Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine: if it works for control, can we use it for elimination?

Abstract

Historically, antimalarial drugs have been used at a population level in malaria-endemic areas with the objective of decreasing the burden, impact, and transmissibility of malaria.1 Continuous chemoprophylaxis, once experimented but never seriously considered a feasible wide-scale implementable strategy, has been superseded by the concept of intermittent treatment targeting different population groups, presenting many advantages, including non-interference with the acquisition of natural immunity against malaria.