This clearly written review examines many current questions about using Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) in pregnant women or in infants to reduce the numbers of clinical episodes and deaths due to malaria. Treatment is given at fixed time intervals regardless of whether the person is infected. This means that there is enough time after the drugs have cleared from the body to allow infections to occur and permit a build-up of immunity. The review refers to recent clinical trials on IPT in pregnant women and infants to discuss factors that could affect the outcome of the treatment. These include the intensity of malaria transmission, the choice of drugs, and the use of other prevention measures such as insecticide-treated nets.

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