Maintaining focus on administering effective malaria treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic

S Afr Med J. 2020 Nov 23;111(1):13-16. doi: 10.7196/SAMJ.2020.v111i11.15289.

Abstract

As September marks the start of the malaria season in South Africa (SA), it is essential that healthcare professionals consider both COVID- 19 and malaria when a patient who lives in or has recently travelled to a malaria area presents with acute febrile illness. Early diagnosis of malaria by either a rapid diagnostic test or microscopy enables prompt treatment with the effective antimalarial, artemether-lumefantrine, preventing progression to severe disease and death. Intravenous artesunate is the preferred treatment for severe malaria in both children and adults. Adding single low-dose primaquine to standard treatment is recommended in endemic areas to block onward transmission. Use of the highly effective artemisinin-based therapies should be limited to the treatment of confirmed malaria infections, as there is no clinical evidence that these antimalarials can prevent or treat COVID-19. Routine malaria case management services must be sustained, in spite of COVID-19, to treat malaria effectively and support SA's malaria elimination efforts.

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Intravenous
  • Antigens, Protozoan / blood
  • Antimalarials / therapeutic use*
  • Artemether, Lumefantrine Drug Combination / therapeutic use
  • Artesunate / therapeutic use
  • COVID-19
  • Early Diagnosis
  • Early Medical Intervention
  • Humans
  • Malaria / diagnosis*
  • Malaria / drug therapy*
  • Malaria / transmission
  • Malaria, Falciparum / diagnosis
  • Malaria, Falciparum / drug therapy
  • Malaria, Falciparum / transmission
  • Microscopy
  • Point-of-Care Testing
  • Primaquine / therapeutic use
  • Protozoan Proteins / blood
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • South Africa

Substances

  • Antigens, Protozoan
  • Antimalarials
  • Artemether, Lumefantrine Drug Combination
  • HRP-2 antigen, Plasmodium falciparum
  • Protozoan Proteins
  • Artesunate
  • Primaquine