14/05/04

Suppository buys time for malaria sufferers

By: Mike Shanahan

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Suppository buys time for malaria sufferers</h1>
<h4>By: Mike Shanahan</h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><P>Anti-malaria suppositories — medicines administered rectally — can save lives according to research published in <em>The Lancet </em>this week.</P><br />
<P>Malaria can be treated with pills and injections, but a key factor in the massive mortality inflicted on sub-Saharan Africa by the disease is the delay in administrating effective medicines. In the case of severe malaria, oral medications cannot be taken because patients can have difficulty swallowing. And for rural patients, the time taken to reach a health worker for injectable treatment can be fatal. </P><br />
<P>Researchers gave children in Malawi and adults in South Africa with moderately severe malaria either a suppository dose of the anti-malaria drug artesunate or an injection of quinine. They found that a single dose of artesunate administered rectally cleared malaria parasites faster than the injected quinine in both adults and children.</P><br />
<P>The suppositories don’t cure malaria outright, however, and should be followed up as soon as possible with other medications. Nonetheless, they can be effective for patients that are too ill to take oral medication, especially when injections are not available. The drugs would offer protection for the period needed by patients to reach health facilities for additional treatment.</P><br />
<P><a  href="http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol363/iss9421/full/llan.363.9421.original_research.29573.1" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to research paper by Barnes et al in <EM>The Lancet</EM></A>*</P><br />
<P>Reference: The Lancet 363, 1598 (2004)</P><br />
<P>* Free registration to <em>The Lancet</em> is needed to view this document</P></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/suppository-buys-time-for-malaria-sufferers/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/news/suppository-buys-time-for-malaria-sufferers/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

Anti-malaria suppositories — medicines administered rectally — can save lives according to research published in The Lancet this week.

Malaria can be treated with pills and injections, but a key factor in the massive mortality inflicted on sub-Saharan Africa by the disease is the delay in administrating effective medicines. In the case of severe malaria, oral medications cannot be taken because patients can have difficulty swallowing. And for rural patients, the time taken to reach a health worker for injectable treatment can be fatal.

Researchers gave children in Malawi and adults in South Africa with moderately severe malaria either a suppository dose of the anti-malaria drug artesunate or an injection of quinine. They found that a single dose of artesunate administered rectally cleared malaria parasites faster than the injected quinine in both adults and children.

The suppositories don’t cure malaria outright, however, and should be followed up as soon as possible with other medications. Nonetheless, they can be effective for patients that are too ill to take oral medication, especially when injections are not available. The drugs would offer protection for the period needed by patients to reach health facilities for additional treatment.

Link to research paper by Barnes et al in The Lancet*

Reference: The Lancet 363, 1598 (2004)

* Free registration to The Lancet is needed to view this document