Progress towards safer and more effective radical cure of Plasmodium vivax

Plasmodium vivax causes a substantial burden of disease in the Americas, the Horn of Africa, and Asia-Pacific. The parasite forms dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that reactivate weeks to months after an initial infection causing recurrent episodes of malaria (relapses). Multiple recurrences are associated with a cumulative risk of anaemia, significant morbidity, and mortality. An estimated 60–90% of vivax malaria cases are attributable to relapses, and these drive the ongoing transmission of the parasite. The elimination of both blood and liver stage parasite (known as radical cure) is crucial for the timely elimination of P vivax.