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Drug Resistance in Malaria in Developing Countries

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Antimicrobial Resistance in Developing Countries

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Abstract

A combination of complementary strategies is needed to control malaria, the most important parasitic infection causing an enormous burden of disease throughout the world. Antimalarial drugs play a crucial role among such strategies, as they may be used both for the treatment of cases and for their prevention. In the recent years, the treatment of malaria has been hampered by the emergence of widespread drug resistance to many of the available antimalarial drugs. This review attempts to give an insight of the history of malarial treatment and to describe the current status of drug-resistant malaria. The general determinants of drug resistance and the potential confounding factors for treatment failure will be assessed before a more thorough description of the specific mechanisms among host, vector, parasite and environment is summarized. Finally, the most important molecular pathways of drug resistance will be reviewed for each of the main drug families, together with an outline on the current methods for drug resistance diagnosis and surveillance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Barcelona Center for International Health Research (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic/Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Quique Bassat & Pedro L. Alonso

  2. Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM), Maputo, Manhiça, Mozambique

    Quique Bassat & Pedro L. Alonso

Authors
  1. Quique Bassat
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  2. Pedro L. Alonso
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Correspondence to Quique Bassat .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Advisor Alliance for the Prudent Use of, Tufts University, Kneeland St. 75, Boston, 02111, U.S.A.

    Aníbal de J. Sosa

  2. Dept. Zoology, Makerere University Kampala, Kampala, Uganda

    Denis K. Byarugaba

  3. Fundación Lusara, Playa Rosarito 353, Mexico, 08810, Mexico

    Carlos F. Amábile-Cuevas

  4. Depts. Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan Univ. Hosp., Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C.

    Po-Ren Hsueh

  5. Centre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Nairobi, 00100, Kenya

    Samuel Kariuki

  6. Dept. Biology, Haverford College, Lancaster Avenue 370, Haverford, 19041, U.S.A.

    Iruka N. Okeke

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Bassat, Q., Alonso, P.L. (2010). Drug Resistance in Malaria in Developing Countries. In: Sosa, A., Byarugaba, D., Amábile-Cuevas, C., Hsueh, PR., Kariuki, S., Okeke, I. (eds) Antimicrobial Resistance in Developing Countries. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89370-9_7

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