Efficacy in the treatment of malaria by Plasmodium vivax in Oiapoque, Brazil, on the border with French Guiana: the importance of control over external factors

BACKGROUND: Plasmodium vivax malaria is an important public health issue in the Amazon region, and it accounts for approximately 84 % of cases of the disease. Migration across the border between Brazil and French Guiana contributes to the maintenance of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic and parasitological responses of patients with P. vivax malaria treated with chloroquine and primaquine in the socio-environmental context of cross-border interactions between Brazil and French Guiana. The factors controlled were diagnostic agreement, adherence, adjustment of primaquine doses for patient weight, and quality of the drugs used. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in 2011 with 103 individuals aged 10–60 years with a positive diagnosis of P. vivax treated with chloroquine (10 mg base/kg on the first day, followed by 7.5 mg/kg on the second and third days) and primaquine for 7 days, who were followed for 28 days. The primaquine doses were adjusted for the patients’ weight. A number of factors were determined: epidemiological characteristics, origin of patients, signs and symptoms, initial parasitaemia and parasitaemia clearance time, blood concentrations of chloroquine and primaquine, quality of anti-malarial drugs and diagnostic agreement. RESULTS: Ninety-five patients were followed for 28 days. There was a 100 % agreement in microscopic diagnosis between field laboratory and reference centre. The adhesion to the treatment was 100 %. Of these patients, 32.6 % received a weight-adjusted dose of primaquine. The chloroquine and primaquine tablets were consistent with the optimal quality limits for human consumption. The investigated patients achieved optimal blood exposure to anti-malarial drugs. The parasitological and therapeutic response was adequate in 99.0 % of cases. CONCLUSIONS: In the municipality of Oiapoque, the therapeutic regime used for the treatment of P. vivax malaria using chloroquine combined with primaquine remains effective, when external factors are controlled, such as the quality of anti-malarial drugs, the adhesion to the treatment prescribed, the correct diagnostic and the adjustment of primaquine dose for patient body weight.