The Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, along with its partner hospitals, the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB) and the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Rwanda, is a member of the COMBAT AMR in Africa network. The network and the research project include three other hospital partnerships: the Asella Teaching and Referral Hospital, Ethiopia with Düsseldorf University Hospital and Augsburg University Hospital; the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana with the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, and the Kiruddu National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda with the University of Leipzig Medical Center. The Princess Christian Maternity Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone is also part of the project. The common objective of the project is to establish a system for monitoring artemisinin resistance (AR) among malaria pathogens.
Context:
Malaria is still one of the main causes of a high disease burden and premature death, especially among African children. Introducing artemisinin-based combination therapies has significantly improved malaria treatment after a marked increase in resistance to the previously used chloroquine therapy had been detected. Artemisinin-resistant malaria pathogens have also now been discovered, particularly in South-East Asia, but also in East Africa. The spread of AR throughout Africa could once again have serious consequences for the treatment of many affected individuals. It is therefore extremely important to carefully assess its spread. Doing so requires lab capacity and trained staff.
Activities:
- Development of lab capacity for identifying different types of AR mutations in Rwanda as the hub of the molecular network
- Development of capacity for in vitro AR testing using specific lab tests (ring-stage survival assay)
- Publication of data on the spread of AR mutations in partner countries
Results:
Under the partnership, lab and staffing capacity for the long-term monitoring of AR proliferation will be developed and improved in the partner countries. This will provide the basis for adapting treatments and treatment recommendations.