Drug-resistant malaria in Thailand threatens deadly global 'nightmare'

Drug-resistant malaria in Thailand threatens deadly global 'nightmare'

worldnews.nbcnews.com

further evidence of an alarming rise in resistance to artemisinin, currently the front-line drug in the treatment of malaria. He fears it could be the start of a global "nightmare" in which millions of people could lose their lives.

"We have to beat this resistance, win this race and eliminate the parasite before it’s too late. That's our challenge now," he said.

He said that artemisinin should take about 24 hours to deal with the parasite, but it was now taking three or four days in some cases. "We are going to see patients that don't respond to the treatment anymore,” he war

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This is an alarming story to start off the new year but an important one. Malaria is biggest killer of people in some countries and now its getting stronger and more resistant to the existing drugs used to treat it. With the main drug drived from a chines herb called artemisinin starting to not work as well this could spread into a world killer in no time at all.



This is from another source that reports funding is running out for this problem:

a new strain of the disease has sprung up on the Thailand-Myannmar border that has shown the ability to cling to its host for three days or more after the administration of treatment. Should this form of malaria spread, the results could be catastrophic:

“We know what will happen in Africa when resistance is bad because we’ve been there before in the 1990s with chloroquine (another anti-malarial drug) … millions of deaths,” [malaria researcher Dr Francois Nosten] warned.

“We must prevent artemisinin resistance reaching Africa, but we also need to control it for the people in Asia – for their future.”

Twenty years passed between the evolution of a strain of malaria resistant to the then-prevelant treatment of choloroquine in the same South Asian region before it migrated to Africa. While the disease does eventually fall to arteminsin treatment still, the inability of the patient to find relief from malaria’s high fevers is likely to raise the mortality rate among those infected with the new strain. In 2010, malaria caused the deaths of an estimated 660,000 people, with Africa having the highest infection rate of any continent

Source Drug-Resistant Malaria Flares As Funding For Research Tapers

Dr Francois Nosten, right, consults staff as he meets malaria patients at a clinic near Mae Sot, Thailand.

The malaria parasite -- carried by infected mosquitoes from person to person -- still kills an estimated 655,000 people a year.

That's almost 2,000 a day, mostly in Africa, with children being most at risk.

If the world loses its front-line drug, the impact could be devastating.

"The nightmare scenario is that the resistance will travel," Nosten said.

"We know what will happen in Africa when resistance is bad because we've been there before in the 1990s with chloroquine (another anti-malarial drug) … millions of deaths," he warned.

"We must prevent artemisinin resistance reaching Africa, but we also need to control it for the people in Asia - for their future."

maybe the answer lies with new GM mosquitoes being developed but that is an unproven technology still in the testing stage. But with news of funding for anti-malaria running out in some places there is huge cause for concern.

There is a video at the Source URL

worldnews.nbcnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, the world decided that sacrificing 500,000 to 1 million people...many children...every year was worth saving some birds. Okie... Choice made. Now we have Malaria in a resistant form. Are the birds still worth it? D.D.T. WORKED. It worked like nothing else has before or since....and the bird impact was something debated at the time.

Humans vs. a segment of Birds. What value do we put on each and which is worth more? With this? That IS getting to be a simple and accurate question to ask.

Hmmm. I was just reading of some Chinese treatment for Malaria that stops all Malaria. Some plant or something that was just proven to work really well. This 2000 yr old knowledge will somehow wind up in an expensive pill here in America with a patent on it. The pharma companies will still have to figure out a way to make a everyday treatment out of the cure though before they patent it, that could take years.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I could not agree more. When DDT was banned, the debates were shocking. They had no validity to them and is still considered a joke to this day.

What should take drugs 24 hours to take effect is now taking 3 to 4 days. Drug-resistant diseases are a nightmare for the young and elderly.

Apparently this is not the first time there has been incressed drug resistance reported along the Thai-Cambodia border. One of the big questions is why its happening there?

Below are a couple links to what the World Health Organization says on the topic. Clearly, they have known about this for a while.

WHO - Malaria

Drug Resistance in Malaria

reply to post by johngalt722


I was going to star you but then I couldn't make sense in regards to your DDT issue. Are you objecting to the DDT ban ?!? Or simply stating that the opposition to it was a joke ?

DDT is evil, it had a extremely damaging impact in nature, especially bird populations and ocean life.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


DDT...

You are now my favorite, and most foolish poster.

reply to post by Panic2k11


Any pesticide is dangerous. I agree that it has very negative impacts on the environment (source). Not condoning it

This is being seen in many viruses and bacteria infections recently.

(MRSA) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
"Totally Drug Resistant" Tuberculosis Strain Worries Indian Doctors
Drug-resistant 'superbug' NDM 1 ! !!!!!!

I think it's just a matter of time before something gets completely out of hand.

Personally, I would like to see some EbolaPox.

"The Ebolapox could produce the form of smallpox called blackpox," Alibek says. Blackpox, sometimes known as hemorrhagic smallpox, is the most severe type of smallpox disease. In a blackpox infection, the skin does not develop blisters. Instead, the skin becomes dark all over. Blood vessels leak, resulting in severe internal hemorrhaging. Blackpox is invariably fatal. "As a weapon, the Ebolapox would give the hemorrhages and high mortality rate of Ebola virus, which would give you a blackpox, plus the very high contagiousness of smallpox," Alibek said.

(Credit goes to Muzzleflash for informing me about ebolapox)

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Welcome to my rival list. The "Save the children" slogan to advocate for DDT use is so moronic that if it was not a sponsored post your personal views seem to be really delusional.

The DDT was used not because of its efficacy but because of the profits it brought to the chemical industry at the time, there are plenty of alternatives to DDT that was indeed an evil unleashed upon the world.

DDT did not simply affected birds (the egg shell) it even affected humans, it was a poisonous substance that was used without any regard. There is no merit in advocating to return to those types of practices...

reply to post by johngalt722


Ok, thanks. One should realize that there are alternatives, even cheaper to pesticides. There are traps that work really well, the introduction of sterile individuals (by simple eradiation) reduces procreation and there are natural predators that could be used also.

reply to post by TheOneElectric

You made my list quite some time ago... glad to have made the honor and was your post here constructive on anything beyond just hateful? Hmmm....


Glad to see the DDT fear campaign is still alive, well and raring to go...... Research is a valuable thing. Damned shame so few avail themselves of it.

Insects have been used for many years as a transmitter for Bio warfare Not just mosquitoes for that point, but they could have been introduced via micro surgical actions as you said about GM just letting a batch out that have been modified would of caused major issues.

Same way as we look at vaccinations for stuff like TB introduce a small amount to build up the anti bodies bad news if mutation occurs however I think that is about 1 billion to 0.01 in a chance or something or other like that happening. maybe the same has been done with the mosquitoes who knows.

and we look at swine flu the trouble noway has been having recently with the virus; thankfully there hasn't been major mutations in the way of transmission via human to human that we have seen yet but never say never good thread by the way

www.newsinenglish.no...

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


When I was in Thailand about 15 years ago they would spray down the streets and marshes daily with DDT-I know thats what it was as it said so on the tanks they sprayed from.
Same thing in Malaysia.

I don't know if they still do this,but they did 15 years ago-and the malaria remained sadly.
Of course,they probably couldn't spray all areas where there were mozzies,so I can't say for sure how effective it was.

Good thread OP.

Funny this is that when I was being treated for a lupus flare which was effecting my kidneys, I was treated with Artemisinin. I did some research on it and its an extract of sweet wormwood. Later ( or rather more recently) I tested positive for Lyme disease ... I spent a lot of time outdoors most of my life. Lived in virginia only a few yrs.. and wham.. Lyme. Guess what I was treated with?? First chloroquinine since I have a nice long history of my body not dealing well with antibiotics and then the Artemisinin protocol. This makes me think it was actually Babesia, but maybe lyme ( spirochete) and babesia ( a malaria like parasite) since they are passed by the same vector and in the US.. in the area I was in.

Very curious that all of these things can be treated by the same drug... a spirochete, a protasoan parasite, an immune disorder.. and malaria.. a plasmodium parasite. As far as drug resistant.. there are several types of malaria.. .different parasites yet from the same family. Wonder which one is resistant or if ALL are. I havent read enough on malaria to really know the differences.