It’s a light at the end of the tunnel for pregnant HIV-positive women facing the risk of being infected with malaria after the latest results by Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) scientists and their global peers.

In the results reported yesterday, researchers revealed that a new drug has very good potential to prevent malaria for pregnant HIV-positive women.

The study dubbed IMPROVE-2 by researchers from KEMRI, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, and the Malawi University of Science and Technology, suggests that the addition of the antimalarial drug dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine to daily co-trimoxazole substantially reduces the risk of malaria in pregnancy.

“We celebrate these findings that propose an additional arsenal against a disease that risks about 70 per cent of our population, malaria in pregnancy can cause a host of serious health complications, including miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-term delivery and growth restriction of newborn babies, and co-infection with HIV increases doubles these risks,” Prof. Elijah Songok, KEMRI Ag. Director General & CEO said.

The study has been published in The Lancet, a world-leading source of clinical, public health, and global health knowledge.

Feiko ter Kuile, Professor of Tropical Epidemiology at LSTM, and the study lead, said: “These are promising findings, and potentially welcome news in the future of prevention malaria among pregnant women living with HIV in areas where prevalence of the disease is high. Our trial showed that the addition of dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine to the currently recommended preventative treatment strategy for pregnant women living with HIV reduced malaria by 68 per cent.”

Dr. Hellen Barsosio, a Clinical Research Scientist from the KEMRI’s Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR), and lead author on the new paper published in The Lancet, said: “These findings are very encouraging. Not only did we find that adding dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine to co-trimoxazole was safe and prevented two out of every three malaria infections during pregnancy, but it was also very well tolerated by pregnant women, which is very important when a drug is given for prevention. The study could lead to a much-needed policy change that could make a real difference in improving maternal and newborn health in Africa.”

On his part, Dr. Simon Kariuki, Head of the Malaria Program from the KEMRI-CGHR said: “We hope that these findings, along with a similar trial being conducted in Gabon and Mozambique, will inform the malaria prevention guidelines from the World Health Organization and national health policies.”

Malaria during pregnancy can cause newborn health issues and serious maternal issues in HIV-positive women. The World Health Organization recommends daily doses of the antibiotic co-trimoxazole to prevent malaria in pregnant women living with HIV residing in areas with high malaria transmission.

However, its efficacy in sub–Saharan Africa is threatened because malaria parasites are becoming increasingly resistant to the drug.