Thailand was the most dangerous tourist destination
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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In Thailand, according to epidemiologists, malarial parasites that are not sensitive to artemisinin, an antimalarial drug, are spreading very quickly. Previously detected resistant strains of malarial plasmodia caused panic among scientists. If they get to Africa, the disease will swallow a large part of the population, since specifically in this region account for about 90% of the deaths due to malaria.
The first time the increase in resistance to artemisinin was detected in parasites in Cambodia in 2006. At the moment, these parasites spread on the border with Thailand.
Nicholas White of the Mahidol Institute in Bangkok, along with his co-workers, tested 3200 patients from hospitals on the western border of Thailand about the presence of resistance. The study was conducted as follows: the doctors measured how much time it would take to reduce the concentration of malarial plasmodium in the blood by 50%. With the use of artemisinin, the decrease in parasite concentration usually occurs within 2 hours.
At the moment, Cambodian patients will need about 5.5 hours. Moreover, parasites at the gene level have changed and become much stronger than resistant strains in other states. Scientists intend to find a genetic marker of unique resistance.
And on the western border of Thailand, the indicator increased from 2.6 hours in 2001 to 3.7 hours in 2010. The number of infections that were suppressed for a long time (6.2 hours or more) increased from 0.6% to 20%. The increase in the number of cases of infection with resistant parasites is associated, in particular, with the sale of diluted artemisinin