drug resistance

Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, the two protozoan parasite species that cause the majority of cases of human malaria, have developed resistance to nearly all known antimalarials. The ability of malaria parasites to develop resistance is primarily due to the high numbers of parasites in the infected person’s bloodstream during the asexual blood stage of infection in conjunction with the mutability of their genomes.

Scale-up of malaria preventive and control interventions over the last decade resulted in substantial declines in mortality and morbidity from the disease in sub-Saharan Africa and many other parts of the world.