Abstracto

An Overview of the Historical Development of Antimalaria Drug Resistance

Olumohunle Folake*, Iorzua Doosuur, Idris Surayyah, Baba Aishatu N and Gangbe Hope

Antimalarial drugs are key tools for the control and elimination of malaria. Recent decreases in the global malaria burden are likely due, in part, to the deployment of artemisinin-based combination therapies. Therefore, the emergence and potential spread of artemisinin-resistant parasites and changes in sensitivities to artemisinin partner drugs have raised concerns. Research activities include clinical studies to track the efficacies of antimalarial drugs, ex vivo/in vitro assays to measure drug susceptibilities of parasite isolates, and characterization of resistance-mediating parasite polymorphisms. These efforts offer an increasingly comprehensive assessment of the efficacies of antimalarial therapies, and enable us to predict the emergence of drug resistance and to guide local antimalarial drug policies. Here we briefly review worldwide antimalarial drug resistance concerns.