, the first time antimalarial drugs have been shown
to prevent infections by both species of malaria. The treatment regime, called
intermittent preventive treatment (IPT), protected the infants against malaria
for at least six weeks after the end of treatment, showing that it had an
ongoing protective effect and did not hinder the development of natural immunity.
The
study was led by Professor Ivo Mueller from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
and Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB) with Dr
Patricia Rarau and Dr Nicolas Senn from the Papua New Guinea Institute of
Medical Research (PNGIMR). Professor Peter Siba from PNGIMR, Associate
Professor Louis Schofield from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Professor
John Reeder and Dr James Beeson from the Burnet Institute and Professor Stephen
Rogerson from the University of Melbourne also collaborated on the project.
Professor
Mueller, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s Infection and Immunity
division, said the findings could lead to trials of IPT in other regions,
including South-East Asia and South America, where malaria, particularly
P.vivax, is a major health problem. IPT has been used for number of years in
sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 80 per cent of all deaths from malaria are
in children under the age of five.
“Plasmodium
vivax is the main cause of clinical malaria in infants outside of Africa,”
Professor Mueller said. “What this study has shown is that IPT can be useful in
regions other than sub-Saharan Africa, that it can be an effective tool against
P.vivax, and reaffirms that we need to effectively tailor preventive drugs to
different malaria species in different regions.”
IPT
uses sporadic, short courses of combined antimalarial drugs to provide
protection against malaria infection. “IPT is a cheap and easy way to decrease
the burden of malaria in those most susceptible to clinical illness, such as
young infants and pregnant women,” Professor Mueller said.
As part
of the clinical trial, infants aged three to 15 months were treated with a
long-lasting antimalarial drug combination at three, six, nine and 12 months.
Professor Mueller said the most effective drug combination in the trial was the
long-lasting antimalarials sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine and amodiaquine (SP-AQ),
which act against the two most lethal species of malaria parasite, Plasmodium
falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. In the trial, SP-AQ treatment decreased infant
infections by 35 per cent for Plasmodium falciparum and 23 per cent for
Plasmodium vivax.
“These
are quite remarkable figures,” Professor Mueller said. ”Different treatment
strategies are required for different regions, depending on the dynamics of
disease. The drug combination that was most effective in PNG was very different
to the drugs you would use to treat malaria in Africa and also different to the
drugs currently recommended for treating malaria in PNG.”
Professor
Peter Siba, director of PNGIMR, said a key factor in the effectiveness of the
treatment was running it in parallel with existing vaccination and healthcare
programs.
“In the
trials, IPT was given at the same time as regular vaccinations and check-ups,
using existing health care frameworks to deliver the treatment, so we saw a
much higher adherence than with continuous treatment regimes. IPT is also
preferable to long-term, continued use of antimalarial drugs, as it allows some
natural immunity to develop while decreasing the number and severity of malaria
infections,” Professor Siba said.
This
study was supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
healthcanal.com
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment