WHO unveils plan to stop artemisinin resistance “dead in its tracks”

The world risks losing its most effective treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria unless prompt steps are taken to prevent the development and spread of drug resistant parasites, says a global action plan released by the World Health Organization and the Roll Back Malaria partnership.

The blueprint has been spurred by the emergence of resistance to artemisinins—the key ingredient of artemisinin based combination therapies (ACTs)—on the Cambodia-Thailand border, and other suspected areas in the greater Mekong sub region, which have not yet been confirmed.

Margaret Chan, WHO director general, said, “The usefulness of our most potent weapon in treating malaria is now under threat.

“The new …