Chemotherapeutic control trial of Plasmodium falciparum with a combination of chloroquine and primaquine on selective age group in a coastal village of North Sumatra, Indonesia.

Active case detection and treatment of malaria in a selective age group of children up to the age of fifteen was carried out to control malaria in a coastal village in North Sumatra, Indonesia from September 1983 to July 1984. A combination of chloroquine for three days with primaquine for three or five days was more effective than only chloroquine for three days. The spleen rate, the parasite rate of P. falciparum, the parasite formula of P. falciparum and the parasite density index were reduced by this activity. The parasite rate and the parasite formula of P. falciparum did not rise up in July 1984 (12.3% and 14.3%, respectively) without any vector control activities, although the parasite rate used to rise up to 27-61% and the parasite formula of P. falciparum was 50-86% in July to September every year (1980-1983). Most of the patients in July 1984 were considered to be recurrent or inadequately treated cases of P. vivax. Furthermore the density of P. falciparum gametocyte in pre-school children was higher than that in school children. We should pay a special attention to pre-school children to interrupt malaria transmission aiming at the gametocyte stage. Detection of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency was done at the same time and malaria patient with G6PD deficiency was not given primaquine.