New vaccines underway soon – Expert

Prof. Catherine Falade, a Malariologist and Consultant Clinical Pharmacologist at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, says new antimicrobial malaria vaccines will soon be released into the market.

Falade, also a researcher on Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Wednesday.

“New researches are on-going to develop new antimicrobial medicines and vaccines to tackle malaria- resistance which has now become a burden to public health.

“This development would assist in stemming the scourge of antimicrobial resistance which has become a global threat to health care.

“Antibiotic resistance is present in every country. Patients with infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria are at risk of worse clinical outcomes and death.

“They consume more health-care resources than patients infected with non-resistant strains of the same bacteria.

“As at July 2016, resistance to the first –line treatment for P. falciparum malaria(Artemisinin-based combination therapies also known as (ACTs), has been confirmed in five countries of the Greater Mekong sub –region.

“The Greater Mekong sub-region include Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, ‘’ she said.

According to the researcher, the spread of resistant strains to other parts of the world, including Nigeria, has now become a major public health challenge.

She called for coordinated action globally to minimise the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance to malaria, adding that “ all countries need national action plans for malaria-resistant drugs.’’