STRATEGIES FOR THE PREVENTION OF ANTIMALARIAL DRUG-RESISTANCE - RATIONALE FOR COMBINATION CHEMOTHERAPY FOR MALARIA

Among the several 'tropical' diseases that affect humans, malaria pose s special control problems due to the increasing population at risk fr om the disease, the difficulties in eradicating the mosquito vector in the tropics and the emergence and spread of parasite resistance to co mmonly used antimalarial drugs. There is both clinical experience and experimental evidence that, however effective when first introduced, t he lifespan of drugs is inevitably curtailed by the emergence of resis tant parasites. Resistance is the most important factor in determining the useful lifespan of antimalarial drugs. In this' review, Nick Whit e and Piero Olliaro discuss the rationale for combination chemotherapy .