Studies on a primaquine-tolerant strain of Plasmodium vivax from Brazil in Aotus and Saimiri monkeys.

ABSTRACT

A nonimmune American acquired an infection of Plasmodium vivax Type 1 malaria in Brazil in 1994. After returning to the U.S.A., he had a primary attack followed by 3 relapses. The primary attack and first 2 relapses were treated with a standard regimen of chloroquine, followed by 14 days of primaquine (15 mg/day). Following the third relapse, the primaquine treatment was extended to 28 days. No further relapses occurred. The lack of response to primaquine by this strain may recommend it as a suitable candidate for chemotherapeutic study if it can be adapted to an animal model. Anopheles quadrimaculatus mosquitoes infected by feeding on the patient during the first relapse were used to establish the strain in Aotus and Saimiri monkeys. Monkeys supported well the development of long-lasting parasitemia. Anopheles freeborni, Anopheles stephensi, and Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes were readily infected by feeding on the monkeys and by membrane feeding on diluted blood. Monkey-to-monkey transmission was obtained via the bites of infected mosquitoes and the intravenous injection of sporozoites dissected from salivary glands. This parasite is designated as the Brazil I/CDC strain of P. vivax.