Sulfalene with pyrimethamine and chloroquine with pyrimethamine in single-dose treatment of Plasmodium falciparum infections. A trial in a rural population in northern Nigeria.

A comparative trial was carried out in northern Nigeria of the ability of the drug combinations chloroquine-pyrimethamine and sulfalene-pyrimethamine to clear the peripheral blood stream of asexual forms of P. falciparum within 7 days. The reappearance of asexual P. falciparum forms within the 70-day follow-up period and the occurrence of vomiting during the 2-3 hours following administration of the drugs were also recorded. The purpose of the trial was to choose the more suitable of the two drug combinations for repeated mass administration in the intervention phase of a collaborative field research project in the epidemiology and control of malaria in the African savannah. No differences were observed between the two drug combinations from a parasitological point of view. However, the sulfalene-pyrimethamine combination was found easier to administer and occasioned fewer records of vomiting. It was therefore recommended for use in the project.