A new research has found that combination of artemisinin and naphthoquine drugs could be used in the treatment of malaria where multiple parasite species cause the disease for children.
The Study done by University of Western Australia examined children with Plasmodium falciparum infections and some with Plasmodium vivax infections, and found that artemisinin-naphthoquine was non-inferior than artemether-lumefantrine for treating Plasmodium falciparum, but was more effective for treating Plasmodium vivax.
The research explained that there are two species of Papua New Guinea i.e. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax that are responsible for the majority of malaria infections and similarly have two different anti-malarial drugs.
Tim Davis of University of Western Australia concluded that the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of three daily doses of artemisinin-naphthoquine should be considered together with other currently available effective combination therapies for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Papua New Guinea and similar epidemiologic settings with transmission of multiple Plasmodium species
The research is published in PLOS Medicine. (ANI)