Quality of antimalarial drugs and antibiotics in Papua New Guinea: a survey of the health facility supply chain.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Poor-quality life-saving medicines are a major public health threat, particularly in settings with a weak regulatory environment. Insufficient amounts of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) endanger patient safety and may contribute to the development of drug resistance. In the case of malaria, concerns relate to implications for the efficacy of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT). In Papua New Guinea (PNG), Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax are both endemic and health facilities are the main source of treatment. ACT has been introduced as first-line treatment but other drugs, such as primaquine for the treatment of P. vivax hypnozoites, are widely available. This study investigated the quality of antimalarial drugs and selected antibiotics at all levels o

SUBMITTER: Hetzel MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4020934 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature