BURMA: INCREASING DRUG RESISTANCE FOR MALARIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000432 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/EX; EAP/MLS; EAP/EP; EAP/PD DEPT FOR OES/STC/MGOLDBERG AND PBATES; OES/PCI/ASTEWART; OES/IHA/DSINGER AND NCOMELLA DEPT FOR CA/OCS/ACS/EAP DEPT PASS TO USAID/ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL DEPT PASS TO CDC ATLANTA FOR COGH SDOWELL AND NCID/IB AMOEN DEPT PASS TO HHS/OGHA DEPT PASS TO USDA FOR OSEC, APHIS, USDA FOR FAS/DLP AND FAS/ICD USDA/FAS FOR FAA/YOUNG, MOLSTAD, ICD/PETTRIE, ROSENBLUM BANGKOK FOR REO OFFICE PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2019 TAGS: ECON TBIO EAID SOCI PGOV AMED BM SUBJECT: BURMA: INCREASING DRUG RESISTANCE FOR MALARIA TREATMENT RANGOON 00000432 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Economic Officer Samantha A. Carl-Yoder for Reasons 1.4 (b and d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases and leading causes of mortality in Burma. In 2008, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported more than 564,000 cases, with 959 deaths. NGOs emphasize that these figures grossly underestimate Burma's true morbidity, which they estimate is two million cases annually. The MOH does not provide free anti-malarial drugs; many patients either forgo care or procure unregulated, inferior-quality, or fake drugs on the market. According to WHO, many Burmese have developed resistance to several anti-malarial drugs, further complicating treatment. In addition, multi-drug resistant malaria is already prevalent on the Thai-Cambodia border. WHO officials fear that migrants returning to Burma may import this resistance, rendering any malaria treatment ineffective. End Summary. Malaria in Burma -------------- ¶2. (C) Malaria is commonly found in Burma's rural areas, and more than 70 percent of Burma's population live in malaria endemic areas, according to WHO. High-risk groups include forest workers, farmers, migrant workers, and populations living in border areas. Dr. Leonard Ortega, WHO Malaria Officer, told us that malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases and leading causes of mortality in Burma, although both morbidity and mortality rates have dropped substantially since 2002. In 2008, the Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 564,214 malaria cases, up from 501,814 cases in 2007. Ortega attributes the drop in number of deaths from 1,221 in 2007 to 959 in 2008 to improved availability and use of malaria treatment services. -------------- -------------- Malaria Morbidity and Mortality 2006-2008 -------------- -------------- Year Number Percent Number Percent Of Cases Change of Deaths Change -------------- -------------- 2006 538,110 -- 1,647 -- 2007 501,814 - 6.75 1,221 - 25.87 2008 564,214 12.44 959 - 21.46 -------------- -------------- Source: Ministry of Health, WHO ¶3. (C) According to NGO officials who treat malaria, the RANGOON 00000432 002.2 OF 003 MOH's figures, which only account for cases treated by the public health sector, grossly underestimate the real disease burden in the country. Indeed, the MOH's Round Nine Global Fund malaria application acknowledges that only between 25-40 percent of all malaria cases seek treatment in the public sector; all other cases either seek care at private clinics or forgo treatment altogether. Frank Smithuis, former director of MSF-Holland, told us that MSF-Holland alone treats more than 800,000 malaria cases in Burma annually. Population Services International (PSI) TB Director Dr. Nyo Nyo Myin said PSI Sun Clinics treat an additional 400,000 cases a year. Smithuis estimates that the real malaria burden in Burma is close to two million cases annually. MDR-Malaria a Growing Concern -------------- ¶4. (C) While malaria is one of Burma's top disease concerns, the MOH allocates only USD 8,500 for the procurement of malaria medicines -- enough to treat approximately 2,800 cases annually, Ortega told us. Registered pharmacies sell GOB-procured artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) treatment protocol, a proven malaria treatment. However, private pharmacies also import and sell medicines of Chinese and Indian origin, which are often of suspect quality. The MOH in its National Malaria Strategy includes methods to control malaria drug quality; but Dr. Ortega confirmed that Burma, along with other countries in the Greater Mekong Sub region, continues to have significant problems with fake and inferior anti-malarial medicines. Additionally, MOH pharmaceutical import policies allow pharmacies to procure drugs outside the national regimen, and private doctors often do not follow the national treatment guidelines. Burma's lax drug policy in effect allows for the development of anti-malarial drug resistance. ¶5. (C) According to the WHO, many Burmese have already developed resistance to three main malaria treatments -- chloroquine, mefloquine monotherapy, and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine -- which limits the ability of doctors to treat the disease. Dr. Ortega confirmed that ACT protocol is the only remaining treatment; so far it has been successful. However, USAID/RDMA Office of Public Health remains concerned that the Burmese will develop a resistance to ACT, as is occurring along the Thai-Cambodia border. John MacArthur, USAID Infectious Disease Expert, warned that Burmese migrants returning from Thailand could potentially import ACT drug resistance. Should this happen, the MOH will have limited options for malaria treatment, and Burma's malaria morbidity and mortality rates could skyrocket. USG Assistance to Prevent MDR-Malaria -------------- RANGOON 00000432 003.2 OF 003 ¶6. (SBU) The MOH, aware of the dangers of drug resistance, is working with the WHO to improve surveillance and drug quality. Fiscal Year 2008 USAID funds currently support several WHO projects, including a sentinel surveillance study for drug resistance in eight locations (including remote border areas with high rates of malaria) and capacity building for drug quality testing. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) For responses to the three priority diseases -- HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria -- Burma's National Malaria Program is the most underfunded. The MOH relies heavily on donors, including USAID, the Three Diseases Fund, and the Japanese Government, to provide medicines, educational awareness about the dangers of malaria, and technical assistance to strengthen the meager public health program. While malaria itself is one of Burma's primary health concerns, multi-drug resistant (MDR) malaria poses a potentially greater threat to Burma and the region. The best way to prevent MDR-malaria is to strengthen the existing public and private health structures and improve diagnostic capacity while regulating the procurement, provision, and quality of anti-malarial drugs. The MOH must take greater steps to ensure that public and private health practitioners prescribe only national treatment protocols or risk increased drug resistance. The importation of ACT resistance from neighboring countries remains a real concern, and is something the MOH may be powerless to stop. DINGER