Unapproved malaria drugs may boost resistance

Robert Newman, head of the global malaria programme at the WHO, claimed on Thursday, 22 April 2010, that the continued use of artemisinin monotherapies - which do not combine it with a second drug to limit the risk of developing resistance - poses a threat to millions of people.

Newman said that despite a 2007 resolution to outlaw monotherapies, 29 Asian and African countries still authorise this treatment to be sold in pharmacies. Researchers have linked the recent emergence of malaria strains resistant to artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) in south east Asia to the use of monotherapies and sub-standard drugs. The WHO estimates that malaria kills nearly one million people every year.