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Article: An affordable antimalarial.(Enviromental Medicine)
- Article from:
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In a blend of new and old, a plant-derived drug called artemisinin that the ancient Chinese used to treat fever is now being used effectively against drug-resistant malaria. When derived from the plant Artemisia annua, artemisinin costs about $1.50 per adult dose--unaffordable in much of Africa, where most malaria deaths occur. But while naturally derived artemisinin is too costly for many malaria sufferers in developing nations, an elaborate genetic engineering project may offer hope for a more affordable artemisinin-based therapy.
According to the World Health Organization, malaria kills more than 1 million annually. The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum ...