Health

Malaria Spread Feared as Drug Loses Effectiveness

by Karenke4 | January 27, 2009 at 12:58 pm

374 views | 24 Recommendations | 6 comments

Scientists recently found that the malaria virus is developing resistance to the most effective treatment known to date. Artemisinin, a Chinese plant based drug is used in combination with other antimalarial drugs to combat the most deadly strain of falciparum malaria which contributes to tens of thousands of deaths each year.

New strategies are constantly developed to fight malaria, but the malaria virus so far seems to always catch up. In the 1950's the most popular and effective malaria drug was chloroquine, considered the savior drug to many parts of the world. The strain morphed however, and soon chloroquine was more or less useless.

Now a series of studies, including one recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine and one due out soon, have cemented a consensus among researchers that artemisinin is losing its potency here and that increased efforts are needed to prevent the drug-resistant malaria from leaving here and spreading across the globe.

Scientists are trying to be extremely careful in how they use the newest miracle drug by making sure it is only used in combination treatments. A resistance to artemisinin would spell disaster for populations all over the world, as there is nothing better, or newer to take its place against the virus, which without treatment, is fatal.

To protect against artemisinin resistance, the global health authorities are trying to assure that it is sold only as a combination pill with other antimalaria medicines that linger longer in the blood, mopping up any artemisinin-resistant parasites.

The two most recent tests showing artemisinin resistance were done with pills that had no combination drug. But if resistance spreads, there are no new drugs to take the place of artemisinin-based combinations and no immediate prospects under development.

Currently the resistance to the drug has been measured in Cambodia. By examining the resistance path of chloroquine, scientists assume that this too could follow the path to Thailand, India and into Africa where the majority of the world's malaria cases are. And while aggressive measures are being taken to prevent drug resistance, some would like to see more being done. Cambodia is being supplied with malaria nets, and a comprehensive screening program, including drug treatments and follow up visits, while Thailand patrols their border with screening kits.

“Many of us think this should be treated on the same order as SARS,” said Col. Alan J. Magill, a researcher at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland. “This should be a global emergency that is addressed in a global fashion.”

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Uwe Paschen

at 13:12 on January 27th, 2009

We never used any as long as I can remember because those meds are not with out danger. We are carrier and yet developed immunity to it.

Marisa Olivia

at 19:05 on January 27th, 2009

Thank you for this post. My sister is about to move over to Malawi for the next few months, so it really helps to know this. Cheers.

gakmugua

at 19:14 on January 30th, 2009

I was working in a clinic in Maiwut, a small village in South Sudan. My friend and I found ourselves at the tail-end of a malaria epidemic. We were there trying to start a non-profit and assess the situation. We brought Coartem which is an artemether–lumefantrine combo. We found it to be effective in Maiwut county. We did not attempt to use it in severe P. falciparum cases, as it was only in tablet form (difficult to give to a seizing/vomiting patient) but found it to be effective in treating P. falciparum. We were using Paracheck rapid tests to test for P. falciparum malaria. As far as we could tell, Artemisinin has not yet lost it's effectivesness in Maiwut.

gakmugua has contributed a photo to this story.

Debra (not verified)

at 13:08 on February 24th, 2009

Here is a link to BUY-A-NET Malaria Prevention Group http://www.buyanet.ca/, Canada's first citizen led initiative aimed at saving lives from malaria. The group was founded in 2004 by a Canadian nurse.

$6 BUCKS, BUY-A-NET, Save a Life. WHO reports that a long lasting insecticide treated bed net is the most efficient and cost effective way in which to prevent malaria. Nets act as a primary wall of defense against malaria, and the nets help to kill the mosquito when it lands on the net.

shuppy (not verified)

at 17:45 on June 1st, 2009

This article is doing more harm than good. It is being disseminated without mentioning the drug involved and therefore weakening the effectiveness of doxycycline and larium and meladrone in the eyes of the public. They have not been said to be losing effectiveness in any article I have found but even a group of medics knew only that some drugs were losing effectiveness. According to this article it only pertains to the one - not in general use.