In Afghanistan, studies over the past 15 years have shown a high degree of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to chloroquine. In 2003 the high failure rate of chloroquine against falciparum malaria led the national malaria treatment programme to switch its recommended first line drug treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) in the form of Artesunate/Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (AS+SP). Second line drug treatment is oral quinine (7 days). For operational reasons, prior to recent studies (manuscript in preparation) there have been no molecular data on P. falciparum SP resistance markers from within the borders of Afghanistan. These studies have revealed early evidence of increasing SP resistance (resistance polymorphisms with double DHFR & triple DHPS mutations). The aim of this study is to conduct a focused, prospective study in Kunar for monitoring of the efficacy of the AS+SP combination in this province, along with molecular studies of isolates from recruited patients.

NCT01707199

Conditions

1. Uncomplicated P. Falciparum Malaria

Interventions

1. Drug: Artesunate + Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine

MeSH:Malaria Malaria, Falciparum

However the investigators have obtained recent (submitted) data showing that in addition to two resistance polymorphisms in DHFR (C59R and S108N) that are well known to be at high frequency in the region, a small number of parasites in the Kunar province have three mutations (A437G, K540E and A581G) in DHPS. --- C59R ---