Estimating the Risk of Plasmodium Vivax Relapses in Afghanistan

Globally more than 100 countries are endemic of malaria and about 60% of world population are at risk of getting the infection while around 10% are harboring malaria parasite in their blood stream. Of the four species of plasmodium that infect humans, Plasmodium vivax is responsible for 50% of all malaria cases outside Africa, and is endemic in the Middle East, Asia and Western Pacific, with a lower prevalence in Central and South America a common cause of malaria in many tropical and subtropical regions. Conventional control methods are rather inefficient for preventing transmission of this species of malaria. This is partly due to the persistence of the infectious reservoir, which take the form of latent hypnozoites in the liver, producing recurrent relapses and opportunities for new transmission for several years after initial infection.

Primaquine (PQ) is the only available drug regimen which can eliminate the persisting liver stages (hypnozoites) of P. vivax,but its use for 14 days is ineffective to prevent relapses at 15 mg daily dose (0.25mg/kg) in Southeast Asia and in Brazil, and at a higher dose of 22.5 mg daily in the Southwest Pacific. Due to high relapse rates, a primaquine regimen of 30 mg daily (0.5 mg/kg) for 14 d is now widely recommended for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) normal patients.

P.vivax is the predominant species in Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. In this area G6PD deficiency is a common trait (7% in Pakistani and 14% in Afghan Pashtoon respectively). However facilities to test for G6PD deficiency are not available and hence routine administration of primaquine is not recommended in national guidelines because of the risk of severe haemolysis in those who cannot be tested.

Several national malaria programmes in Asia have adopted a truncated 5-day course of PQ for vivax malaria to reduce the risk of haemolysis to reasonable levels and to increases compliance rates. Recently this has been documented as being ineffective at reducing relapse rates amongst Afghan refugees in Pakistan while a supervised 14 day course can significantly reduce the frequency of second and third episodes of disease. This is also confirmed by a study in India. Use of the 14 day course is only recommended where the G6PD status of the individual is known, and, currently, where compliance with the full course can be assured. However supervision of patients for 14 day post presentation is seldom feasible in the majority of settings where vivax malaria predominates. Therefore the supposition that patients in a low literacy population will not comply with a 14 day course of treatment in the absence of supervision needs to be confirmed under normal operational conditions. Compliance in taking the drug cannot be monitored by direct observation or by chemical assay of residues in the blood because such interference may, in itself, affect compliance.