The drug sensitivities of Plasmodium falciparum in the Sonitpur district, Assam, India.

ABSTRACT

Falciparum malaria is an ongoing problem in the foothills of Northeast India. Evaluation of the drug sensitivities of P. falciparum was carried out in four endemic villages of the Sonitpur District of Assam, involving 218 cases who were tested in vivo over 35 days. Chloroquine resistance was detected at the RI level in 29 cases (13%) and RII level in 8 cases (4%). No RIII chloroquine resistant cases were detected in the study. RI resistance was observed in the age groups 6-10 years, 11-14 years, and 15 years and above in 16%, 17%, and 13%, respectively. RII level resistance was observed in 4% of all those groups combined. All the RI and RII resistant cases responded well to a single dosage of Metakelfin (sulfamethoxypyrazine I.P 1,500 mg and pyrimethamine I.P 75 mg).