The list of antimalarial medicines circulated on social media by Itodje Okiemute Godstime on March 21, 2017 at www.gt9ja.com are ORAL MONOTHERAPIES which ARE NOT the recommended medicines for treatment of UNCOMPLICATED MALARIA in Nigeria.
The recommended combination medicines for malaria in Nigeria are Artesunate+Amodiaquine (AA), Artemether+Lumefantrinr (AL) and Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine (SP), which are also the WHO recommended combinations.
The European Medicines Agency‘s website was searched and it was established that:
* Artesunate is used in combination with Amodiaquine.
*Artemether is used in combination with Lumefantrine.
*Pyrimethamine is used in combination with Sulphadoxine.
*Proguanil is used in combination with other active pharmaceutical ingredient in Atovaquone.
* Halofantrine is recommended by WHO for use in area where multiple drug resistance Plasmodium falciparum malaria is prevalent.
The claim of Itodje Okiemute Godstime in respect of poisoning and kidney failure have no clinical or scientific backing.
My colleagues, look at the mischievous write up deeply and clearly you will see that he is talking of mono therapies which Nigeria has already passed that level.
Why should one circulate very old information? What is the purpose?
We as scientists we must think scientifically and PHARMACEUTICALLY. We are above beer parlour discussions.
REFERENCES
* Guidelines for the treatment of Malaria, 3rd Edition, Geneva, World Health Organization, 2015.
* Pharmacology of Antimalarial drugs – Guidelines for treatment of Malaria – NCBI Bookshelf https//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK294433
* Nigeria National Antimalarial Treatment Policy, February, 2005.
* https//www.ema.europa/ema/index.jsp?curl-pages/me
Pharm. Ahmed I Yakasai, FPSN, FNIM
President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN)
