Plasmodium falciparum strains from Papua New Guinea: culture characteristics and drug sensitivity.

Seven strains of Plasmodium falciparum from Papua New Guinea have been established in continuous in vitro culture. Samples with a high initial parasitaemia were more likely to form continuous lines, possibly due to the time required for transport of infected blood samples from Papua New Guinea to laboratories in Australia. Most but not all established lines were resistant to chloroquine and all were resistant to pyrimethamine, possibly reflecting the parasite strain characteristics in that region.