BACKGROUND Access to prompt and effective treatment is the cornerstone for malaria control. Population Services International in collaboration with the Ministry of Health launched a malaria behaviour change communication intervention in Nyanza province, Kenya. The initiative aimed to improve: symptom recognition and prompt access to government health facilities for febrile children; effective t...

BACKGROUND The treatment of falciparum malaria poses unique challenges in settings where malaria transmission intensity is high because recurrent infections are common. These could be new infections, recrudescences, or a combination of the two. Though several African countries continue to use quinine as the second line treatment for patients with recurrent infections, there is little informatio...

BACKGROUND Prompt access to artemesinin-combination therapy (ACT) is not adequate unless the drug is taken according to treatment guidelines. Adherence to the treatment schedule is important to preserve efficacy of the drug. Although some community based studies have reported fairly high levels of adherence, data on factors influencing adherence to artemether-lumefantrine (AL) treatment schedul...

BACKGROUND The benefits of integrated control of malaria, schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminth infections have not been fully explored in Ghanaian schoolchildren. OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of co-administered artemether-lumefantrine plus albendazole, and artemether-lumefantrine plus albendazole plus praziquantel compared to albendazole plus praziquantel on anaemia, sustained att...

BACKGROUND The change of malaria case-management policy in Kenya to recommend universal parasitological diagnosis and targeted treatment with artemether-lumefantrine (AL) is supported with activities aiming by 2013 at universal coverage and adherence to the recommendations. We evaluated changes in health systems and case-management indicators between the baseline survey undertaken before implem...

Randomized trials have confirmed the efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) for treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Data from seven studies supported by Novartis (1996-2007), including 647 adults (> 16 years of age, 83.3% completed the study) and 1,332 children (≤ 16 years of age, 89.3% completed the study) with microscopically confirmed uncomplicated P. falci...

Effects of artemether were examined on Schistosoma japonicum in mice. When the drug was given at a daily dosage of 200 mg/kg for 4 successive days from 46 days post-infection, a significant reduction in worm recovery was observed. A significant reduction in size of worms from the medicated mice was also seen compared with that from non-medicated controls.

Plasmodium falciparum malaria developed in an African-born traveler who returned to Canada after visiting Nigeria. While there, she took artesunate prophylactically. Isolates had an elevated 50% inhibitory concentration to artemisinin, artesunate, and artemether, compared with that of other African isolates. Inappropriate use of artemisinin derivatives can reduce P. falciparum susceptibility.

We describe two Malawian adults on successful antiretroviral therapy who experienced frequent malaria episodes after stopping cotrimoxazole prophylaxis. We argue that, in addition to stopping cotrimoxazole, diminished malaria immunity and drug interactions between efavirenz and artemether-lumefantrine may have played a causative role in the recurrent malaria our patients experienced.