In The News

Daily Monitor: Inadequate dosages are leading to drug resistance

June 2, 2011, Kampala, Uganda - The Daily Monitor interviews Accordia's 2011 Merle A. Sande Health Leadership Award Recipient and molecular biologist, Dr. Christian Happi.

You received the Merle A. Sande Health Leadership Award, an initiative of the Accordia Global Health Foundation, for your work. Who is the award given to?
It is given to an individual, young, emerging and leading in the research about infectious diseases like malaria, HIV and TB, among others. This person is chosen by a committee of scientists.

So what motivated you to get into research about malaria and anti-malarials?
There is no vaccine for malaria and I noticed that if the malaria parasite becomes resistant to drugs this will mean that there is an increase in the number of people suffering from the diseases or becoming bedridden (morbidity) and those that die from it (mortality).

And how long have you been at this?
It is been long, 11 years.

What did you study to get here?
I got a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry, a Master’s degree in Parasitology and then a PhD in Molecular Parasitology.

Aside from drug resistance, what else have you done?
I have investigated the interaction between malaria and HIV. This compares both diseases and drugs meant for each and how they affect the other condition.

Of what importance has this research been so far?
In 2005, we used the research about anti-malarials to affect drug policy. The treatment was switched from chloroquine and sulphadoxine to artemisinin-based combinations like Coartem.

So what is drug resistance?
This is when the drug concentration that is supposed to cure a disease or an infection can’t cure it anymore. That is, the parasite has the ability to survive the therapeutic (effective) concentration.

How does it come about?
It can be natural where the parasite mutates (there are changes in the DNA) to resist the normally effective drug.
It also occurs by selection where the parasite is exposed to a low and ineffective drug concentration to which they adapt.

How do people contribute to this?
When people do not take adequate medicine, for example, they take tablets for three days instead of the recommended 10 days. They take them just until they feel better. It also occurs when people take low doses of the medicine (two tablets instead of three). This means that the remaining few parasites after exposure to the remaining drug concentration will get used to it.

What is the danger of malaria in pregnancy?
Malaria can lead to stillbirths (babies that are dead on delivery), abortion, and low birth weight which is the cause of many deaths in infants.

What else is there to know about malaria in pregnancy?
WHO recommends Fansidar as an important protective drug during the course of pregnancy. In the first trimester, it is not safe to use artemisinin-based combinations like Coartem, Duocotexicin, and Lonart.

Click here to read the original story from The Daily Monitor.