A new drug to treat malaria has been given the green light by authorities in the United States.
The
medicine is specifically for the recurring form of malaria - caused by
the parasite plasmodium vivax - which makes 8.5 million people ill each
year.
This type of malaria is a particular challenge to get rid
of as it can remain dormant in the liver for years before reawakening
many times.
Scientists have described tafenoquine as a "phenomenal achievement."
Regulators around the world will now look at the drug to see if they can recommend it for their populations.
Relapsing illness
Recurring malaria is the most common type of malaria outside Sub-Saharan Africa.
Children
can be particularly at risk, getting several bouts of malaria from a
single bite, missing lots of school and getting weaker each time they
get the disease.
And infected people can act as unwitting
reservoirs of the disease because when the parasite reawakens in their
bodies a mosquito can carry that parasite on to someone else.
This can make it hard to eliminate around the world.
Now
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has given
the seal of approval to tafenoquine, a drug that can flush the parasite
out of its hiding place in the liver and stop people getting it again.
It can be taken alongside another medicine to treat the immediate infection.
There is already a medication that can be used to get rid of malaria hiding in the liver called primaquine.
But unlike the single dose of tafenoquine needed, primaquine often needs to be taken for 14 days.
Some
experts are concerned that many people feel better after just a few
days and stop taking the pills, allowing the parasite to awaken at a
later date.
Caution needed
The
FDA says the drug is effective and approves it for use in the United
States but points out that there are important side effects to be aware
of.
For example people with an enzyme problem, called G6PD deficiency, should not take the drug as it can cause severe anaemia.
The
regulator recommends people are tested for the deficiency for this
before it is given - which can pose a problem in poorer areas where
malaria is common.
There are also concerns that at higher doses it can be a problem for people with psychiatric illnesses.
But
despite these cautions there is hope the drug, together with bed nets
and other precautions, will help reduce the amount of vivax malaria in
the world.
Prof Ric Price, of Oxford University, told the BBC:
"The ability to get rid of the parasite in the liver with a single dose
of tafenoquine is a phenomenal achievement and in my mind it represents
one of the most significant advances in malaria treatment in the last 60
years."
Meanwhile Dr Hal Barron, president of research and
development at GSK, the company that manufactures the drug, said it was a
significant milestone for people living with this type of relapsing
malaria.
"Together with our partner, Medicines for Malaria
Venture, we believe Krintafel will be an important medicine for patients
with malaria and contribute to the ongoing effort to eradicate this
disease."
Tafenonquine has been in existence since the 1970s but
working with Medicines for Malaria, GSK has repurposed the drug so that
it can be used to get rid of malaria parasites in the liver.
The
next step will be for the drug to be assessed by regulators in countries
where this form of malaria is a significant problem.
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