Efficacy of Focal Primaquine Mass Administration for Eliminating Plasmodium Vivax Malaria in Northern Myanmar

G6PD Deficiency Prevalence and Targeted Elimination of Residual Plasmodium Vivax Hypnozoites in Community: Township Level Implementation in Banmauk and Moe Mauk, Myanmar

Plasmodium vivax has become the predominant species in the Greater Mekong Subregion and is a major challenge for regional malaria elimination. Mass primaquine administration has played a decisive role in malaria elimination in many temperate zone countries, but its efficacy in tropical areas remains to be evaluated. This study aims to assess the efficacy of targeted primaquine mass treatment (TPT) for eliminating P. vivax malaria in northern Myanmar.

This study employed a cluster-randomized crossover design in which two groups of villages received TPT at different times. In August-September 2019, Group 1 received TPT (0.25 mg/kg/day primaquine base for 14 days), while Group 2 was the control. In June-July 2020, Group 2 received TPT, while Group 1 served as the control. To evaluate the effectiveness of TPT for preventing relapses of vivax malaria, two indicators were utilized: infection prevalence at 3-month intervals estimated through cross-sectional surveys and monthly malaria incidence by passive case detection. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared test, cumulative hazard function, and mixed model logistic regression.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Residents in study villages
• Male/ female
• Consent to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

• Low Hb%
• G6PD deficiency
• pregnant women,
• breastfeeding mothers and
• children under 7 years