Are you Baird J Kevin?

Claim your profile

Publications (3)0 Total impact

  • Article: Evaluation of chloroquine therapy for vivax and falciparum malaria in southern Sumatra, western Indonesia
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Abstract Background Chloroquine was used as first-line treatment for Plasmodium falciparum or Plasmodium vivax in Indonesia before the initial launch of artemisinin combination therapy in 2004. A study to evaluate efficacies of chloroquine against P. falciparum and P. vivax was undertaken at Lampung in southern Sumatra, western Indonesia in 2002. Methods Patients infected by P. falciparum or P. vivax were treated with 25 mg/kg chloroquine base in three daily doses over 48 hr. Finger prick blood was collected on Days 0, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 after starting drug administration. Whole blood chloroquine and its desethyl metabolite were measured on Days-0, -3 and -28, or on the day of recurrent parasitaemia. Results 42 patients infected by P. falciparum were enrolled, and 38 fullfilled criteria for per protocol analysis. Only six of 38 (16%) showed a response consistent with senstivity to chloroquine. 25 of 32 failures were confirmed resistant by demonstrating chloroquine levels on day of recurrence exceeding the minimally effective concentration (200 ng/mL whole blood). The 28-day cumulative incidence of resistance in P. falciparum was 68% (95% CI: 0.5260 - 0.8306). Thirty one patients infected by P. vivax were enrolled, and 23 were evaluable for per protocol analysis. 15 out of 23 (65%) subjects had persistent or recurrent parasitaemia. Measurement of chloroquine levels confirmed all treatment failures prior to Day-15 as resistant. Beyond Day-15, 4 of 7 recurrences also had drug levels above 100 ng/mL and were classified as resistant. The 28-day cumulative incidence of chloroquine resistance in P. vivax was 43% (95% CI: 0.2715 - 0.6384). Conclusion These findings confirm persistantly high levels of resistance to chloroquine by P. falciparum in southern Sumatra, and suggest that high-grade and frequent resistance to chloroquine by P. vivax may be spreading westward in the Indonesia archipelago.
    Malaria Journal. 01/2010;
  • Article: Production and validation of durable, high quality standardized malaria microscopy slides for teaching, testing and quality assurance during an era of declining diagnostic proficiency
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Abstract Background Sets of Giemsa-stained, blood smear slides with systematically verified composite diagnoses would contribute substantially to development of externally validated quality assurance systems for the microscopic diagnosis of malaria. Methods whole blood from Plasmodium -positive donors in Cambodia and Indonesia and individuals with no history of risk for malaria was collected. Using standard operating procedures, technicians prepared Giemsa-stained thick and thin smears from each donor. One slide from each of the first 35 donations was distributed to each of 28 individuals acknowledged by reputation as having expertise in the microscopic diagnosis of malaria. These reference readers recorded presence or absence of Plasmodium species and parasite density. A composite diagnosis for each donation was determined based on microscopic findings and species-specific small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssrRNA) DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Results More than 12, 000 slides were generated from 124 donations. Reference readers correctly identified presence of parasites on 85% of slides with densities <100 parasites/μl, which improved to 100% for densities >350 parasites/μl. Percentages of agreement with composite diagnoses were highest for Plasmodium falciparum (99%), followed by Plasmodium vivax (86%). Conclusion Herein, a standardized method for producing large numbers of consistently high quality, durable Giemsa-stained blood smears and validating composite diagnoses for the purpose of creating a malaria slide repository in support of initiatives to improve training and competency assessment amidst a background of variability in diagnosis is described.
    Malaria Journal. 01/2006;
  • Article: Combined chloroquine, sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine and primaquine against Plasmodium falciparum in Central Java, Indonesia
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Abstract Background Chloroquine (CQ) or sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) monotherapy for Plasmodium falciparum often leads to therapeutic failure in Indonesia. Combining CQ with other drugs, like SP, may provide an affordable, available and effective option where artemisinin-combined therapies (ACT) are not licensed or are unavailable. Methods This study compared CQ (n = 29 subjects) versus CQ + SP (with or without primaquine; n = 88) for clinical and parasitological cure of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in the Menoreh Hills region of southern Central Java, Indonesia. Gametocyte clearance rates were measured with (n = 56 subjects) and without (n = 61) a single 45 mg dose of primaquine (PQ). Results After 28 days, 58% of subjects receiving CQ had cleared parasitaemia and remained aparasitaemic, compared to 94% receiving CQ combined with SP (p < 0.001). Msp-2 genotyping permitted reinfection-adjusted cure rates for CQ and CQ combined with SP, 70% and 99%, respectively (p = 0.0006). Conclusion Primaquine exerted no apparent affect on cure of asexual stage parasitaemia, but clearly accelerated clearance of gametocytes. CQ combined with SP was safe and well-tolerated with superior efficacy over CQ for P. falciparum parasitaemia in this study.
    Malaria Journal. 01/2006;