Abstract
Chemoprophylaxis using chloroquine (CQ) in suppressive doses has been recommended to protect pregnant women in malarious areas from the adverse effects of malaria during pregnancy. In a malaria-endemic area of western Kenya with CQ-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, we determined the prevalence and density of falciparum infection in gravid and nulligravid women and compared the in-vivo parasite response to CQ using two regimens: 25 mg/kg body weight (CQ25) divided over a period of three days (for high-density parasitaemias) and 5 mg/kg body weight (CQ5) weekly for 4 weeks (for low-density parasitaemias). P. falciparum infections were present in 102 (42%) of 244 pregnant women. A greater proportion of primigravidae were parasitaemic (68%) than nulligravidae (50%, P=0.02) or multigravidae (33%, P <10-6). Primigravidae showed a higher geometric mean parasite density. In the CQ25 treatment group, failure to clear parasites by day 7 was more common in primigravidae than nulligravidae (P=0.008) or multigravidae (P=0.15). In the CQ5 treatment group, primigravidae were more likely to show increasing parasite density than nulligravidae or multigravidae.
In this area of Kenya, virtually all women in their first pregnancy are exposed to malaria and are at greatest risk for malaria infection; compared with other women, they show higher parasite densities and are least likely to respond to chloroquine treatment in areas of chloroquine resistance. Malaria control strategies might be targeted to this group of women, but we are pessimistic about the efficacy of weekly CQ5 where there is chloroquine resistance.
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