Man vs. Malaria

It’s nice to see nations put aside differences and come together for a good cause once in a while. Recently a Malarial parasite is starting to show resistance to drug treatments in Cambodia. It has been noted that, what used to take the drugs only 48 hours to remove parasites from the bloodstream, is now taking over 100 hours. The treatment is a type of combination treatment using artemisinin (antimalaria drug extracted from a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine) and is by far the most effective treatment for malaria. The resistance has been worrying many doctors and scientists because there are currently no other treatments that surpass these. Previously, a resistance against what was once considered the “miracle drug” introduced after WWII, formed and spread from Cambodia throughout Asia and Africa. Since then, there have been numerous actions taken to treat Malaria patients such as the President’s Malaria Initiative ($1.2 billion program started by the Bush administration three years ago to cut malaria deaths in half in the countries affected worst). Now, more than ever, organizations are joining together to fight the disease and prevent the newly forming resistance from growing and spreading. The organizations include the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Malaria takes hundreds of thousands of lives every year, and still thousands more continue to suffer from the disease. Malaria still remains an issue, perhaps even a growing one. But with the right recognition and united effort perhaps we can claim victory over the vicious disease.