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Chloroquine-Resistant <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Local Strain in Taiz Governorate, Republic of Yemen

2006; Karger Publishers; Volume: 52; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1159/000093592

1421-9794

Hussien O. AlKadi, Mohamed T Al-Maktari, Majed A. Nooman,

Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Protection

<i>Background:</i> The emergence of <i>Plasmodium falciparum </i>resistance to widely used antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine has made malaria control and treatment much more difficult. In Yemen, 60% of the total population live in malarious areas. The problem of chloroquine resistance in Yemen is gradually worsening since the detection of first indigenous cases of <i>P. falciparum</i> resistance to chloroquine in 1989. <i>Methods:</i> In a cross-sectional malariometric parasitic survey, 447 Yemeni children were enrolled from two selected districts (Hethran and Al-mafatch) representing Taiz Governorate. Duplicate thin and thick blood smears were prepared, stained with Giemsa stain and examined microscopically. Fifty-six students satisfied all criteria of the WHO for the assessment of <i>P. falciparum</i> response to chloroquine using a 7-day in vivo test. <i>Results:</i> Out of 447 examined slides, 83 cases (100%) were found with falciparum malaria. The overall malaria parasite rate in Taiz Governorate was 18.6%, a prevalently mesoendemic condition. The obtained results of the 7-day in vivo study revealed that out of 83 <i>P. falciparum</i> cases who completed the study period, 56 cases did not respond to the standard dose of chloroquine, i.e. the overall resistance rate was 16.1%. The prevalence of chloroquine resistance was higher in the Hethran district (19.4%) compared with 10.0% in the Al-mafatch district. The majority had an RI resistance level. <i>Conclusion:</i> Chloroquine resistance of the local strain of <i>P. falciparum </i>was recorded in all studied districts in Taiz Governorate. This calls for an urgent revision of the current malaria treatment policy which still considers chloroquine as the first-line drug for treatment of uncomplicated <i>P. falciparum </i>malaria. To assess the magnitude of the problem, these districts could be the basis of future sentinel posts for continuous monitoring of chloroquine resistance in the whole country.