Dr James Watson from MORU in Bangkok, Thailand, tells us about his research in the biology of relapse in vivax malaria, as well as the development of statistical models to better understand the pharmacology of antimalarial drugs.
Primaquine is a drug used to eliminate vivax malaria from the liver and prevent relapses. However, it causes anaemia in patients with G6PD deficiency. A new, slightly longer regimen with increasing doses of primaquine could allow to safely treat all patients with vivax malaria.