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Word: falciparum (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
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Usage:

...nature fought back, however. War in Southeast Asia and political instability in countries like Idi Amin's Uganda interfered with eradication efforts. Premature reports of success against malaria led some health authorities to relax their vigilance. Then came the worst blows of all: in the mid-1960s, Plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal of the four species of parasite that cause human malaria, showed signs of becoming resistant to chloroquine. Soon there were resistant strains on three continents. About the same time, health officials around the Mediterranean began to find mosquitoes that were immune to DDT. It was a classic...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Medicine: Combatting an Ancient Enemy | 8/13/1984 | See Source »

...vaccines alone will not defeat this resilient organism. "Controlling malaria will take all the resources we have: insecticides and drugs, as well as vaccines," says Top. Drug research is continuing at Walter Reed and elsewhere. Mefloquine, discovered by the Army in 1974, remains about 98% effective against the deadly falciparum strain, but signs of resistance are already appearing. Quinghaosu, a Chinese drug derived from the wormwood plant, is "extremely promising," according to Lucas of WHO. But because drug resistance develops quickly, the search cannot stop. Says Top: "If we don't put out a good malaria control drug every...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Medicine: Combatting an Ancient Enemy | 8/13/1984 | See Source »

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