@article{666,
  author = {Boubacar Coulibaly and Ali Sie and Mamadou Ouattara and Mamadou Bountogo and Guillaume Compaoré and Adama Compaoré and Moustapha Nikiema and Nestor Sibiri and Jérôme Tiansi and Elodie Lebas and Ian Fetterman and Huiyu Hu and Thuy Doan and Benjamin Arnold and Thomas Lietman and Catherine Oldenburg},
  title = {Malaria Parasitemia after Mass Distribution of Azithromycin to Prevent Child Mortality in Burkina Faso: Results from a Cluster Randomized Trial.},
  abstract = {<p>The twice-yearly mass distribution of azithromycin to children aged 1-59 months reduces all-cause child mortality. It has been suggested in some studies that mass azithromycin distributions may reduce malaria mortality and parasitemia; however, these studies have been conducted in the absence of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC). Here, we evaluate malaria parasitemia in a cluster randomized trial of azithromycin versus a placebo in Burkina Faso, where SMC was being administered. Thin and thick smears were taken from a random sample of 15 children per cluster in 40 clusters that had been receiving twice-yearly azithromycin or a placebo for 36 months (six distributions). We found no evidence of a difference in malaria parasitemia between children in the azithromycin and placebo clusters (mean difference -6% prevalence; 95% CI -17% to 6%; P = 0.33). These results suggest that reductions in malaria parasitemia may not be a major contributor to the effect of azithromycin on child mortality in settings in which SMC is administered.</p>},
  year = {2025},
  journal = {The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene},
  month = {06/2025},
  issn = {1476-1645},
  doi = {10.4269/ajtmh.25-0093},
  language = {eng},
}