Scientists have detected resistance to artemisinin, a key malaria drug, for the first time among children in Africa with severe disease. The continent accounts for 95% of all deaths from malaria globally, and children are the most badly affected.

The malaria parasite may be gaining resistance against artemisinin, the drug most often used to try and save children with mosquito-borne malaria.

Now, there's troubling news that the malaria parasite may be gaining resistance against artemisinin, the drug most often used to try and save these young lives. “This is the first study from Africa showing that children with malaria and clear signs of severe disease are experiencing at least partial resistance to artemisinin,