Fake antimalarials in Southeast Asia are a major impediment to malaria control: multinational cross‐sectional survey on the prevalence of fake antimalarials

摘要: OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of counterfeit antimalarial drugs in Southeast (SE) Asia. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SETTING Pharmacies and shops selling Myanmar (Burma), Lao PDR, Vietnam, Cambodia Thailand. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Proportion artemisinin derivatives or mefloquine containing substandard quality. RESULTS Of 188 tablet packs purchased which were labelled as 'artesunate' 53% did not contain any artesunate. All artesunate tablets manufactured by 'Guilin Pharma', refinements fake blisterpacks made them often hard to distinguish from their genuine counterparts. No other found be counterfeited. 44 samples, 9% contained <10% expected amount active ingredient. CONCLUSIONS An alarmingly high proportion bought pharmacies mainland SE Asia are counterfeit, problem has increased significantly compared with our previous survey 1999-2000. This is a serious threat public health region.