Possible artemisinin-based combination therapy-resistant malaria in Nigeria: a report of three cases

Abstract

Artemisinin-based combination therapy-resistant malaria is rare in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization identifies monitoring and surveillance using day-3 parasitaemia post-treatment as the standard test for identifying suspected artemisinin resistance. We report three cases of early treatment failure due to possible artemisinin-based combination therapy-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria. All cases showed adequate clinical and parasitological responses to quinine. This study reveals a need to re-evaluate the quality and efficacy of artemisinin-based combination therapy agents in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords

• Malaria
• Artemisinin-based combination therapy
• Artemether-lumefantrine
• Early treatment failure
• Resistance
• Nigeria