Ethiopia's Growing Malaria Drug Resistance Posing Threat to Frontline Treatment, New Study Reveals
A new study published in Nature Microbiology reveals that malaria parasites in Ethiopia are developing resistance to frontline artemisinin-based treatments. This development threatens public health efforts as the country faces a significant surge in malaria cases.
Why it matters
Drug-resistant malaria poses a major threat to global health security and could reverse decades of progress in disease control across Africa.
Addis Abeba - A nationwide genomic surveillance study has identified widespread antimalarial drug-resistance markers in Ethiopia, including mutations associated with partial artemisinin resistance, raising concerns over the continued effectiveness of artemether-lumefantrine, the country's first-line treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Although malaria outbreaks have risen sharply in many parts across Ethiopia since late 2022 and throughout 2023 , the country experienced a further surge in cases from the beginning of 2024. Between January and August, more than 4.7 million new cases were reported, resulting in 918 deaths .
Published in Nature Microbiology on 5 August , the study analyzed 605 P. falciparum samples collected between 2019 and 2023 from 15 districts representing different malaria transmission settings and levels of Plasmodium vivax co-endemicity. Following quality control, 584 samples were retained for genetic analysis, covering five major drug-resistance genes: Pfcrt, Pfmdr1, Pfk13, Pfdhfr and Pfdhps.
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