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Combination Therapy in Light of Emerging Artemisinin Resistance

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Treatment and Prevention of Malaria

Part of the book series: Milestones in Drug Therapy ((MDT))

Abstract

Within less than a decade virtually all malaria-endemic countries have adopted one of the WHO-recommended artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) for the treatment of falciparum malaria. In 2006, the first cases of clinical artemisinin resistance were reported from the Thai–Cambodian border. A number of factors are likely to have contributed to the development of artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia. However, current evidence suggests that artemisinin resistance is simply a natural consequence of the massive deployment of ACTs in the region. The potentially devastating implications of resistance to a drug class to which there is currently no real alternative call for cost-effective strategies to extend the useful life spans of currently available antimalarial drugs. At the same time, major efforts to develop novel combination therapies not based on artemisinins are required.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, Vienna, 1090, Austria

    Harald Noedl

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  1. Harald Noedl
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Correspondence to Harald Noedl .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Infection, Div. Cellular & Molecular Medicine, St. George's University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, United Kingdom

    Henry M. Staines

  2. Medical School, Dept. Infectious Diseases, St. George´s Hospital, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, United Kingdom

    Sanjeev Krishna

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Noedl, H. (2011). Combination Therapy in Light of Emerging Artemisinin Resistance. In: Staines, H., Krishna, S. (eds) Treatment and Prevention of Malaria. Milestones in Drug Therapy. Springer, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0346-0480-2_11

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