ProMed Mail Post
Tanzania Bans Import Of Chloroquine
Original Article
MALARIA, CHLOROQUINE RESISTANT - TANZANIA
******************************************
A ProMED-mail post
[see also:
1999
----
Malaria, chloroquine resistant - Kenya 19990719144906
Malaria, chloroquine resistant - Kenya (04) 19990726222547
Malaria, drug resistant - Africa: overview 19990320213735]
Date: 6 Jul 2000
From: Marjorie P. Pollack, M.D.
Source: Africa News Service, Story Filed 5 Jul 2000 3:05 PM EST [edited]
Tanzania Bans Import Of Chloroquine
------------------------------------
Dar Es Salaam (TOMRIC Agency, 5 Jul 2000) - Tanzania has officially banned
import of chloroquine for the treatment of malaria patients following its
ineffectiveness.
Announcing the decision yesterday [4 Jul 2000], the deputy Minister for
Health, Ms. Tatu Ntimizi told the National Assembly that her ministry has
already instructed the Medical Stores Department (MSD) not to import,
noting that what is available in shops is only a leftover of what was
imported earlier. She said the MSD has already made alternative medicines
for malaria treatment, to arrive in the country within 6 months [must be
imported medicine]. "The MSD had already awarded a tender for the
importation of medicines which will replace chloroquine."
On Monday [3 Jul 2000] the government said it was reviewing its policy on
treatment of malaria to make fansidar the first treatment for malaria. The
Minister for Health, Aaron Chiduo had earlier said that research on
treatment of malaria carried out from 1997 to 1999 revealed that
chloroquine was ineffective in curing malaria by 20 to 25 percent. However, Ntimizi said medical record show that depending upon locality, chloroquine had lost the ability to cure malaria in up to 50 percent [of cases] in some areas. Discussion on the effectiveness of chloroquine became hot in April,
this year when it was disclosed that malaria would continue killing
millions of Tanzanians after its parasites, Plasmodium [falciparum] has
now developed a strong resistance against [to] chloroquine which has been a widely used drug in Tanzania. This was based on a research by the Ministry of Health done between 1997 and 1999 which indicated that chloroquine has lost the ability to cure malaria in almost 52 percent [of cases] in various areas in Tanzania also referred as malaria prone regions [Susceptibility is classified as grade I, II and III and it is presumed that it must be grade II or III in 52% of cases. -Mod. EP].
Without disclosing the figure, Ms. Ntimizi said that more patients die of malaria in the country, noting that children and infants were more
vulnerable to the disease. The treatment is becoming complicated day after day," she said urging the people to adopt preventive measures. The ministry has recommended the use of other drugs like fansidar, amodiaquine and comaquine [camoquine is the same as amodiaquine]. She said quinine should be used as a last resort.
In its report, WHO recommends sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine [fansidar] as an alternative drug for treatment of malaria in Tanzania. Kenya is one of the countries, which have already replaced chloroquine for the treatment of falciparum malaria. Another country which stopped the use of chloroquine as the first line medication for the disease, owing to resistant strains being prevalent in many areas, is Malawi.
--
ProMED-mail
[The report is important in once again drawing the attention to the
increasing problem of drug resistance of P.falciparum malaria in Africa.
Fansidar is considerably more expensive than chloroquine, and there are
already sporadic reports from East Africa of fansidar resistance.
Amodiaquine (camoquine), a chloroquine derivative, was in the eighties
thought of as an alternative because it showed higher activity than
chloroquine against P.falciparum malaria. However, after introduction to
the market in industrialized countries, it was soon found that
approximately 1 per 2000 users developed agranulocytosis, and the drug is
now not used at all here. -Mod. EP]
............................................ep/ds
*##########################################################*
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################
Back to Press Releases
|
|
|
