Drug resistance and new strategies of prevention against malaria: An ongoing battle

From ancient times until the 21 st century, malaria has remained a fatal disease. It causes death in many poor and developing countries. Excluding vector control, antimalarial drugs are the most reliable and effective weapon to tackle this severe disease. The emergence of antimalarial drug resistance in Plasmodium spp. becomes a barrier in malaria elimination programs as there has been no effective malaria vaccine till today. Apart from artemisinin, most of the antimalarial drugs have become resistant to malaria and reduced efficacy of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been reported from southeast regions of Asia. Mutation of some genes of the parasite plays a vital role in this drug resistance. Therefore, malaria is still a prime threat to humans. Newly emerging approaches like new vaccine development, plant-based antimalarial drugs, nanoparticles, and next generation antimalarial drugs should be supported. In addition, public awareness is needed for understanding the fatality of the disease and for encouraging self-protection and early treatment.