Cycloguanil pamoate in the treatment and suppression of malaria in the Gambia, West Africa.

Cycloguanil pamoate is an antimalarial drug recently developed by Thompson et al. (1963) in the United States. It is closely allied to the existing drugs, proguanil and pyrimethamine, and when administered intramuscularly is slowly released and thus maintains an effective antiplasmodial blood level for a prolonged period. The advantages offered by a repository drug become obvious when consideration is given to the difficulties of affording protection against diseases characterized by high rates of transmission to populations who live in small, isolated communities. A reliable antimalarial which remained effective for several months after administration in a single dose could materially enhance the role of chemoprophylaxis in campaigns undertaken to eradicate malaria. The present trial was made in 1964 to determine, in a hyperendemic West African environment, the antimalarial properties of cycloguanil pamoate at dosage levels known to be both safe and effective against malaria induced experimentally in Caucasian volunteers.