Chloroquine resistance to malaria in Uganda

Uganda is to drop chloroquine as the first line of treatment for malariain a number of districts where the disease has high rates of resistance to the drug, the country's Director General of Health Services, Francis Omaswa, has said. However, this would not be a blanket change of treatment strategy, he said; chloroquine will maintain its first-line position in districts where it still works well.

Resistance is highest in Kampala and Moroto, where chloroquine fails to cure over 60% of malaria cases, and lowest in Rukungiri, where it still successfully treats 98%, said Prof Omaswa. In districts where resistance is high, the first line of treatment will be a combination of Fansidar (pyrimethamine sulfadoxine) and chloroquine, he said; if this combination fails, quinine is to be used.