Treatment

Malaria is treated with prescription drugs to kill the parasite. The types of drugs and the length of treatment will vary, depending on:

• Which type of malaria parasite you have
• The severity of your symptoms
• Your age
• Whether you're pregnant

Medications

The most common antimalarial drugs include:

• Chloroquine phosphate. Chloroquine is the preferred treatment for any parasite that is sensitive to the drug. But in many parts of the world, parasites are resistant to chloroquine, and the drug is no longer an effective treatment.
• Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). ACT is a combination of two or more drugs that work against the malaria parasite in different ways. This is usually the preferred treatment for chloroquine-resistant malaria. Examples include artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem) and artesunate-mefloquine.

Other common antimalarial drugs include:

• Atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone)
• Quinine sulfate (Qualaquin) with doxycycline (Oracea, Vibramycin, others)
• Primaquine phosphate