Project 8: Targeting
Project Title
| Effects of Restricting the Use of Artesunate Plus Amodiaquine Combination Therapy to Malaria Cases Confirmed by a Dipstick Test: A Cluster Randomised Control Trial (RDT-ACT) |
Project Location(s)
| Brong-Ahafo Region, Ghana |
Lead Principal Investigator
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Prof. Daniel Chandramohan Graduated in medicine in 1975. Then worked as a primary heath care physician in India, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. After completing an MSc in public health in developing countries at the LSHTM, joined the LSHTM staff as a research fellow in 1992. His research interests include epidemiology and control of malaria, indirect methods to assess causes of death, and maternal health. He is currently professor of public health at the London School of Hgyiene and Tropical Medicine. |
Other Principal Investigators
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Co-Principal Investigators
Collaborators
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Research Aim(s)
| Targeting |
Project Background and Rational
| Over diagnosis and treatment of malaria is a common feature in most settings including hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa. It was a reasonable practice when chloroquine was effective and used widely. However, with increasing drug resistance to chloroquine and SP, and the introduction of artemisinin based combination therapy (ACT), clinical judgement based diagnosis of malaria is no longer sensible. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) using malaria antigen-based dipsticks have the potential to improve diagnosis of malaria and thereby reduce wastage of antimalarial drugs. A combination of RDT plus ACT would improve not only the treatment of malaria but also the clinical management of febrile illness in general, particularly pneumonia which is often misdiagnosed as malaria in children. This would also reduce the amount of antimalarial used and thus reduce the drug pressure and selection of drug resistance. |
Current Status of Project
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Phase 2 of the Kintampo-ACT project is currently underway. Data collection is ongoing. |