Relapse of imported vivax malaria despite standard-dose primaquine therapy: an investigation with molecular...

Taiwan CDC investigated four cases of recurrent imported vivax malaria during 2003-2010. Molecular genotyping results and the lack of inter-episodes travel history indicated that two of the patients, who acquired vivax malaria in Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, respectively, suffered relapses after an interval of 3-4 months, despite completing standard-dose primaquine therapy (30 mg/day for 14 days) for the first episode. Treatment with a higher dose of primaquine (60 mg/day for 14 days) prevented further relapse in both patients. This finding calls for further monitoring of the therapeutic efficacy of primaquine in treating Plasmodium vivax acquired in southeast Asia and Oceania.