In vitro sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum to halofantrine compared with chloroquine, quinine and mefloquine in the region of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso (West Africa)

Trop Med Int Health. 1998 May;3(5):381-4.

Abstract

The in vitro sensitivity of P. falciparum drug-resistant isolates was evaluated in the region of Bobo-Dioulasso during the 1995 and 1996 rainy seasons. Two routinely used antimalarials (chloroquine and quinine) and two new antimalarials (mefloquine and halofantrine) were assessed using 24-hour in vitro cultures with tritiated hypoxanthine and a parasite density > or = 4,000/microl of blood. The proportion of chloroquine-resistant isolates was 20% in 1995 and 19% in 1996, whilst in 1996, the proportion of isolates resistant to halofantrine was greater than in 1995 (9.6% versus 1%). No significant differences were seen in the mean IC50 values in relation to the susceptibility of chloroquine-resistant or chloroquine-sensitive isolates to mefloquine and halofantrine. In the case of quinine, the mean IC50 values were significantly higher in chloroquine-resistant isolates than in chloroquine-sensitive ones. A significant positive correlation was found between the following IC50 values: chloroquine versus quinine, quinine versus mefloquine and mefloquine versus halofantrine.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antimalarials / pharmacology*
  • Burkina Faso
  • Chloroquine / pharmacology
  • Drug Resistance
  • Malaria, Falciparum / diagnosis
  • Malaria, Falciparum / drug therapy
  • Mefloquine / pharmacology
  • Phenanthrenes / pharmacology
  • Plasmodium falciparum / drug effects*
  • Quinine / pharmacology

Substances

  • Antimalarials
  • Phenanthrenes
  • Chloroquine
  • Quinine
  • halofantrine
  • Mefloquine