Mass primaquine preventive treatment for control of Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: a country success story.
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Date
2014-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia
Abstract
In 1998, the resurgence of Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea quickly increased to an epidemic, with 601 013 cases reported
during 1999–2001. The introduction of mass primaquine preventive treatment
(MPPT) in 2002 was followed by a rapid reduction of malaria disease burden. The
intervention has been well accepted by the community. Doctors were part of a strong
functional health system with the ability to deliver interventions at the household
level. MPPT was considered for control of malaria after a study conducted in two
neighbouring endemic villages (ris) involving 320 healthy adults demonstrated that
presence of parasitaemia was significantly lower among those receiving MPPT
than those who did not. Similarly, in a mass blood survey conducted in the study
sites during May, 2002 involving 5138 persons in study and 4215 in comparison
areas, the total positive results were 7–10 times rarer in the treatment group
both before and after the malaria transmission season. In addition, the number
of malaria cases in the MPPT treatment ris was strikingly lower than control ris in
every month during the malaria transmission season of 2002. The prevalence of
G6PDD deficiency in DPR Korea is low, haemolytic events are rare and deaths
due to MPPT have not been reported. MPPT in itself is a powerful intervention
and the decision to deploy it depends on the epidemiology of malaria, urgency of
malaria control and resources available in the country.
Description
Keywords
Malaria, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, mass primaquine preventive treatment, Plasmodium vivax
Citation
WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health 2014;3(1): 75-80.