VOA常速英语2008年-New Malaria Drug Launched in Latin America, Sou

By Lisa Schlein
Washington
17 April 2008

A new drug that offers hope to millions of malaria¹ sufferers is being launched in Latin America and Southeast Asia. The medicine, developed by a Brazilian pharmaceutical² company and a non-profit drug development organization, is a new fixed-dose combination of two existing malaria medications. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

Artemisinin-based combination treatments are considered to be the best treatments for uncomplicated malaria. They are a key element of the global malaria control strategy.

The new drug, a combination of Artesunate and Mefloquine is one of four combination treatments recommended by the World Health Organization as first-line anti-malarial treatment since 2001.

Bernard Pecoul, Executive Director of the organization The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, tells VOA this new treatment combines two drugs in the same tablet, making it simpler to use.

"In order to treat properly malaria today in those regions, the recommendation is to combine Artesunate plus Mefloquine. So, we have developed tablets that are combining the two treatments in the same tablet with a very simple regimen because at the end of the day you have to take one tablet a day for three days for some ages or two tablets a day for three days for other ages," he said.

Dr. Pecoul says the tablets are safe, rapid and reliably effective for both adults and children. He says a full treatment only costs $2.50 and will be made available throughout Latin America and Southeast Asia over 2008 and 2009.

Malaria affects more than one billion people worldwide and kills more than one million. Most are children under five in sub-Saharan Africa.

The World Health Organization reports there are about three million new cases of malaria in Southeast Asia every year and another one million new cases in Latin America annually³.

Dr. Pecoul says his organization is supporting a study in Tanzania to see if the new tablet could be successfully used in Africa, a continent with 300 million cases of uncomplicated malaria.

"Today in Africa there is two first-line treatments with Artesunate and other drugs being recommended by WHO and national programs. But, Artesunate and Mefloquine could play a role in places where there is multi-drug resistance, where there is resistance to several drugs and where the first-line treatment or efficacy could be limited. So, Artesunate-Mefloquine has a role to play in this kind of region and I have particularly in mind the eastern part of Africa where the level or resistance is quite high," he said.

Dr. Pecoul explains resistance to malaria drugs grows when patients do not complete their full course of treatment. He says this is unlikely to happen with the new medicine because it is so easy for patients to swallow one or two pills for a few days.

The Drugs for Neglected diseases initiative was established in 2003 by the Pasteur Institute and Doctors Without Borders along with four publicly-funded research organizations. The aim is to research and develop new and improved treatments for neglected diseases such as malaria.

1 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

3 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。