New studies

provide evidence that malaria parasites resistant to the anti-malarial

drug artemisinin have emerged along the Thai-Cambodian border, the

World Health Organisation said Wednesday. The parasites could

"seriously undermine" progress made in controlling the disease, which

has been aided by increased use of artemisinin-based combination

therapies. "If we do not put a stop to the drug-resistant malaria

situation that has been documented in the Thai-Cambodia border, it

could spread rapidly to neighbouring countries and threaten our efforts

to control this deadly disease," said Hiroki Nakatani, the WHO's

assistant director general.