In a small community in Western Cambodia, scientists are puzzling over why malaria para-sites seem to be devel-oping a resistance to drugs and fearing the consequences. Ten days ago, Chhem Bunchhin, a teacher in Battambang Province, became ill with chills, fever, headache, and vomiting. At a nearby health center he was treated with drugs considered a "silver bullet" in the battle against falciparum malaria.
This treatment with artesunate drugs was part of a clinical study being carried out by the US Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Science (AFRIMS). In the past, artesunates have always cleared malaria parasites from the blood in two or three days. But after four days of monitored treatment, Chhem Bunchhin was still testing positive for parasites.
The anti-malarial drugs worked more slowly in him. Dr. Delia Bethell, an investigator working on the clinical trials (pictured right), said he wasn't alone. More>>
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