Efficacy of chloroquine in the treatment of malaria in children under five years in Baissa (Gongola State, Nigeria).

The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health in 1987 instituted a nationwide programme to gather data on the efficacy of chloroquine in treating malaria in children as a basis for the development of a national malaria therapy policy. The programme is part of a comprehensive Combating Childhood Communicable Diseases (CCCD) programme. A simplified WHO in vivo method, involving follow-up observations on day 1 (D1), D2, D7 and D14 following the first day the study began (D0), was used for this study. A total of 769 children were screened, of which 363 (47%) were positive for malaria parasites. Fifty-three children were enrolled for the 14-day follow up, and chloroquine phosphate, 25 mg (base) kg-1, was given in three divided doses on D0, D1 and D2. Parasitological failure occurred in 25% of the children. There were no clinical failures in the study; i.e. no child found with parasitaemia after completing treatment was judged to be clinically ill. Generally the older children had the heavier parasite densities and severer symptoms.