Interview: Ugandan scientist hails Chinese drug in reducing malaria deaths: interview

A top malaria expert in Uganda has hailed Chinese drug Artemisinin in playing a key role in combating the deadly malaria disease.

Myers Lugemwa, who heads the country's National Malaria Control Program, told Xinhua in an interview on Oct. 6 that Artemisinin in combination with other factors like use of insecticide treated mosquito nets has reduced the mortality rate.

"We had about 320 people dying daily of malaria in early 2000's to about 140 people now because of the new good drugs (Artemisinin based Combination Therapy and Artemisinin) and other interventions like mosquito nets, indoor residual spraying," Lugemwa said.

Artemisinin is a plant extract from a Chinese herb, Artemisia annua. In Uganda, it is grown in the western region district of Kabale. There are over 1,000 acres grown in Kabale, according to Lugemwa.

Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood) plants or leaves have always been taken as tea by the Chinese for a long time.

Lugemwa said studies in the last 15 years have been carried out on the impact of Artemisinin on malaria parasites.

He said positive results in 2006 showed ACTs as the drug of choice for treatment of malaria especially after the resistance of malaria parasites to Chloroquine and Fasindar which had been the long choice of malaria treatment for 20 to 30 years.

Studies on the use of Artemisinin to treat malaria have been credited to Chinese scientist Tu Youyou. These works have won the scientist the 2015 Nobel Prize in medicine. The scientist shared the prize with William Campbell and Japanese scientist Satoshi Omura.

Lugemwa said having proved efficient against malaria, the World Health Organization prequalified Artemisinin to be the drug of choice to treatment of complicated malaria.

Uganda in 2006 adopted the changed policy in the treatment of malaria from Chloroquine and Fansidar to ACTs (Artemisinin based Combination Therapy).

In 2012, Artemisinin extracts alone were also put in the treatment of malaria in Uganda.

"The single extract, Artemisinin alone can be used in form of injectable drug for the initial management of severe malaria until the patient is able to swallow ACTs. Currently those are the drugs of choice for both uncomplicated and severe malaria in the country," Lugemwa said.

He said because of the effective nature of the two drugs (ACTs and Artemisinin), reoccurrence of the parasites which were either not killed by Chloroquine and Fasindar to cause re-infection have been reduced.

Lugemwa however cautioned that people should be tested for malaria parasites as a must before accessing the ACT drugs.

He warned that misuse could lead to resistance of the ACT hence bringing down the efforts of malaria control in the country. Endit