infant

Commentary on:
Gosling RD, Gesase S, Mosha JF, et al . Protective efficacy and safety of three antimalarial regimens for intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in infants: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2009;374:1521–32.

Coverage and effects on malaria and anemia were estimated through a representative survey in 2006 with 600 children aged 2–11 months. Coverage of IPTi was 47–76% depending on the definition.

IPTi with long-acting regimens provide protection against clinical malaria for up to 8 weeks even in the presence of high ITN coverage, and that the prophylactic rather than the treatment effect of IPTi appears central to its protective efficacy.

Intermittent preventive treatment in infants (IPTi) is a new malaria control tool. This study investigated how protection against malaria given by SP, chlorproguanil-dapsone (CD) and mefloquine (MQ), varied with time since administration of IPTi.

A paper that addresses the issue of possible selection of drug resistant parasites in the context of Intermittent Preventive Treatment in infants. Importantly, this study evaluates the impact of the intervention at community level, in a context of a large scale implementation.

The World Health Organization provides treatment guidelines for children from six months onwards, without specific treatment guidelines for the younger infants. A number of recent reports however suggest that the burden in this young age group may be underestimated.

Administration of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine at times of vaccination—intermittent preventive treatment in infants (IPTi)—is a promising strategy to prevent malaria. However, rising resistance to this combination is a concern. We investigated a shortacting and longacting antimalarial drug as alternative regimens for IPTi.

Intermittent preventive treatment in infants (IPTi) is an effective and safe malaria control strategy. However, it remains unclear what antimalarials should be used to replace sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) when and where SP is no longer an effective drug for IPTi.

Looking to the future, and hoping that current downward trends in malaria are sustained, we need to evaluate the newly introduced antimalarials (piperaquine and pyronaridine look promising12) as well as mefloquine to assess whether and when is the best time to give IPT.

Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) is a promising strategy for previous termmalarianext term control in infants. We undertook a pooled analysis of the safety and efficacy of IPT in infants (IPTi) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in Africa.