If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
A Chinese herbal medicine is effective against malaria
- AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM -
Dear rec.travel.africa, Hans-Georg Michna ) wants you to see this article on Economist.com. (Note: the sender's e-mail address above has not been verified.) Subscribe to Economist.com now and save 25% by clicking here now http://www.economist.com/subscriptio...paign=168-XLMT MALARIA Nov 18th 2004 Treating malaria A feverish response A Chinese herbal medicine is effective against malaria. But there is not enough of it to go round TAKE a walk through the countryside around Guilin, a bustling town in the Guangxi region of southern China, and your eyes are immediately drawn up towering limestone peaks and down fast-flowing rivers. But one of the most remarkable things in this dramatic landscape is one of the easiest to overlook--a common plant which the Chinese call QINGHAO, and which western botanists have dubbed ARTEMISIA ANNUA. ARTEMISIA holds the key to beating malaria, a disease that strikes at least 300m people a year, and kills around a million, mainly young children, throughout sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. But ARTEMISIA is also at the centre of a storm in international public health, as rising prices and short supplies threaten global efforts to loosen malaria's grasp on the developing world. ARTEMISIA has been used in Chinese medicine for more than a thousand years, to treat everything from malaria to skin complaints. In the 1960s, Chinese military scientists started screening hundreds of traditional herbs, including ARTEMISIA, in an effort to protect their soldiers from malaria. One of the researchers, Tu Youyou, now director of the Qinghaosu Research and Development Centre at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, managed to extract and characterise a chemical called artemisinin that gives the plant's leaves their anti-malarial punch. Since then, scientists have developed chemical processes to convert artemisinin into more potent derivatives. These are good at killing malarial parasites in the blood, but their activity wanes after a few hours. So they are best given alongside another anti-malarial medicine, such as lumefantrine, which attacks the parasites in a different way and over a longer period of time--an approach called artemisinin-class combination therapy (ACT). This double whammy has proved extraordinarily effective at treating malaria. Trials in several African countries, as well as in India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Peru, have shown that at least 90% of malaria patients treated with ACT over three days recover from the disease. ACT has become even more important now that other anti-malarial drugs, such as chloroquine, are losing their effectiveness because malarial parasites have evolved resistance to them. So far, resistance is not a problem with ACT, in part because combining drugs makes it much less likely that mutations in the parasite will enable it to survive. Since 2001, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended that countries where drug resistance occurs switch to ACT. But international efforts to make the switch were sluggish until earlier this year, when a stinging paper published in the LANCET accused the WHO and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria of "medical malpractice" for continuing to approve and fund proposals from poor countries to treat malaria using older, cheaper drugs instead of ACT. While denying the charge, both agencies have now sprung into action. Getting countries to switch to ACT is not only a question of securing the drugs, but also of training doctors in how to use them, and setting up surveillance systems to monitor resistance. The WHO estimates that the world will need 132m courses of ACT treatment (which cost up to $2.40 each) in 2005--a four-fold increase over this year--and almost double that number in 2006. So far, the Global Fund has set aside $205m to help finance the shift, with the promise of more to come. The biggest problem, at the moment, is getting enough artemisinin. ARTEMISIA grows like a weed across China and South-East Asia, but the best plants are found only in certain parts of China, such as Guangxi and Hunan, which produce most of the world's supply, and in Vietnam. The supply chain starts with local farmers, who harvest the leaves in August, when they are richest in artemisinin, and sell then to a handful of companies, mainly Chinese, which extract the chemical and change it into one of the more active derivatives. The chemicals are then sold to the likes of Novartis, a Swiss drug giant, which produce the combination therapies. Just meeting this year's demand is proving tricky. The problem, says Yan Xiaohua, the president of Guilin Pharmaceuticals, one of China's leading producers of artemisinin and its derivatives, is not that there are too few plants, but that the price of leaves has shot through the roof. The reason is simple, he says. Once the WHO made its forecast of future demand public in the spring, the news filtered through to farmers, who quickly tripled the price of leaves, thus jacking up the price of artemisinin and its derivatives as well. This has caused particular headaches for Novartis, whose Chinese supplier, Kunming Pharmaceuticals, failed to deliver the promised quantities. That means that Novartis will only be able to fill half its promise of 10m courses of treatment by the end of the year. The good news is that Mr Yan and others are optimistic that ARTEMISIA prices will stabilise next year. But producers are far from certain whether they can rise to the WHO's ambitious expectations for the next two years. This week, UNICEF, the United Nations' children's fund, and the WHO called an emergency meeting in Copenhagen to discuss how to boost production and to keep prices under control. One way would be to increase the production of ARTEMISIA. In China, firms such as Guilin Pharmaceuticals are trying to cultivate the plant--both on their own plantations and through contracts with local farmers--rather than relying on wild leaves. Chongqing Holley, a sister company of Kunming's, has set up a research laboratory in Hunan to help it identify high-yielding plants and establish a seed bank. As Mr Yan points out, farming ARTEMISIA not only gives firms more control over their supply, but also helps reduce the loss of biodiversity that comes from picking wild plants. The WHO is also keen to see ARTEMISIA farmed elsewhere in the world. There are pilot projects to do this in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique, but it will take time before the quantity and quality of their production can make a real dent in the supply problem. As Jeffrey Li, the head of Novartis's Chinese operation, points out, there is also a shortage of facilities that can produce high quality artemisinin and its derivatives. Novartis has been working with Kunming Pharmaceuticals and Holley Pharmaceuticals to upgrade their production capacity. But the great hope is to find a way of synthesising artemisinin in the laboratory, thereby freeing drugmakers from the vagaries of nature. Jonathan Vennerstrom, a researcher at the University of Nebraska, has come up with a five-step chemical process to make compounds that can mimic the action of artemisinin derivatives. One of them, called OZ-277, has proved more effective than artemisinin itself in both the test-tube and in animal models of malaria. It was also shown to be safe in recent trials in human volunteers, and a full clinical trial in Thailand is planned soon. If this trial is successful, then further testing is planned to see how well the new molecule performs in combination therapy. If OZ-277 lives up to expectations, then such a therapy might be ready for market by 2008, at less than $1 a course. In the meantime, the world will have to meet its growing demand for artemisinin the old-fashioned way, from nature. The trouble, according to Fatoumata Nafo-Traore, the director of the Roll Back Malaria department at the WHO, is that without more money up front, companies in the business of supplying artemisinin are reluctant to make the $25m-30m investment that it would take to start planting on a large scale. Although the Global Fund has earmarked money for this purpose, the way it is disbursed means that the process is too slow and too fragmented to give firms that sort of reassurance. What is needed, experts say, is a commitment from an organisation such as the World Bank to provide the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to buy ACT, and a centralised global purchasing body to co-ordinate the orders. As the Chinese proverb has it, "He who plants a garden, plants happiness." With enough money, and better co-ordination, the world could have a bumper harvest of ARTEMISIA--which would be good for poor farmers in China and poor patients in Africa too. See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/displaystor...21T%0A&login=Y Go to http://www.economist.com for more global news, views and analysis from the Economist Group. - ABOUT ECONOMIST.COM - Economist.com is the online version of The Economist newspaper, an independent weekly international news and business publication offering clear reporting, commentary and analysis on world politics, business, finance, science & technology, culture, society and the arts. Economist.com also offers exclusive content online, including additional articles throughout the week in the Global Agenda section. - SUBSCRIBE NOW AND SAVE 25% - Click he http://www.economist.com/subscriptio...paign=168-XLMT Subscribe now with 25% off and receive full access to: * all the articles published in The Economist newspaper * the online archive - allowing you to search and retrieve over 33,000 articles published in The Economist since 1997 * The World in 2004 - The Economist's outlook on 2004 * The US Election 2004 - providing dedicated coverage of the election, including articles from Roll Call, Capitol Hill's leading political publication * Business encyclopedia - allows you to find a definition and explanation for any business term - ABOUT THIS E-MAIL - This e-mail was sent to you by the person at the e-mail address listed above through a link found on Economist.com. We will not send you any future messages as a result of your being the recipient of this e-mail. - COPYRIGHT - This e-mail message and Economist articles linked from it are copyright (c) 2004 The Economist Newspaper Group Limited. All rights reserved. http://www.economist.com/help/copy_general.cfm Economist.com privacy policy: http://www.economist.com/about/privacy.cfm -- No mail, please. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 11:41:22 +0100, Hans-Georg Michna
wrote: - AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - As usual, an apology for the self-advertising of The Economist, but for the prime content articles this seems to be the only way to have them mailed here without breaking the copyright. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 11:41:22 +0100, Hans-Georg Michna
wrote: - AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - As usual, an apology for the self-advertising of The Economist, but for the prime content articles this seems to be the only way to have them mailed here without breaking the copyright. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
In message , Hans-Georg
Michna writes On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 11:41:22 +0100, Hans-Georg Michna wrote: - AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - As usual, an apology for the self-advertising of The Economist, but for the prime content articles this seems to be the only way to have them mailed here without breaking the copyright. Hans-Georg Another report I read last April, Pat. Unicef joins Kenya in war on malaria Story by NATION Correspondent Publication Date: 04/24/2004 A UN agency will support the Government's efforts to introduce more powerful drugs to fight malaria. Unicef country representative Heino Laakkonen said his organisation would stockpile more powerful drugs following the change in the malaria treatment policy. Malaria kills about 34,000 children aged under five every year. Speaking during the Africa Malaria Day in Kimbimbi sub-district hospital, Kirinyaga District, yesterday, Health minister Charity Ngilu announced that the Government had replaced Sulphadoxine Pyrimethaine drugs with the more powerful artemisinin-class combination therapy also known as ACT. Kenya would now adopt artemether/lumefantrine (brand name Coartem) as the first line malaria treatment drug. It is manufactured by the Swiss-based Norvatis Pharma. Yesterday, Mr Laakkonen said: "Once funds are available, Unicef will stockpile this drug for use in emergency situations as the country makes the transition to this drug for routine use." The move to change the country's malaria treatment policy comes after failure of Sulphadoxine Pyrimethaine -based drugs to effectively treat the disease. Sulpha-based drugs such as Metakelfin, Orodar and Fansidar were introduced as the first line treatment drugs barely four years ago to replace choloroquine-based ones. In the transition period, Amodiaquin could be administered to the public as the second line treatment. By changing the policy, Kenya has joined South Africa, Burundi, Zanzibar and Zambia, among other countries, which have adopted ACT in the treatment. The disease mainly affects children under five and pregnant women. At the same time, more than 16,000 pregnant women are likely to develop severe anaemia, while 25,000 may deliver low birth weight babies due to the disease. This year's Africa Malaria Day had the theme: "A malaria free future". According to a press statement, Unicef recently contributed supplies worth Sh31 million towards malaria intervention in Kenya. "This includes 98,000 insecticide treatment bednets and other supplies for use in malaria endemic areas,". Meanwhile, three organisations yesterday signed a collaborative agreement to develop a new fixed dose ACT, combining chlorproguanil, dapsone and artesunate (CDA) for the treatment of malaria. The agreement was signed by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, Medicines for Malaria Venture and the World Health Organisation's special programme for research and training in tropical diseases (WHO-TDR). According to a statement, the development of CDA responds to the WHO's Roll Back Malaria Initiative recommendations for national malaria control programmes to use artemisinin-based combination therapy as the preferred treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- The Artemesinin based drugs as a treatment for malaria, particularly in East Africa, has been discussed on this NG before but the above report shows that it has now become necessary to use them in place of other drugs. I have spoken to residents of Kenya who have had success with these drugs for some time now. Pat -- Pat Anderson |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
In message , Hans-Georg
Michna writes On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 11:41:22 +0100, Hans-Georg Michna wrote: - AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - As usual, an apology for the self-advertising of The Economist, but for the prime content articles this seems to be the only way to have them mailed here without breaking the copyright. Hans-Georg Another report I read last April, Pat. Unicef joins Kenya in war on malaria Story by NATION Correspondent Publication Date: 04/24/2004 A UN agency will support the Government's efforts to introduce more powerful drugs to fight malaria. Unicef country representative Heino Laakkonen said his organisation would stockpile more powerful drugs following the change in the malaria treatment policy. Malaria kills about 34,000 children aged under five every year. Speaking during the Africa Malaria Day in Kimbimbi sub-district hospital, Kirinyaga District, yesterday, Health minister Charity Ngilu announced that the Government had replaced Sulphadoxine Pyrimethaine drugs with the more powerful artemisinin-class combination therapy also known as ACT. Kenya would now adopt artemether/lumefantrine (brand name Coartem) as the first line malaria treatment drug. It is manufactured by the Swiss-based Norvatis Pharma. Yesterday, Mr Laakkonen said: "Once funds are available, Unicef will stockpile this drug for use in emergency situations as the country makes the transition to this drug for routine use." The move to change the country's malaria treatment policy comes after failure of Sulphadoxine Pyrimethaine -based drugs to effectively treat the disease. Sulpha-based drugs such as Metakelfin, Orodar and Fansidar were introduced as the first line treatment drugs barely four years ago to replace choloroquine-based ones. In the transition period, Amodiaquin could be administered to the public as the second line treatment. By changing the policy, Kenya has joined South Africa, Burundi, Zanzibar and Zambia, among other countries, which have adopted ACT in the treatment. The disease mainly affects children under five and pregnant women. At the same time, more than 16,000 pregnant women are likely to develop severe anaemia, while 25,000 may deliver low birth weight babies due to the disease. This year's Africa Malaria Day had the theme: "A malaria free future". According to a press statement, Unicef recently contributed supplies worth Sh31 million towards malaria intervention in Kenya. "This includes 98,000 insecticide treatment bednets and other supplies for use in malaria endemic areas,". Meanwhile, three organisations yesterday signed a collaborative agreement to develop a new fixed dose ACT, combining chlorproguanil, dapsone and artesunate (CDA) for the treatment of malaria. The agreement was signed by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, Medicines for Malaria Venture and the World Health Organisation's special programme for research and training in tropical diseases (WHO-TDR). According to a statement, the development of CDA responds to the WHO's Roll Back Malaria Initiative recommendations for national malaria control programmes to use artemisinin-based combination therapy as the preferred treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- The Artemesinin based drugs as a treatment for malaria, particularly in East Africa, has been discussed on this NG before but the above report shows that it has now become necessary to use them in place of other drugs. I have spoken to residents of Kenya who have had success with these drugs for some time now. Pat -- Pat Anderson |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
id21 marks Africa Malaria Day, 2004 | Cheryl Brown | Africa | 0 | April 26th, 2004 12:24 PM |
China - The Internet Travel Guide (FAQ) (part 3/3) | http://www.pmgeiser.ch, Peter M. Geiser | Asia | 0 | December 27th, 2003 09:13 AM |
Info on Malaria in South Africa's Kruger National Park. | Safari Rangers | Australia & New Zealand | 3 | October 10th, 2003 10:04 AM |
Info on Malaria in South Africa's Kruger National Park. | Safari Rangers | Backpacking and Budget travel | 0 | October 9th, 2003 01:47 PM |
Info on Malaria in South Africa's Kruger National Park. | Safari Rangers | Africa | 0 | October 9th, 2003 01:44 PM |