Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Mass-Drug Administration With a Gametocytocidal Drug Combination, a Model for a Transmission Blocking Vaccine
Brief Summary: In the 1950s, the WHO included mass drug administration (MDA) with antimalarial drugs as a tool for malaria control in 'exceptional conditions when conventional control strategies have failed'. Subsequently, MDA has received little attention until the introduction of artemisinin based combination therapy (ACT). The principle aim of MDA is to interrupt malaria transmission by clearing the population of sexual stage parasites, gametocytes, prior to the transmission season. Gametocytes are essential for propagation of the disease and elimination of gametocytes will result in a reduction in malaria transmission. As a consequence, a successful MDA will reduce the burden of disease in a population and is expected to have little influence on the development of protective immunity in areas of low transmission intensity. In Africa, only one large scale MDA study was conducted in the last 10 years. That study, conducted in The Gambia using sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) plus a single dose of artesunate (AS), failed to show a significant impact of MDA on malaria transmission. Possible reasons for this failure are the limited impact of the drug regimen (a single dose of AS) on malaria transmission, the incomplete coverage, the relatively high transmission intensity in the area and the migration of individuals between villages. Here, we propose to conduct an MDA study in an area of very low malaria transmission intensity in Tanzania. We use the highly active drug combination SP+AS (3 days) followed by a single dose of primaquine..


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* permanent resident of the research area
* age \>1 years

Exclusion Criteria:

* severe anemia
* pregnancy
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* infection with P.falciparum detected by PCR

Exclusion Criteria:

* pregnancy
* severe anaemia
* fever or other signs of illness
* history of allergy to sulfa drugs
* presence of other species of Plasmodium detected by microscopy
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* Age \>/= 1 year and \</= 10 years
* Weight over 10kg
* Fever \>38 degrees C (tympanic) or history of fever in the last 24 hours
* P. falciparum parasitaemia \<500 000/µl
* Normal G6PD enzyme function

Exclusion Criteria:

* Enrolled in another study
* Evidence of severe illness/ danger signs
* Known allergy to study medications
* Haemoglobin \< 8g/dL)
* Started menstruation
* Pregnancy or breastfeeding
* Primaquine taken within the last 4 weeks
* Blood transfusion within the last 90 days
* Non-falciparum malaria co-infection
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* age ≥ 4 years old
* parasite count ≥ 1,000 asexual parasites/µL
* normal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme level based on qualitative test (Trinity Biotech® no 203, USA)
* hemoglobin level ≥ 8 gr/dL as measured by Hemoque® apparatus;
* have the ability to return for 42-day-follow up and
* willingness to sign the informed-consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

* are infected with other r plasmodium species
* have only gametocytes of P. falciparum;
* are pregnant - measured by positive result on HCG urine test and/or breastfeeding women
* present signs of pitting edema on both legs as a sign of malnutrition
* have complicated or severe malaria, other chronic diseases or history of drug allergies.

Answer: A