A BRIEF REVIEW ON TAFENOQUINE IN RELAPSE MALARIA

Malarial relapse is the reactivation of the hypnozoite form of parasite in the liver cells. It is the reappearance of the symptoms after elimination of the parasite from the blood where the parasite still persists as the dormant hypnozoites in the liver cells. It usually occurs between 8-24 weeks after the elimination of parasite from the blood and is most common among the individuals with P.vivax and P.ovale infections. Drugs having both hypnozoiticidal and schizonticidal effects are used in the treatment of relapse malaria. Primaquine is the only drug which shows both schizonticidal and hypnozoiticidal effect in treating the relapse malaria. Primaquine has a long term chemoprophylaxis with adverse effect profile hence, there is a requirement for a drug with long acting hypnozoiticidal action in a single dose where, tafenoquine serves the need in providing a short-course treatment regimen for the radical cure instead of prescribing a 14-day course of primaquine. In this article, we mainly reviewed the approval, adverse effects profile, contraindications and precautions to be taken during the usage of Tafenoquine. In India, clinical trials are still under progress and yet to be approved to replace the current 14 day treatment regimen of primaquine. In order to cope up with the challenge in the treatment of relapse malaria, tafenoquine offers a ray of hope in dealing the relapse malaria effectively.