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Chloroquine:
This is the drug of choice
for the treatment of Plasmodium malariae. P. malariae is
chloroquine-sensitive, and additionally chloroquine is one of the safest antimalarial
drugs available.
Doxycycline is contraindicated in young children, and halofantrine
can have cardiotoxic effects.
Primaquine is not necessary because there are no dormant liver
stages in this parasite species. At the usual doses, primaquine
would have no effect on the blood stage parasites (it targets
mainly the liver stage parasites, and the gametocytes).
Even in congenital malaria caused by P. vivax and P.
ovale (which have liver stage parasites) primaquine treatment
of the infant is not necessary because no liver stages are
transmitted from the mother to the child.
Page last modified : April 23, 2004
Content source: Division of Parasitic Diseases
National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (ZVED)
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