UN Health Agency Pushes for Better Monitoring of Anti-Malaria Drugs
New York, Nov 18 2010 1:10PM Only 34 per cent of countries with endemic malaria are complying with United Nations World
Health Organization (WHO) recommendations to routinely monitor anti-malarial medicines, according to a report released
today.
The agency’s “Global report on anti-malarial drug efficacy and drug resistance: 2000-2010” urges countries to be more
vigilant in drug monitoring to allow for earlier detection of resistance to anti-malarial treatments.
“A greater political commitment to support and sustain national monitoring of the efficacy of anti-malarial medicines is
critical to prevent a wider emergence of artemisinin resistance,” said Dr. Pascal Ringwald of the Drug Resistance and
Containment Unit, within WHO’s Global Malaria Programme and one of the report’s authors.
Artemisinin is currently the most effective treatment against malaria, but resistance to the drug when used alone to
treat the disease was found in February 2009 on the Cambodia-Thailand border.
“The emergence of artemisinin resistance on the Cambodia-Thailand border has been a wake-up call to the world to prevent
its spread, increase monitoring, and preserve ACTs (Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy) as the only effective
treatment we have for falciparum malaria,” said Dr. Robert Newman, Director of WHO’s Global Malaria Programme.
Although efforts to contain the spread of artemisinin resistance on the Cambodia-Thailand border are ongoing, early
evidence suggests the emergence of resistance on the Myanmar-Thailand border. There is also concern that this resistance
could spread from Asia to Africa, as happened with other treatments in the 1960s and 70s.
“Anti-malarial drug resistance is like a cancer, it must be fought at every level,” said Nicholas J White, Professor at
the Mahidol-Oxford Research Unit in Bangkok, Thailand. “Affected countries need to be in the frontline in combating the
emergence of drug resistance. WHO should be empowered and supported to take a strong lead. It is crucial to protect ACTs
as they are the best treatments for millions of people against malaria.”
The report found that ACTs currently recommended by national malaria control programmes remain effective against
malaria, with cure rates generally above 90 per cent. In countries with cure rates lower than 90 per cent, policy change
is ongoing to implement efficacious replacement malaria treatments.
The use of artemisinin monotherapy is considered an important factor in the survival and spread of drug resistant
strains. If the efficacy of the artemisinin component continues to decline, the risk grows of increased resistance to
other drugs used in the combination.
In response to the findings in the report, WHO is working with partners to develop a Global Plan for Artemisinin
Resistance Containment, which will be released in January 2011. On World Health Day 2011, WHO will launch a public
awareness campaign on antimicrobial resistance and its global spread, calling on governments and stakeholders to
implement the policies and practices needed to safeguard medicines for future generations.
ENDS