Drug Could Reduce Malaria Mortality
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Treating adults with severe malaria with the drug artesunate rather than quinine could save tens of thousands of lives in the developing world, new research suggests.
A study in this week’s Lancet medical journal shows that artesunate reduced the chance of death from malaria by 35% compared with quinine. Scientists have known for some years that the newer drug -- derived from an herb the Chinese have used for millenniums to treat fever -- works more quickly, is easier to use and has fewer side effects.
