Antibiotics For Malaria Treatment

Malaria is an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. There are 5 parasite species that cause malaria in humans, and 2 of these species – P. falciparum and P. vivax – pose the greatest threat. P. falciparum is the deadliest malaria parasite and the most prevalent on the African continent. P. vivax is the dominant malaria parasite in most countries outside of sub-Saharan Africa.

Mosquito

P. knowlesi, a type of malaria that naturally infects macaques in Southeast Asia, also infects humans, causing malaria that is transmitted from animal to human (“zoonotic” malaria).

The first symptoms – fever, headache and chills – usually appear 10–15 days after the infective mosquito bite and may be mild and difficult to recognize as malaria. Left untreated, P. falciparum malaria can progress to severe illness and death within a period of 24 hours.

Antibiotics For Malaria Treatment

Malaria is a parasite treated with antimalarials. However, there are some antibiotics that are effective against malaria. Some are used together with other antimalarials to act synergistic.

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Doxycycline

Doxycycline is an antibiotic that belongs to the class of tetracyclines which is a miscellaneous antimalarials drug. 100 mg orally IV twice a day for 7 days is the dose for malaria. With quinine, recommended for uncomplicated malaria due to chloroquine-resistant P falciparum. With quinine and primaquine, recommended for uncomplicated malaria due to chloroquine-resistant P vivax. With quinine, recommended for severe malaria.

For prevention, you start taking it 1 to 2 days before your trip and continue taking it for 4 weeks afterward. Side effects include an upset stomach, bad reactions to the sun and, if you’re a woman, yeast infections. Pregnant women and children younger than 8 shouldn’t take this pill.

Co-trimoxazole

Co-trimoxazole is a combination of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole. Trimethoprim is derived from pyrimidine and belongs to a group of compounds well characterized for their antibacterial activity. Trimethoprim inhibits the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase, and has been shown to act as a sulfonamide potentiator.

It appears that co-trimoxazole could be an alternative for malaria treatment. Additionally, co-trimoxazole could also be a good alternative in malaria prophylaxis for different target groups, including children and adults, HIV positive or negative patients and pregnant women.

Anti-malarial Quinolones

Quinolones are synthetic compounds mostly used as antibiotics for their bactericidal properties. Quinolones contain the 4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline skeleton. There are many types of Quinolones such as ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, etc. One of the most popular, ciprofloxacin displayed the best in vitro antimalarial activity within the first 48 h. Prolonged exposure of parasites to ciprofloxacin increased its anti-malarial activity. It is not yet official hence no dose given. The dose to achieve antimalarial activity is too high and frequent to be used on man. However, work is in progress to modify ciprofloxacin to enhance its efficacy.

Tigecycline

Tigecycline is the lead of a new class of antimicrobials, the glycylcyclines, which belong to the tetracycline class. Because tigecycline must be administered intravenously, its use in malaria treatment should be reserved for patients with severe and complicated malaria.

Mirincamycin

Mirincamycin is a lincosamide antibiotic similar to clindamycin that is synthetically produced. This drug is still under investigation as a potential antimalarial agent.

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Ketolide Agents

Ketolides are a recent class of macrolide derivative agents. Tricyclic ketolides with antimalarial activity were inhibitors of histone deacetylase protein (HDAC). These results indicated that, antimalarial potential of the ketolide antimicrobial agents should further be evaluated.

Fusidic Acid

Fusidic acid is a steroid antibacterial derived from the fungus Fusidium coccineum and used for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It displayed an in vitro antimalarial activity against P. falciparum parasites at concentrations achievable by oral administration.

Thiopeptides: Thiostrepton And Nocathiacin

Thiostrepton, a thiazolyl peptide or thiopeptide, is produced by Streptomyces azureus. Micrococcin, another thiopeptide, is produced by Bacillus and Micrococcus spp. While thiostrepton displayed P. falciparum growth inhibition at a micromolar range, micrococcin acted at a nanomolar range.

Why A Person With Malaria Cannot Be Treated By Using An Antibiotic

There are so many antibiotics. But only few show activity against malaria parasite. Only a small fraction show significant activity against malaria. And since they have not undergone clinical trials and added to recommendations, they are not yet use in the treatment of malaria.

Most of the antibody effective against malaria do so in the presence of at least another antimalarial. That is why it is difficult to see a prescription of antibiotics for the treatment of malaria.