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Frontline malaria drug failure recorded in British patients: study

Xinhua, February 1, 2017 Adjust font size:

A drug recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for treating Malaria has failed to cure four British patients, according to a study released Tuesday by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The four British patients contracted Malaria while visiting Africa, and they were firstly treated with a highly effective drug, Artemether-lumefantrine (AL), which is a type of Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT). But the drug failed to cure the patients and doctors had to used alternative treatment. All of the patients have since recovered.

According to the study led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the patients were found to be infected with new strains of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and the cause of the treatment failure is believed to be these strains' reduced susceptibility to the drug, a potential first sign of drug resistance.

These are the first documented cases of AL failing to treat British patients, and were all reported between October 2015 and February 2016. They are also among the very first well-described cases of reduced susceptibility to ACT drugs used in Africa, an area of the world where most malaria cases and deaths occur, said the researchers.

"These cases act as a warning for Africa. Drug resistance is one of the biggest threats we face in fighting malaria, and is already starting to occur in parasite strains prevalent in parts of South-East Asia," said Dr. Colin Sutherland from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the study.

"We need to understand why AL failed to clear these four cases of Plasmodium falciparum infection. Mutations were found in genes previously implicated in drug failure in Africa and these warrant further investigation as candidate genetic markers for AL susceptibility in Africa, a potential first sign of drug resistance," added Sutherland.

The study has been published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Endit