Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria Parasites Widespread in Myanmar

Resistance has spread across much of Myanmar, where a high-prevalence area adjacent to India is a potential pathway for global spread.

Artemisinin is the backbone of combination therapy for falciparum malaria. Identification of the K13 marker of resistance has allowed molecular surveillance by DNA analysis.

Now, investigators have conducted a cross-sectional survey at 55 sites in 10 administrative regions in Myanmar and in border areas of Thailand and Bangladesh to assess the spread of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum. Between August 2013 and September 2014, they collected samples (whole blood, residual material from rapid diagnostic tests, or dried blood spots on filter paper) from patients with symptomatic confirmed malaria and extracted DNA for sequencing. They then calculated the prevalence of all identified K13 mutations by administrative region and created …

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria Parasites Widespread in Myanmar

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Reviewing Author