Humans’ oldest foe: fighting malaria in the face of resistance
Early markers of drug resistance have been identified in Africa, threatening the long-term efficacy of first line treatments in the continent, which bears around 93% of the global burden of the disease.
The total malaria deaths in Africa almost halved between 2000 and 2019, with the fight against the disease focused on three key elements.
Firstly, improvements in vector control, such as the use of mosquito nets and repellents; secondly, improvements in and more routine use of diagnostics; and thirdly, better medicines. Between 2010 and 2019, around 3.1 billion courses of artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) were used.
Dr David Reddy, CEO of Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), explains, “ACTs are the gold standard. They have a massive impact with greater than 95% efficacy and it would be a tragedy if we lost them.”
To keep reading and learn more about what can be done to combat resistance to ACTs view the full article on Global Cause.