WHO
the World health Organization (WHO) released a plan to deal with a threat that could jeopardize the recent successes in malaria control: the emerging resistance against the drug artemisinin, which are the cornerstone of treatment of malaria worldwide. WHO hopes that donors help pay the cost, estimated at $ 175 million annually, including $ 60 million for new research.
In recent years, researchers have seen resistance against artemisinin derivatives, which are combined with other drugs in supposedly based therapies artemisinin-emerge in Cambodia, in the area along the border with Thailand. There are indications that resistance may occur along the border between Thailand and Myanmar and Vietnam, as well ( Science , 14 May 2010, p. 844).
At present, no other class of drugs is available to replace artemisinin, and none are near the end of the development pipeline. Scientists fear that if the resistant parasites make their way to Africa, where the vast majority of malaria cases occur, mortality will soar. "It is no exaggeration to say that the consequences of widespread artemisinin resistance would be catastrophic," said the Director-General Margaret Chan today at a launch event of the plan.
The Global Plan for Artemisinin Resistance (GPARC) does not contain detailed strategies; it is presented as a "call to action and a plan of attack high level." The idea is to mobilize governments, international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, donors, scientists and industry in a multidimensional approach. Among other things, GPARC calls to stop the spread of resistant parasites in Cambodia by strengthening control of malaria at the local level, the rise of surveillance and monitoring to detect resistance, and investing in new research. On the scientific agenda is the identification of molecular markers for resistance, simplifying testing; accelerate the development of alternative drugs; and the study of the effectiveness of screening and mass treatment to eradicate malaria in areas where resistance occurs.
Most of the $ 175 million needed has not yet been found, said Robert Newman, Director of WHO's Global Programme against Malaria. But donors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Presidential Initiative against malaria in the United States, and the Wellcome Trust, who were all present at the launch were interested, he said. The U.K. Department for International Development has agreed to fund a major project to improve monitoring and mapping the exact extent of the problem. Part of the money can also be "fought on existing programs," such as the Global Fund, Newman adds. Given the high stakes, the price tag is "small enough", he said.
"It's a good plan," said Christopher Plowe, a malaria expert at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and one of more than 100 scientific WHO consulted during the creation of GPARC . "What they propose to do is generally sound," he said. But Plowe says he is still "anxious" that the funding can not come together or that the implementation moves too slowly to contain resistance.
In the past, some scientists have criticized the WHO for not doing enough to fight against the problem. Newman disagrees but admits it was hard to get international attention to the problem. "The activities have been ongoing for years, but there was not a world political traction," he said. "The plan is also an effort to raise the profile a very important question. ... I wanted to bring up on the radar screen. "
0 Komentar