To eliminate vivax malaria, treatment is required that cures both the bloodstage infection and also kills any dormant parasites in the liver (called hypnozoites). This is called radical cure. Unfortunately, the standard doses of the 8-aminoquinoline drugs used for radical cure can cause severe haemolysis when given to patients who have glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, a common human enzyme polymorphism.

This project creates mathematical models informed by available evidence to investigate the impact on patient morbidity of using qualitative and semi-quantitative near-patient G6PD tests to guide treatment decisions, compared to providing radical cure with no G6PD testing.