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By NICHOLAS ANYUOR
A new research shows millions of people in Africa, particularly children and pregnant women, are at risk of dying from malaria due to fake and substandard drugs.
The study, carried out by researchers from the Mahosot Hospital-Oxford University Tropical Medicine Research Collaboration and funded by Wellcome Trust, warns there are counterfeit malaria medicines that could be harmful to patients and promote drug resistance.
According to World Health Organisation, malaria is among main international public health problems since it causes between 350 and 500 million infections worldwide and about a million deaths annually.
The researchers examined fake and sub-standard anti-malaria drugs found to be sold in 11 African countries between the years 2002 and 2010.
Save lives
It indicated that some of the drugs contained a combination of wrong pharmaceutical ingredients that would alleviate symptoms of malaria in initial stages but would not cure the patient.
Lead researcher Paul Newton recommended quick action should be taken to save lives of millions of people. The study found that some of the ingredients in the malaria tablets were likely to cause side effects, particularly when mixed with other drugs such as the anti-retroviral.
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Medicines such as chloroquine and mefloquine have been cited as some of the drugs when used malaria parasites develop resistance after a period of time.
Urgent measures
The study warns that fake drugs could lead to resistance effect on artemisin, which has currently become one of the most effective drugs used to treat malaria since small quantities of artemisinin derivatives are added to some of the counterfeit products for authenticity purposes.
Most of the drugs are said to have come from China and Dr Paul Newton has called for urgent measures from African governments to help the situation.
He said it was not economical to waste resources in buying poor quality anti-malaria drugs that would not cure the patient.
Malaria is a disease whose transmission mostly occurs in Africa, Central and South America, parts of the Caribbean, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the South Pacific and the risk for acquiring it differs from region to region.
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