INVIVO AND INVITRO RESPONSE OF PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM TO CHLOROQUINE IN PREGNANT-WOMEN IN KILIFI DISTRICT, KENYA

In a malaria-endemic area of the Coast of Kenya with chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum, we determined the prevalence and density of falciparum infection in gravid women and assessed the in vivo and in vitro parasite response to a regimen of chloroquine 25 mg/kg body weight divided over three days. P. falciparum infections were present in 65 (21.7%) of 300 pregnant women. The proportion of primigravidae who were parasitaemic was 41.8% which was significantly higher than that of the multigravidae (17.1, P < 0.01). Primigravidae did not show a significantly higher mean parasite density than the multigravidae. The in vivo tests showed that 45.9% or all the P. falciparum infections were resistant to chloroquine predominantly at RI and RII levels with percentages 36.1% and 8.2%, respectively.