The Pioneering Study of Mass Drug Administration with Primaquine in Iran

Background: Mass drug administration (MDA) is considered one of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global strategies to eliminate malaria. Therefore, the impact of this achievement on reducing malaria transmission should be measured. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the role of MDA with primaquine (PQ) in Jask County, southern Iran. Methods: PQ was chosen as an antimalarial drug for this purpose; then, 168 Pakistani cases receiving MDA were examined from September to December 2021 (for eight weeks) in the Lirdaf district of Jask County, Hormozgan province, southern Iran. Results: Three asymptomatic vivax malaria carriers were detected. Thirty out of 168 people treated with PQ were excluded from the study considering that 26 had glucose-6-plosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Three people were eliminated from the project, one due to family problems and the other two due to access constraints. One person, who was positive and also asymptomatic at the beginning of the study, became positive again, so this case was disregarded from the survey. All cases were followed up routinely, and interestingly, no relapse was observed in our target population. Conclusions: We suggest that MDA be implemented in the elimination phase associated with other interventions.