Science: Drug-resistant malaria is spreading, but experts clash over its global risk
“In what scientists call a ‘sinister development,’ a malaria parasite resistant to a widely used drug combination is on the march in Southeast Asia. … The critics don’t question the group’s genetic studies of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, but they dispute the interpretation that they spell disaster. … [Arjen Dondorp of the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit] fears the constant bickering and conflicting statements will confuse participating countries and lower the sense of urgency. ‘The landscape is very politically charged,’ agrees [Philippe Guérin, director of the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network]. ‘We need more attention to the data and less attention to the politics’…” (Roberts, 10/11).