Graduation Year

2021

Date of Submission

11-2020

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Biology

Second Department

International Relations

Reader 1

Sarah Budischak

Reader 2

Katja Favretto

Rights Information

2020 Daniela A Finkel

OCLC Record Number

1242583700

Abstract

Malaria is a preventable and curable disease that, despite numerous advances in treatment and prevention, is still annually responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The current epidemic is caused by two vectors, Plasmodium falciparum, which has a higher mortality rate and is more active in Africa, and Plasmodium vivax, which is commonly found in Southeast Asia. Vector control – efforts to contain mosquito populations and prevent mosquito bites – and antimalarial medications are the dominant methods of malaria prevention. In addition to preventing malaria, antimalarials are used as a method of treatment. Unfortunately, widespread instances of poor-quality antimalarials have increased in recent years directly impeding efforts to eradicate this disease. Regrettably, the true extent of the spread of poor-quality antimalarials is unknown as there is little reliable data on the subject. This lack of data can be attributed to potentially biased, narrow, and instantaneous sampling methods, a history of conflicting and ambiguous definitions of the types of poor-quality medical products, and a lack of international incentive as those primarily affected by malaria are poor, rural and voiceless. The consequences of poor-quality antimalarials are far-reaching. Medications with zero or subtherapeutic levels of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) can lead not only to death, disability and/or increased illness for the individual, but can also contribute to increasing parasitic resistance to APIs. Further, the circulation of poor-quality antimalarials leads to increasing transmission rates, decreasing recovery rates, and significant financial losses. Moving forward, the definitions of poor-quality antimalarials must be overhauled, the systems, regulations, and tests to monitor antimalarial quality must be strengthened, efforts to stop the spread of these medications must be expanded, relevant actors must increase cooperation, and, most importantly, the quantity and quality of scientific studies must increase.

Download

This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

Share

COinS