ABSTRACT
Primaquine, a synthetic racemic 8-aminoquinoline derivative, is the only anti-malarial drug in current use for the radical cure of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale malaria. It prevents relapses of liver-stage parasites by eradicating the dormant liver forms (hypnozoites). It is active against the pre-erythrocytic stages of malaria parasites in the liver (causal prophylactic activity) but has low activity against asexual blood stages of the parasite. Primaquine is sporontocidal and gametocytocidal (reproductive stages in mosquito and blood, respectively) against all species of human plasmodia and is therefore used to decrease the transmission of infection, particularly Plasmodium falciparum malaria. A number of reviews of primaquine use in malaria have been published (Baird et al., 2003; Baird and Hoffman, 2004; Baird and Rieckmann, 2003; Brueckner et al., 2001; Collins and Jeffery, 1996; Griffith et al., 2007; Hill et al., 2006; John et al., 2012). Primaquine is also used in the treatment of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP), a fungal infection commonly occurring in people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and, more rarely, among individuals with immunosuppression due to other causes.
