Researchers in Arba Minch investigated whether adding the drug primaquine (PQ) to the standard malaria treatment, artemether-lumefantrine (AL), would improve outcomes for patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. The results show that AL alone is already very effective in clearing malaria parasites. Adding PQ doesn’t improve cure rates but does help gametocytes disappear faster, which may reduce transmission.

Kumsa T, Jima B, Tamiru G, Getu R, Melaku M, Tesfaye Y, et al. Efficacy and gametocyte carriage in Plasmodium falciparum cases treated with artemether-lumefantrine alone versus with single-dose primaquine in Ethiopia: a randomized controlled study. Acta tropica. 2025:107800. Epub 20250821. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2025.107800

The paper can be downloaded here: