Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Mar;67(1):55-60.
doi: 10.1007/s11686-021-00489-y. Epub 2021 Nov 19.

Potential Emergence of Plasmodium Resistance to Artemisinin Induced by the Use of Artemisia annua for Malaria and COVID-19 Prevention in Sub-African Region

Essoham Ataba  1   2 , Ameyo M Dorkenoo  3 , Christèle Tchopba Nguepou  4 , Tchaa Bakai  5 , Tchassama Tchadjobo  5 , Komla Dovenè Kadzahlo  5 , Kossi Yakpa  5 , Tinah Atcha-Oubou  5
Affiliations
Review

Potential Emergence of Plasmodium Resistance to Artemisinin Induced by the Use of Artemisia annua for Malaria and COVID-19 Prevention in Sub-African Region

Essoham Ataba et al. Acta Parasitol. 2022 Mar.

Erratum in

Abstract

Plasmodium resistance to antimalarial drugs is an obstacle to the elimination of malaria in endemic areas. This situation is particularly dramatic for Africa, which accounts for nearly 92% of malaria cases worldwide. Drug pressure has been identified as a key factor in the emergence of antimalarial drug resistance. Indeed, this pressure is favoured by several factors, including the use of counterfeit forms of antimalarials, inadequate prescription controls, poor adherence to treatment regimens, dosing errors, and the increasing use of other forms of unapproved antimalarials. This resistance has led to the replacement of chloroquine (CQ) by artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) which are likely to become ineffective in the coming years due to the uncontrolled use of Artemisia annua in the sub-Saharan African region for malaria prevention and COVID-19. The use of Artemisia annua for the prevention of malaria and COVID-19 could be an important factor in the emergence of resistance to Artemisinin-based combination therapies.

Keywords: Artemisinin; COVID-19; Malaria; Plasmodium falciparum; Resistance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. WHO (2019) World Malaria Report 2019. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/malaria/publications/world-malaria-report-2019/en/. Accessed April 21, 2021
    1. Hoffmann M, Kleine-Weber H, Schroeder S, Kruger N, Herrler T, Erichsen S. SARS-CoV-2 cell entry depends on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and is blocked by a clinically proven protease inhibitor. Cell. 2020;181:271–280. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.1002.1052. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. WHO (2020) Tailoring Malaria Interventions in the COVID-19 Response. Geneva: WHO. https://www.who.int/malaria/publications/atoz/tailoring-malaria-interven.... Accessed May 15, 2021
    1. Worldometer (2021) Reported Cases and Deaths by Country or Territory. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/. Accessed September 30, 2021
    1. Jeruto P, Lukhoba C, Ouma G, Otieno D, Mutai C. An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Nandi people in Kenya. J Ethnopharmacol. 2008;116(2):370–376. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2007.11.1041. - DOI - PubMed