Bob Taylor
Professor of Tropical Medicine
Vivax malaria
Dr Bob Taylor works on drug trials for vivax and falciparum malaria. In contrast with falciparum malaria, vivax malaria can relapse from dormant stage parasites in the patient’s liver. Primaquine is currently the only available drug to prevent relapse infections but can cause severe haemolysis in patients with reduced G6PD activity. Dr Taylor's research aims to determine the most effective and safest way to radically cure vivax malaria.
Podcast interview
Primaquine for vivax and falciparum malaria
Primaquine can be used both to treat vivax malaria and to prevent the transmission of falciparum malaria from human to mosquito. A shorter and age-based primaquine regimen would reduce the burden of vivax malaria. It would also allow primaquine to be used more widely to block the transmission of falciparum malaria.
Recent publications
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Methaemoglobin as a surrogate marker of primaquine antihypnozoite activity in Plasmodium vivax malaria: A systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis.
Journal article
Fadilah I. et al, (2024), PLoS Med, 21
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Evaluation of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for the prevention of COVID-19 (COPCOV): A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.
Journal article
Schilling WHK. et al, (2024), PLoS Med, 21
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Pharmacokinetics of single low dose primaquine in Ugandan and Congolese children with falciparum malaria.
Journal article
Mukaka M. et al, (2023), EBioMedicine, 96
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Weekly primaquine for radical cure of patients with Plasmodium vivax malaria and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.
Journal article
Taylor WRJ. et al, (2023), PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 17