Warning: 1/3 of anti-malaria drugs are fake
Data shows that one-third of malaria drugs used around the world to prevent the spread of the disease are counterfeit.
Some species of mosquitoes in Thailand and Vietnam
Researchers looked at 1,500 samples of seven antimalarial drugs from seven countries in Southeast Asia and concluded that it is poor quality and counterfeit pills that are causing drug resistance and failure to treat the disease.
Data from 21 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region
Experts say the Lancet study on infectious diseases is a “wake-up call” for world health officials.
The reality could be much worse than the numbers suggest, say researchers from the Fogarty International Center at the US National Institutes of Health who conducted the study.
“Most cases may be underreported or underreported or kept secret by pharmaceutical companies,” the researchers said.
No major studies have been conducted in China or India, home to about a third of the world's population and a possible source of many counterfeit as well as genuine anti-malarial drugs.
Lead researcher Gaurvika Nayyar noted that 3.3 billion people are at risk of malaria, which is endemic in 106 countries around the world. Between 655,000 and 1.2 million people die each year from infection with the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite.
Most of the illness and death could be avoided if medicines were available that were effective, of high quality and used properly.
The study also found that there are currently inadequate facilities to monitor the quality of antimalarial drugs. At the same time, there is a lack of supervision over production management, and penalties for counterfeiters are still lacking and not strong enough.
However, the good news is that the global death rate from malaria has also decreased by more than 25% since 2000, and by 33% in Africa.
However, the World Health Organization says that maintaining the current level of progress will not be enough to meet global targets for malaria control. It is now calling for investment in innovation in diagnosing, treating and monitoring the infectious disease.
According to dantri - Vp
