Funding Required For Malaria Treatment

The World Health Organisation has expressed fears regarding the use of malaria treatment across Asia as they are observing a growing resistance with the medication being dispensed widely in third world areas. Asia is hard hit by malaria transmission and 60 % of the global population at risk are represented here. Those nations most at risk include India, Burma, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

The current treatment is based on artemisin, taken originally from a Chinese herb. The power of this combination is failing in the fight against the virus. Presently, the drug is taken in conjunction with other substances in order to make the effects of artemisin longer lasting. The taking of this drug once lead to the disappearance of parasites in the blood of victims but now parasites are visible two days after taking the treatment. Worryingly, the reason for this resistance has been said to relate to the use of counterfeit drugs and the quality of the drugs due to the poor conditions in which they are stored. Startling reports reveal that 53% of samples of malaria treatments purchased in South East Asia are in fact black market and counterfeit. The same has happened to anti- malaria drugs like cloroquine in the past.

Radical approaches have been suggested like drug administering, screening and treating en masse. The difficulties include getting the patients together to treat, for example, half of the patients are Cambodian and Burmese migrant workers. Some medical professionals describe their experiences with migrant workers and describe the fear with which they are met. It takes a long time to build the trust of these men and women it seems.

People who carry the virus but who do not have symptoms are a threat to the spread and the fact that certain methods of diagnosis do not always give the correct results (often due to low levels of the infection present); means that it is difficult to diagnose the virus in the first place.

An international collaboration is valuable for the treatment and prevention of malaria over large groups. Complications regarding political tensions mean countries that neighbour one another are dealt with by the different administrative sections of the WHO. The WHO began to address this by forming partnerships across borders but this programme has no finance to continue the project. Without further projects in the pipeline there is no real hope for anti-malaria drugs or preventative vaccinations.

Patients who have the opportunity to receive the $5 per day malarone treatment from their doctors are being treated in the confidence that there will be no parasites found in their samples.
A human trial for a vaccination against this killer is underway at the moment in Washington DC. This trial is integral to the control of malaria transmission and the invention of new anti-malaria drugs, preventative vaccinations and therapies. Until then, funding is necessary for the highest quality of treatment in these countries.

Malaria effects hundreds of thousands of people worldwide every year. Malaria pills can be purchased in advance of travelling on prescription from a GP or Online Clinic.