AJTMH ASTMH MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION: astmh@astmh.org
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 76(1), 2007, pp. 39-41
Copyright © 2007 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by HAQUE, R.
Right arrow Articles by NOEDL, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by HAQUE, R.
Right arrow Articles by NOEDL, H.
Related Collections
Right arrow Malaria

SHORT REPORT


THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY OF ARTEMETHER-LUMEFANTRINE FOR THE TREATMENT OF UNCOMPLICATED PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM MALARIA IN BANGLADESH

RASHIDUL HAQUE, KAMALA THRIEMER, ZHUXI WANG, KIMI SATO, YUKIKO WAGATSUMA, MOHAMMED ABDUS SALAM, SELIM AKTHER, JASMIN AKTER, MARK FUKUDA, R. SCOTT MILLER, AND HARALD NOEDL*
Centre for Health and Population Research, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Department of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; School of Medicine University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan; Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan; Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Department of Immunology and Medicine, United States Army Medical Component, Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand

 

ABSTRACT

Bangladesh faces increasing levels of chloroquine resistance, and drug sensitivity to sulfadoxine-pyremethamine is already compromised. Therefore, the Ministry of Health recently changed the national treatment guidelines to artemisinin-based combination therapies. The purpose of this study was to determine the baseline therapeutic efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine used as a six-dose regimen for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Sixty-seven patients were enrolled in the study; the cure rate in a 42-day follow-up after an adjustment by polymerase chain reaction was 94.3%. The treatment led to rapid fever (mean ± SD = 25.82 ± 12.14 hours) and parasite (30.36 ± 19.43 hours) clearance. These data suggest that artemether-lumefantrine is a highly efficacious and well-tolerated treatment for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in Bangladesh.

Received July 25, 2006. Accepted for publication September 7, 2006.

Acknowledgments: We thank the team of Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee at Lama Thana for their excellent support in the fieldwork. We also thank the laboratory and clinic staff of the Chakaria field station for their help, and the local community for their cooperation.

Financial support: The study was supported by the United States Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections System program and the Austrian Science Fund (project no. 15754-B02).

Disclaimer: The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the author, and are not to be construed as official, or as reflecting true views of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.

* Address correspondence to Harald Noedl, Department of Specific Prophylaxes and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. E-mail: harald.noedl{at}meduniwien.ac.at

Authors’ addresses: Rashidul Haque, Selim Akther, and Jasmin Akter, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Centre for Health and Population Research, Mohakhali, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh. Kamala Thriemer and Harald Noedl, Department of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical University Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, A-1095, Vienna, Austria. Zhuxi Wang, Kimi Sato, and Yukiko Wagatsuma, Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan. Mohammed Abdus Salam, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee Bangladesh, 75 Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. Mark Fukuda and Robert S. Miller, Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, 316/6 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.

Reprint requests: Harald Noedl, Department of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, Telephone: 43-1-4277-64882, Fax: 43-1-4277-64889, E-mail: harald.noedl{at}meduniwien.ac.at






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.