Targeted treatment to reduce vivax malaria spread in Peruvian villages
Focal mass drug administration (fMDA) to reduce Plasmodium vivax transmission, a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial in Peru
This project sees whether giving targeted preventive medicine (including tafenoquine after a quick G6PD safety test) to people near recent Plasmodium vivax cases can safely lower vivax malaria in low-transmission communities in Peru.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11099760 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you live in selected villages in Loreto, Peru and are a household member or neighbor of a recent P. vivax case, researchers may offer targeted mass drug administration (fMDA) in your community. Teams will use a new rapid G6PD test to confirm safety and then offer tafenoquine to eligible, consenting people in two rounds per year over three years while other villages receive standard malaria control. Villages are randomized to receive fMDA plus standard care or standard care alone, and the project will track infections, safety events, and costs over time. The approach focuses on treating people near recent cases to find and clear hidden infections that can keep transmission going.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are consenting residents of selected villages in the Loreto Region who are household members or neighbors of recent P. vivax cases and who pass the rapid G6PD screening for tafenoquine eligibility.
Not a fit: People who live outside the targeted villages, those who are G6PD-deficient and cannot take tafenoquine, pregnant women or young children excluded by the protocol, or those who do not consent may not receive benefit from the intervention.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lower P. vivax infections in participating communities and reduce your risk of repeated relapsing malaria.
How similar studies have performed: Mass drug administration has helped reduce P. falciparum in some settings, but using tafenoquine-based focal MDA for P. vivax is relatively new and evidence so far is limited.
Where this research is happening
San Francisco, United States
- University of California, San Francisco — San Francisco, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hsiang, Michelle Sang — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Hsiang, Michelle Sang
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.