title: Intermittent preventive treatment against malaria: an update.
abstract: Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) against malaria is a malaria control strategy aimed at reducing the burden of malaria in certain high-risk groups, namely pregnant women and children. Three strategies - IPT in pregnancy (IPTp), infants (IPTi) and children (IPTc) - are reviewed here focusing on the mechanism of action, choice of drugs available, controversies and future research. Drugs for IPT need to be co-formulated, long acting, safe and preferably administered as a single dose. There is no obvious replacement for sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, the most commonly utilized drug combination. All strategies face similar problems of rising drug resistance, falling malaria transmission and a policy shift from controlling disease to malaria elimination and eradication. IPT is an accepted form of malaria control, but to date only IPTp has been adopted as policy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical and Infectious Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK. roly.gosling@gmail.com
authors.forename: Roly D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Gosling
authors.forename: Matthew E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cairns
authors.forename: R Matthew
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Chico
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chandramohan
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008288:Malaria; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D021261:Parasitic Sensitivity Tests; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011739:Pyrimethamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013413:Sulfadoxine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D004338:Drug Combinations; C001205:fanasil, pyrimethamine drug combination; D013413:Sulfadoxine; D011739:Pyrimethamine