Responding to the evidence for the management of severe malaria

Authors: Nathan P. Ford, Martin de Smet, Kavitha Kolappa, Nicholas J. White

Excerpt:

"Humanity owes a great debt to quinine. Cinchona alkaloids have been used to treat malaria for hundreds of years after the arrival of cinchona bark in Europe in the 17th century, where it was mixed with rose leaves, lemon juice and wine to treat the malarious patients of Essex (Butler et al. 2010). While quinine has been largely replaced by more effective and better-tolerated drugs in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria, it remains the standard treatment for severe malaria in many countries. In Africa, where over 90% of the estimated 781 000 malaria-related deaths in 2009 occurred, quinine is firstline therapy for severe malaria in almost all countries (WHO 2010)."