antimalarial /-məler″ē·əl/ , 1. pertaining to a substance that destroys or suppresses the development of malaria plasmodia or to a procedure that exterminates the mosquito vectors of the disease, such as spraying insecticides or draining swamps. 2. an antimalarial drug. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine sulfate are effective against Plasmodium vivax, P. malariae, and certain strains of P. falciparum. Patients with drug-resistant P. falciparum are often treated with a combination of quinine, pyrimethamine, and sulfadoxine.
