Background
Uncomplicated malaria is the mild form of malaria which usually causes a fever, with or without headache, tiredness, muscle pains, abdominal pains, nausea, and vomiting. If left untreated, uncomplicated malaria can develop into severe malaria with kidney failure, breathing difficulties, fits, unconsciousness, and eventually death. Dihydroartemisininpiperaquine is one of five Artemisinin-based combination therapies the World Health Organization currently recommends to treat malaria. These combinations contain an Artemisinin component (such as Dihydroartemisinin) which works very quickly to clear the malaria parasite from the person’s blood, and a longer acting drug (such as Piperaquine) which clears the remaining parasites from the blood and may prevent new infections with malaria for several weeks.

Key findings
-  Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine cures slightly more patients than ArtemetherLumefantrine, and it also prevents further malaria infections for longer after treatment.
-  Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is as effective as Artesunate plus Mefloquine in treating malaria.
-  Artesunate plus Mefloquine probably causes more nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sleeplessness, and palpitations than dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine.