As far back as the 1950s and 1960s resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine was recognised in this same border area between Cambodia and Thailand. This resistance spread across Asia into Africa, costing many lives. This stimulated concerns about any hints of resistance to artesunate in the same region of Southeast Asia. News reporters are not the only ones reporting concern about the fate of artemisinin drugs. A recent study by Dondorp and colleagues in this same border region documented reduced susceptibility of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to artemisinin in actual patients.
The researchers found that it took twice as long – over 3 days on average – to clear malaria parasites in patients in the Pailin area compared with patients along the Thailand–Burmese border. They also noted that, ‘Artemisinins have been available as single drug treatments, or monotherapy, in western Cambodia for more than 30 years, in a variety of forms and doses.’
http://www.africa-health.com/articles/march_2010/Malaria%20pp%2015to18.pdf)
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