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| Research Findings On Rectal Artesunate Made Public |
1/12/2007 |
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Friday, 12 January 2007
A WHO sponsored research conducted in Ghana, Tanzania and Bangladesh between 2000 to 2006, has shown that when Artesunate is administered through the rectal route (anus) on children suffering from severe malaria, and later sent to hospital for treatment, there is a high reduction in child death caused by malaria.
The Director of Research of the Ghana Health Service, Prof. John Gyapong made this known in Accra at a dissemination meeting on the findings of a research aimed at assessing the survival benefit of rectal Artesunate in the management of severe malaria in communities with limited access to health facilities.
According to Prof. Gyapong, malaria claims the lives of about 1.2 million people annually worldwide. He said 85% of the deaths occur in Africa and that most of the death cases occur at home before the victims reach the hospital.
Dr. Gyapong stated that the WHO in conjunction with researchers in Ghana and Tanzania are exploring ways to deploy rectal Artesunate to rural communities to help control malaria in such areas.
By: Emmanuel Akorli
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