Surveillance of the Efficacy of Artemisinin-Piperaquine in the Treatment of Uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Among Children Under 5 Years of Age in Est-Mono District, Togo, in 2017.

Background Malaria is a major public health concern in Togo. The Est-Mono district of Togo has a population of 150,000. Accordingly, the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, China and the Ministry of Health and Social Security, Togo launched a nationwide Mass Drug Administration Project with artemisinin-piperaquine (AP) in Est-Mono. Before launching this project, the sensitivity test of AP was conducted in a general clinic in Elawagnon, Togo. With this background, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of AP for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in children under the age of 5 years. Methods Children aged 6-59 months with uncomplicated falciparum malaria were enrolled in this study. The selected patients were treated with a combination regime of artemisinin-piperaquine. The patients were followed up for 28 days, during which signs of the following were observed for: the duration for fever clearance, parasitemia density, gametophyte generation, cure rate, hemoglobin level, andmerozoite surface protein-2(msp-2)polymorphism. The primary end point was a 28-day cure rate and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-corrected reinfection and recrudescence. This research followed the standardized World Health Organization (WHO) protocol for the assessment of the efficacy of antimalarial drugs. Results A total of 91 children with uncomplicated falciparum malaria were enrolled in this study. Adequate clinical and parasitological responses (ACPRs) before and after PCR-correction were 66 (73%) and 90 (99%), respectively. The average hemoglobin level in the patient increased by 0.05 g/dl per day (p < 0.0001) after the treatment. The gametophyte generation did not decline at the beginning of the treatment; however, after 14 days, it declined (day 21: p < 0.05; day 28: p < 0.01). In themsp-2polymorphism study of 24 children treated for parasite infection, one case ofmsp-2with3D7haplotype andFC27haplotype was noted, indicating its recrudescence, with a frequency of 4%. The remaining 23 cases could have been of reinfection, with a frequency of 96%. No serious adverse reactions occurred, and AP was well-tolerated by all patients. Conclusion Artemisinin-piperaquine was found to be an effective combination for treating uncomplicated falciparum malaria in children aged <5 years in Togo, and the drugs were well-tolerated. In Togo,Plasmodium falciparumremains sensitive to artemisinin-piperaquine, necessitating its trial in this region.