Cambodians becoming resistant to Malaria treating drugs

[6souls]

International scientists say they have found the first evidence of resistance to the world's most effective drug for treating malaria.

They say the trend in western Cambodia has to be urgently contained because full-blown resistance would be a global health catastrophe.

Drugs are taking longer to clear blood of malaria parasites than before.

This is an early warning sign of emerging resistance to a disease which kills a million people every year.

Until now the most effective drug cleared all malaria parasites from the blood within two or three days but in recent trials this took up to four or five days.

The BBC's Jill McGivering, reporting from Cambodia, says it is unclear why the region has become a nursery for the resistance - but the local public health system is weak, and the use of anti-malaria drugs is not properly controlled.

Drug defence

The artemesinin family of drugs is the world's front-line defence against the most prevalent and deadly form of malaria.

Two teams of scientists, working on separate clinical trials, have reported seeing the disturbing evidence that the drugs are becoming much less effective.

There is particular concern because previous generations of malaria drugs have been undermined by resistance which started in this way, in this part of the world, our correspondent reports.

Professor Nick Day is the director of the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, one of the teams involved in the research.

"Twice in the past, South East Asia has made a gift, unwittingly, of drug resistant parasites to the rest of the world, in particular to Africa," he said.

"That's the problem. We've had chloroquine and SP resistance, both of which have caused major loss of life in Africa," in said in reference to earlier generation anti-malarial drugs.

"If the same thing happens again, the spread of a resistant parasite from Asia to Africa, that will have devastating consequences for malaria control," he said.

Health systems

Cambodia has long been a laboratory for malaria investigators and a nursery of anti-malaria drug resistance.

Alongside a weak public health system and poorly-controlled drug use, there are many fake drugs, produced by international criminals.

These fakes often contain a small amount of the real drug to fool tests, which can also help to fuel resistance.

Those working to control malaria are calling for urgent action to contain this emerging resistance.

If it strengthens and spreads, they warn, many millions of lives will be at risk. About half the world's population faces exposure to the disease.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Malaria parasites 'resist drugs'

[Zilong]

Darwinism

[Slapper]

Its ok they'll eventually develop the heterozygous allele for sickle cell anemia just like the blacks

[Araelus]

Malaria is just showing the adaptablility we should expect from any disease. Anyone remember TB?

Let's go for vector control again. Kill the mosquitos without killing wildlife and humans. And faster than the insects can adapt to resist. Worked in the US and Europe last time, with only some minor horrible unexpected side-effects.

If you kill these guys:

Spoiler: show

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...s_mosquito.jpg

you kill the parasites, too.

[0ni0n]

Malarie is one of those diseases that have been resisting eradication for decades, despite that billions have been poured into disease prevention. Bill Gate's fountain has made it the primary goal on its agenda, however, I am afraid that unless local government shows more appreciative and commensurate efforts, namely more rigorous enforcement on pill taking, virtual eradication may prove to be more elusive than previously thought.

[Diamicles]

Darwinism

for once this is actually the correct answer

[Zalius]

god dammit slapper really is smart

[zoobernut]

In before Vajra and somehow relating this to swine flu.

Also malaria is no joke and this does suck.

[Kiro]

So why are we trying to stop natural diseases in the first place? Wanna live forever? Shit is population control. DEAL WITH IT.


inb4 "omfg if ur mom was dying of malaria u'd b" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTCH.