TY - JOUR T1 - Artemisinins in malaria treatment in the UK JF - Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin JO - Drug Ther Bull SP - 129 LP - 132 DO - 10.1136/dtb.2010.11.0057 VL - 48 IS - 11 A2 - , Y1 - 2010/11/01 UR - http://dtb.bmj.com/content/48/11/129.abstract N2 - Relevant BNF section: BNF 5.4.1 Malaria is a potentially life-threatening disease caused by protozoal parasites of the genus Plasmodium.1 2 It is mainly a problem in developing countries, and cases in the UK involve travellers coming from endemic areas.2 Resistance is increasing to several antimalarial drugs (e.g. chloroquine, mefloquine, antifolates).1 3 4 Another group of drugs, known as artemisinins, have come into widespread use more recently.1 5 6 An oral artemisinin-combination therapy (ACT) is now one of the standard licensed treatments for uncomplicated malaria in the UK.7 8 However, the parenteral artemisinin for severe malaria, artesunate, is not licensed in developed countries.9 Here we consider the role of artemisinins as treatment for malaria in the UK. ER -