Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Protocol for Plasmodium falciparum Infections in Mosquitoes and Infection Phenotype Determination
Published on: July 4, 2007
Audiometric changes associated with the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with co-artemether
Stephen Toovey1, Andrew Jamieson
1SAA-Netcare Travel Clinics, South Africa and Mozambique, P.O. Box 786692, Sandton, 2146, South Africa. toovey@travelclinic.co.az
Abstract:
Animal studies have demonstrated artemisinin brain stem toxicity with auditory centres being especially affected; there has, to date, been no evidence of such toxicity with oral artemisinins in humans. Subjects working at a construction site in Mozambique had audiometric assessments taken on joining and leaving the project. Subjects with uncomplicated malarias received co-artemether (artemether-lumefantrine) (n = 150) while age-, gender-, weight- and race-matched controls (n = 150) neither suffered malaria nor received antimalarial therapy. Hearing thresholds were measured at predefined frequencies in treated subjects and controls. Subjects receiving co-artemether had a significantly greater heating loss than controls at all frequencies except 250 Hz and 500 Hz (P values ranging from <0.001 to 0.04, Mann-Whitney U). Mean changes at the different frequencies in subjects ranged from -6.50 dB (95% CI -8.19 to -4.81) [at 1kHz frequency] to -0.07 dB (95% CI -2.19 to 2.05) [at 6 kHz frequency]. Mean changes in the control group ranged from -4.20 dB (95% CI -5.97 to -2.43) [at 1 kHz frequency] to +2.7 dB (95% CI -0.93 to 4.47) [at 6 kHz frequency]. Treatment of uncomplicated malaria with co-artemether is associated with hearing loss, possibly from synergy between potentially ototoxic agents in combination. The safety and neurotoxicity of artemesinins and other endoperoxides needs to be more fully evaluated.
More Related Videos
10:50Detection and Quantification of Plasmodium falciparum in Aqueous Red Blood Cells by Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared Spectroscopy and Multivariate Data Analysis
Published on: November 2, 2018
05:28Standard Membrane Feeding Assay for the Detection of Plasmodium falciparum Infection in Anopheles Mosquito Vectors
Published on: May 12, 2022