Home  /  Daily Current Affairs  /  30-09-2021 / Antimalarial Drug Resistance in India

Antimalarial Drug Resistance in India

Posted on September 30, 2021 by admin1  56

In News

  • Recently, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article `Evidence of Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria in Africa’.
    • It confirmed the increasing evidence for the failure of artemisinin-based combination therapy for falciparum malaria either alone or with partner drugs.

Malaria

  • Malaria is mosquito borne blood disease caused by plasmodium protozoa.
    • The parasites spread through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
    • It is preventable as well as curable but can be fatal in case of late or no treatment.
  • Mechanism of action
    • Plasmodium needs two hosts to complete its life cycle.
    • After entering the human body, parasites initially multiply within the liver cells 
    • Then it attacks the Red Blood Cells (RBCs) resulting in their rupture.

Courtesy: IndiaToday

  • Protozoa
    • There are 5 Plasmodium protozoa species that cause malaria in humans
    • Two of these species which pose  the greatest threat are.
      • Plasmodium falciparum and 
      • Plasmodium vivax
  • Disease Prevalence
    • It is predominantly found in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, South America as well as Asia.
    • Amongst India’s Neighbours, China was recently declared Malaria free by WHO.
  • Symptoms
    • Fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness.

Malaria Burden in India

  • The World Malaria Report (WMR) 2020 released by WHO gives the estimated cases for malaria across the world.
  • It indicates that India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden.
  • India is the only highly endemic country which has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018.

Malaria Vaccine

  • Mosquitrix or RTS,S
    • This vaccine has been branded as Mosquirix but is also known by its lab initials as RTS,S.
    • It was developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) company and approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2015.
    • The vaccine has shown a maximum efficiency of nearly 40%.
  • R21/ Matrix M
    • Still under trial stage but may be 77% effective.

Recent Report of Antimalarial Drug Resistance

  • In most malaria-endemic countries including India, Artemisinin-based antimalarial drugs are the first-line choice for malaria treatment.
    • They are especially effective against Plasmodium falciparum.
  • The study ‘Evidence of Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria in Africa’ described the presence of two mutations responsible for artemisinin resistance in Northern Uganda.
    • The report of artemisinin resistance in East Africa is a matter of great concern because 
      • This is the only drug that has saved several lives across the globe.

History of Drug Resistance

  • In the 1950s, chloroquine resistance came to light. 
  • Both chloroquine and pyrimethamine resistance originated from Southeast Asia 
  • From there they migrated to India and then on to Africa with disastrous consequences.
  • Similarly, artemisinin resistance developed from the six Southeast Asian countries and migrated to other continents, as is reported in India and Africa.
  • It would not be out of context that artemisinin is following the same path as has been seen with chloroquine.

Artemisinin-based combination therapy failure in India

  • In India, after the chloroquine resistance was seen in P. falciparum, artemisinin-based combination therapy was introduced in 2008.
  • In 2010, artesunate plus sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (AS+SP) was introduced universally.
  • In 2013, in view of resistance to the partner drug SP in the 7 North Eastern States, 
    • The combination partner was replaced by artemether- lumefantrine (AL) for these states.
  • In 2019, Eastern India indicated the presence of 2 mutations in P. falciparum treated with artemisinin that linked to its presence of resistance.
  • Again in 2021, artemisinin-based combination therapy failure was reported from Central India.
    • Here too the partner drug SP showed triple mutations with artemisinin wild type.
  • This means the failure of artemisinin-based combination therapy may not be solely linked to artemisinin. 
    • Here it is needed to change the partner drug as has been done in NE states in 2013 and subsequent cases.
  • Currently, several combinations of artemisinin derivatives are registered in India.

Conclusion and Way Forward

  • Monitor Chloroquine resistance in P. Vivax
    • Though there have been some reports of chloroquine resistance in P. vivax malaria, this drug is still the effective choice to treat this species.
    • Continued monitoring is needed.
  • Molecular Malaria Surveillance
    • The time has come to carry out Molecular Malaria Surveillance to find out the drug-resistant variants.
      • It will help in undertaking corrective measures in time to avert any consequences.

Few Initiatives related to Malaria

  • Initiatives of WHO
    • Celebration of World Malaria Day on 25th April every year. 
      • The 2021 theme is “Reaching the Zero Malaria target”.
    • ‘E-2025 Initiative’
      • The WHO has also identified 25 countries with the potential to eradicate malaria by 2025 under its ‘E-2025 Initiative’.
  • Indian Initiatives
    • 5 year National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination
      • Launched in 2017
      • It shifted focus from Malaria control to elimination.
      • It provided a roadmap to end malaria in 571 districts out of India’s 678 districts by 2022.
    • Malaria Elimination Research Alliance-India (MERA-India)
      • Established by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
      • It is a conglomeration of partners working on malaria control.

Source: IE

 
Previous article Renewable energy installation status of India
Next article Index of Eight Core Industries

Other News of the Day

In Context Recently, NASA has launched a satellite called Landsat 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.  About Landsat 9 It is an Earth monitoring satellite. Landsat-9 is the continuation of a series of Earth-observing spacecraft stretching back almost 50 years. The first Landsat satellite was launched in 1972. The satellite is referred to...
Read More

In News  Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has been taken out of Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) restrictions by the RBI. About  The performance of the Indian Overseas Bank, currently under the Prompt Corrective Action Framework (PCAF) of RBI, was reviewed by the Board for Financial Supervision. It was noted that the bank is not in breach...
Read More

In News  Recently, the Union Minister for MSMEs inaugurated the India Export Initiative and IndiaXports 2021 Portal of India in New Delhi.  About  This initiative serves as a knowledge base for exports by Indian MSMEs with the required information related to export potential for all the 456 tariff lines along with the potential markets as...
Read More

In News  Recently, the Prime Minister of India chaired the 38th PRAGATI meeting. About PRAGATI It is an Information and Communications Technology( ICT) based multimodal platform aimed at addressing the common man’s grievances and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as projects flagged by State Governments....
Read More

In News Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) stated that its power to punish for contempt under Article 129 is a constitutional power, which cannot be done away with even by any law. About Contempt of Court Meaning:  Contempt of court, as a concept that seeks to protect judicial institutions from motivated attacks and unwarranted criticism,...
Read More

In News Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) lamented the rampant violation of its ban on use of toxic ingredients in the firecracker industry. About The Supreme Court highlighted the findings of preliminary enquiry by the CBI into the firecracker industry, including in Tamil Nadu. A chemical analysis of the samples of finished and semi-finished firecrackers...
Read More

In News Nationwide census of vultures will be conducted after a gap of 6 years. The last census was carried out in 2015 . Organization involved in the census: Bombay Pure Historical past Society (BNHS), a wildlife analysis organisation. Vulture Population in India Declining status:  Number of vultures has seen a constant decline since the...
Read More

In News The existing Mid-Day Meal scheme will be renamed as National Scheme for PM Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN). The Mid Day Meal scheme provides hot meals to school students. About PM Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) Budgetary Allocation: A total budget of over Rs 1.3 lakh crore has been allocated for the continuation...
Read More

Context  India and the UK are likely to announce a joint declaration on “One Sun, One World, One grid” (OSOWOG) at the upcoming COP26. The UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26, is scheduled to be held between October 31 and November 12 in Scotland. About  Both countries have been working towards achieving this concept and...
Read More

In News  Recently, the Indian and the Australian Navy signed the ‘Terms of Reference’ (ToR) for the conduct of the navy to navy talks under the framework of the ‘Joint Guidance for the India - Australia Navy to Navy Relationship’ document. This is the first such document signed by the Indian Navy with any country....
Read More