June 14, 2017
No undue early pregnancy risk from common malaria drugs
New research from the University of Washington and international partners found that medications that are widely used against malaria are safe to administer to women in their first trimester of pregnancy.
Malaria is more common and severe in pregnant women, meaning pregnant women have an increased risk of miscarriage and other adverse outcomes if they contract malaria. Until now, data about the effects of common malaria medications in pregnant women was limited, meaning these findings may lead to reconsideration of guidelines regarding these artemisinin combination therapies.
“Our results show that artemisinins can now be formally considered for first-trimester treatment,” said Andy Stergachis (pictured), the corresponding author and UW professor of pharmacy and global health.