Malaria Cases in Africa Rise Due to Drug-Resistance

Doctors and medical researchers are introducing a new vaccine for malaria in three countries since the disease has started to become resistant to established treatments.

Malaria patients in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi are subjects of a trial for a new vaccine, which aims to primarily help small children suffering from the disease at their most vulnerable time. While other vaccines offer near-complete protection, this newer vaccine is only about 40 percent effective but promises to help those unresponsive to other treatments.

Over 228 million people were afflicted with malaria in 2018, with most cases occurring in African countries like Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Death rates for the disease are still fairly low, however the vulnerable young and old make up the majority of the estimated 380,000 deaths in Africa in 2018.

Drug resistance for malaria arises for several reasons. The most common are overusing antimalarial drugs on an individual and incomplete treatment procedures. Malaria can be contracted multiple times, with many people experiencing body aches, fever and chills several times a year. Overuse of drugs can cause a tolerance within an individual and overall resistance to the drug in the malaria parasites.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two out of four human malaria parasite species – Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax – have been confirmed to have developed a resistance to current antimalarial drugs.