Corrections

Am Fam Physician. 2000 Jan 1;61(1):50-52.

Table 1 in the article “Malaria Prevention in Travelers” (May 1, 1999, page 2523) contained an error in the pediatric dosage of mefloquine. The correct pediatric dosage is based on a 250-mg tablet, like the adult dosage. The table with corrected pediatric dosages is published on page 52.

TABLE 1
Drugs for Malaria Prophylaxis

Drug	Areas of effective use	Adult dosage	Pediatric dosage	Use in pregnancy
Chloroquine (Aralen)	Middle East, Central America (west of Panama Canal) and Hispaniola (especially Haiti)	300-mg base (500-mg salt) orally once a week starting one week before travel, once weekly during exposure and once weekly for four weeks after return home	Same weekly regimen as for adults but dosage is as follows: 5 mg per kg base (8.3 mg per kg salt), to a maximum of 300-mg base	Yes
Mefloquine (Lariam)	Areas of chloroquine- resistant malaria (South America, Asia, Africa, India and Oceania [Pacific islands and New Guinea])	250-mg salt using the same regimen as for chloroquine	Same weekly regimen as for adults but dosages are as follows:	Usually not in first trimester
			Less than 15 kg (33 lb): 5 mg per kg salt 15 to 19 kg (33 to 42 lb): one fourth of a 250-mg salt tablet per week 20 to 30 kg (44 to 66 lb): one half of a 250-mg salt tablet per week 31 to 45 kg (68 to 99 lb): three fourths of a 250-mg salt tablet per week	May be used in second and third trimesters if use is warranted based on risk and the pregnant woman is unable to postpone travel plans
			More than 45 kg (99 lb): one 500-mg salt tablet per week
Proguanil (Paludrine; not available in the United States)	Less effective alternative to mefloquine in sub-Saharan Africa; used with weekly chloroquine dose	200 mg per day after food	Less than two years: 50 mg per day Two to six years:100 mg per day Seven to 10 years:150 mg per day Older than 10 years: 200 mg per day	Yes, with folate supplementation
Doxycycline (Vibramycin)	Reasonable alternative to mefloquine in areas with mefloquine-resistant Plasmodium strains or when mefloquine is contraindicated	100 mg per day during exposure and for four weeks after return home	Contraindicated in children less than nine years old	No
Doxycycline (Vibramycin)			Otherwise, regimen is the same as for adults	No
Primaquine	Terminal prophylaxis if at risk for relapsing type of malaria or for elimination of Plasmodium species in persons who travel for more than two months in a high-risk area	15-mg base (26.3-mg salt) per day for 14 days before return home	0.3 mg per kg base (0.5 mg per kg salt) per day for 14 days	No
Pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine (Fansidar)	No longer used for prophylaxis	Three tablets as a single dose	5 to 10 kg (11 to 22 lb): one-half tablet (single dose) 11 to 20 kg (24 to 44 lb): one tablet (single dose) 21 to 30 kg (46 to 66 lb): one and one-half tablets (single dose) 31 to 45 kg (68 to 99 lb): two tablets (single dose)	Not in first or third trimesters
	Self-treatment if in remote setting or if on inadequate prophylaxis
			More than 45 kg (99 lb): three tablets (single dose)

Adapted from Health information for international travel, 1996–97. Atlanta: Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Division of Quarantine, 1997. HHS publication no. 95–8280.

Copyright © 2000 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference. This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP. Contact afpserv@aafp.org for copyright questions and/or permission requests.