Abstract

The antimalarial effects of minocycline, a semi-synthetic tetracycline, were evaluated in chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum infections. Nine volunteers infected with the Vietnam (Marks) strain were cured after each received a 7-day course of minocycline. Two additional subjects infected with the same Vietnamese strain were cured after each received a combination of minocycline and quinine. Minocycline protected 16 of 18 volunteers after challenge with Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes infected with chloroquine-resistant strains of P. falciparum. Eleven men were protected against a single challenge by mosquitoes infected with the Cambodia (Buchanan) strain. Five of seven volunteers were protected against a single challenge by mosquitoes infected with the Vietnam (Marks) strain. No sporontocidal or gametocytocidal effects occurred in one volunteer who received a 7-day course of minocycline.