Health Alerts

Summarised by CIDRAP, concerning news from a study conducted at a northern hospital between 2017 and 2019, as just under six percent of people diagnosed with malaria who were administered an artemisinin derivative ‘had evidence of slow parasite clearance, which can be a sign of partial resistance to artemisinin. Further analysis of parasite DNA samples from patient blood samples identified genetic mutations associated with delayed parasite clearance and artemisinin resistance’. Resistance to artemisinin is well-recognised in parts of SE Asia (Greater Mekong Subregion), but the implications for Africa, which has the greatest malaria burden, have the potential to be disastrous. Read more