Inadequate prophylaxis of malaria with dapsone-pyrimethamine

The dapsone-pyrimethamine combination (100 mg of dapsone, 12.5 mg of pyrimethamine [Folaprim; Maloprim, one tablet a week) is considered to provide adequate prophylaxis for Plasmodium falciparum malaria, but to be inadequate for the prevention of P. vivax malaria. Field trials and case reports, however, have shown the comparable efficacy of this combination in the suppression of parasitaemias caused by both parasites. In Lae, Papua New Guinea, 12 patients with clinical signs of malaria had serum concentrations of dapsone-pyrimethamine which were consistent with appropriate weekly use of this combination. The fact that 10 of these patients had P. vivax malaria supports the hitherto unsubstantiated view that dapsone-pyrimethamine can be ineffective in suppressing parasitaemias caused by this parasite. In the two patients with P. falciparum malaria, host factors rather than parasite resistance to dapsone-pyrimethamine were implicated in the development of the parasitaemias.