Passenger Screening Advised To Cut Risk Of Importing Drug-Resistant Malaria To AfricaAugust 16, 2004Imported resistance has rendered ineffective the two affordable malaria drugs which have been the mainstay of malaria treatment in Africa for forty years, according to experts writing today in the journal Science. Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues from institutions in the USA, South Africa and Thailand believe that mutations causing drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum (the parasite which causes the most deadly form of malaria) originated in South East Asia and were then imported and spread across Africa - leading to the demise of both chloroquine and sulfadoxine pyrimethamine as effective, affordable treatments. Dr. Cally Roper of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the lead author of the article, comments: 'Several replacement treatments are already compromised by the emergence of resistance in Asia. We suggest that careful thought should be given to preventing further import of resistant parasites, perhaps by the screening and treatment of passengers travelling from South East Asia or South America to Africa. 'The widespread introduction of artemisinin-based combination therapy could also help to minimise the rate at which resistant parasites can spread. Most importantly, these data demonstrate that antimalarial drug resistance is an international problem that requires a co-ordinated, international response'. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Malaria Current Events and Malaria News Articles Dormant cancer cells rely on cellular self-cannibalization to survive A single tumor-suppressing gene is a key to understanding, and perhaps killing, dormant ovarian cancer cells that persist after initial treatment only to reawaken years later, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the December Journal of Clinical Investigation. Cell phones using lens-free imaging promise to improve health monitoring Cell phones have already revolutionized the way people around the world communicate and do business. Thanks to advances being made at UCLA, they are about to do the same thing for medicine. Case Western Reserve professor helps control infectious diseases with models and math Can an algebraic equation hold the secret to eradicating malaria or schistosomiasis? A Case Western Reserve University mathematics professor is utilizing the combination of algorithms and models in an effort to assist his medical colleagues in the fight against infectious diseases. NASA scientists report on new technology to help protect US troops from infectious diseases Representatives from NASA convened in New Orleans today to report at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting the results from a NASA-enhanced computerized system to assess environmental and health concerns for deployed U.S. forces. Promising trials of malaria vaccine lead to calls for Phase 3 development Experts are recommending that a malaria vaccine progress to Phase 3 trials following the successful trial of the RTS, S/AS01E malaria vaccine among 5-17 month old children in Korogwe, Tanzania and coastal Kenya, which is reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Biomarkers in blood could aid diagnosis of crippling, often fatal forms of malaria Canadian researchers have identified protein biomarkers that shed new light on the development of two severe and debilitating forms of malaria. Vaccine and drug research aimed at ticks and mosquitoes to prevent disease transmission Most successful vaccines and drugs rely on protecting humans or animals by blocking certain bacteria from growing in their systems. But, a new theory actually hopes to take stopping infectious diseases such as West Nile virus and Malaria to the next level by disabling insects from transmitting these viruses. Stopping germs from ganging up on humans Keeping germs from cooperating can delay the evolution of drug resistance more effectively than killing germs one by one with traditional drugs such as antibiotics, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson. Applying 'supply and demand' business principles to treat infectious diseases worldwide Treating infectious diseases while meeting escalating costs to do so continues to pose worldwide challenges, with one of the main issues being the ability to provide an adequate supply of drugs to treat infectious diseases. 'Airport malaria' -- cause for concern in the US In a global world, significant factors affect the spread of infectious diseases, including international trade, air travel and globalized food production. "Airport malaria" is a term coined by researchers to explain the more recent spread of malaria to areas such as the United States and Europe, which some scientists credit to warmer climate changes. More Malaria Current Events and Malaria News Articles |
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