New Drug 'Holds Key to Winning Malaria War'.

Byline: Mark Agutu

Kenya's fight against malaria has received a boost after medical researchers recommended that a wonder drug that has produced positive results in Asia be embraced globally.

Results of the largest global clinical trial in patients with severe malaria have shown that the drug, artesunate, should now be the preferred treatment for the disease in both children and adults worldwide instead of the centuries-old quinine.

The move is likely to usher in far-reaching changes that will involve a re-evaluation of malaria treatment guidelines in the country's and World Health Organisation's policies on control and management of the disease, which has …