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Information for the General Public | Report a Serious Drug Side Effect | Counterfeit and Substandard Drugs
See Also:
Guidelines
for Clinicians (including a treatment table)
Recently, CDC has updated the standard CDC malaria diagnosis and treatment guidelines, which were published in an article in JAMA May 23rd and can be accessed for free online: view JAMA article.
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A patient receiving tablets for treatment of her microscopically confirmed Plasmodium falciparum malaria, at the migrant workers' clinic of Mawker Tai in Thailand near the Myanmar border. Image contributed by the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Mae Sot, Thailand.
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In severe malaria (caused by Plasmodium falciparum) the drug quinine must be administered by intravenous perfusion. Emergency room of the St Marc Hospital in Kingasani, outskirts of Kinshasa, DR Congo.
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Malaria can
be a severe, potentially fatal disease (especially when caused by Plasmodium
falciparum) and treatment should be initiated as soon as possible.
In endemic
areas, the World Health Organization recommends that treatment be started
within 24 hours after the first symptoms appear. Treatment of patients
with uncomplicated
malaria can be conducted on an ambulatory basis (without hospitalization)
but patients with severe malaria
should be hospitalized if possible.
In
areas where malaria is not endemic, all patients with malaria (uncomplicated
or severe) should be kept under clinical observation if possible.
Patients
who have severe P. falciparum malaria or who cannot take oral
medications should be given the treatment by continuous intravenous infusion.
In
some countries (but not the United States) some antimalarial drugs are
found in suppository form.
Several
antimalarial drugs are available for treatment by continuous intravenous
infusion.
Most
drugs used in treatment are active against the parasite forms in the blood
(the form that causes disease) and include:
- chloroquine
- sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine
(Fansidar®)
- mefloquine
(Lariam®)
- atovaquone-proguanil
(Malarone®)
- quinine
- doxycycline
- artemisin
derivatives (not licensed for use in the United States, but often found
overseas)
In
addition, primaquine is active against the dormant parasite liver forms
(hypnozoites) and prevents relapses.
Primaquine should not be taken by pregnant women or by people who
are deficient in G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase). Patients
should not take primaquine until a screening test has excluded G6PD
deficiency.
How
to treat a patient with malaria depends on:
- The
type (species) of the infecting parasite
- The area where
the infection was acquired and its drug-resistance status
-
The clinical status of the patient
- Any
accompanying illness or condition
- Pregnancy
- Drug
allergies, or other medications taken by the patient
If you have had a serious side effect while taking a drug, you or your health care provider can report that side effect to the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). MedWatch is the FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.
You are encouraged to take the reporting form www.fda.gov/medwatch/SAFETY/3500.pdf* (2 pages, 54 KB) to your health care provider.
Alternatively, health care providers can report to the FDA...
The advantage to having your health care provider file the report is that he/she can provide clinical information based on your medical record that can help the FDA evaluate the report.
However, for a variety of reasons, you may not wish to have the form completed by your provider, or the provider may not wish to complete the form. Your health care provider is not required to report to the FDA. In this case, you may complete the online reporting form at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report/consumer/consumer.htm* yourself via the Internet.
Counterfeit
and substandard drugs are sold in some areas and
should be avoided.
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Note: These sites are not CDC sites and will be opened in a new browser window. CDC is not
responsible for the content of Web pages found at these links. Links to nonfederal organizations
are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not indicate an endorsement of these
organizations by CDC. |
Page last modified : November 14, 2007
Content source: Division of Parasitic Diseases
National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (ZVED)
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