Reducing Malaria-Ebola Cross Infections

Guilin Pharma has increased its supply of anti-malarial drugs to Sub-Saharan Africa to reduce Ebola cross-infections.

AsianScientist (Nov. 24, 2014) – Guilin Pharma, a member of China’s Fosun Pharmaceutical group, steps up supply of its anti-malaria drugs to Ebola-stricken countries in an attempt to reduce the burden of cross infection.

Diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria are among the most common diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa, with malaria alone killing up to 800,000 people annually. In contrast, the total number of deaths caused by Ebola seem like only a drop in the bucket—the number of deaths caused by Ebola to date is the number of deaths caused by malaria in just three days.

However, the outbreak of Ebola makes the region’s already fragile medical environment more precarious and may lead to the breakout of malaria and other commonly seen infectious diseases. On the other hand, patients with malaria are more easily infected by Ebola as they have a weakened immune system. Therefore, timely and effective anti-malaria treatment could help reduce cross infection rates.

Since August, Guilin Pharma has received hundreds of thousands orders of artesunate for injection from the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Guilin Pharma has promised the international community that it will give the highest priority to the delivery of supplies within the shortest time, in order to contribute to the global anti-Ebola campaign.

As of now, Guilin Pharma has supplied more than 200,000 portions of artesunate injection to Ebola-stricken regions such as Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, to treat patients with severe malaria. This move has effectively prevented deaths caused by the increase in the number of severe malaria patients as a result of worsened medical conditions and also reduced cross infection.

In Cote d’Ivoire, a West African country close to the Ebola-stricken region, Guilin Pharma participated at the country’s Ebola Reaction and Coordination Conference as an enterprise partner with local national health ministry to actively take part in local public health issues.

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Source: Fosun Pharma.
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