An alarming new report published by The Lancet on April 5 reveals that drug-resistant malaria has spontaneously emerged from yet another hotspot in southeast Asia. If the super-parasites erupt elsewhere—such as in malaria’s African heartland—years of progress against the disease could be rapidly unravelled.
Malaria parasites that resist the wonder drug, artemisinin, were first sighted five [...]
My new story on the emergence of a dangerous new form of antibiotic resistant bacteria in India, and how commercial concerns may be complicating efforts to tame it, appears in this week’s Foreign Affairs. Check it out at Foreign Affairs.
Also out: a nifty audio slideshow from my trip to India, on the website of the [...]
This is the first of a series of reports on NDM-1 bacteria, bugs endowed with the ability to resist not only commonly used antibiotics but the last-resort IV antibiotics used only in hospitals. NDM-1 first emerged in New Delhi (and is, controversially, named after the city) and has since spread to over 35 countries, primarily [...]
My report on cholera’s deep links to the climate–and the ongoing controversy over the origins of the ongoing outbreak of cholera in Haiti–appears in this week’s Yale Environment 360. Check it out here.
Yes, another famous person has come down with malaria! It was British model Cheryl Cole most recently, and now the actor George Clooney, who has just recovered from a bout contracted in Sudan. He’s taking questions about the disease at NYTimes.com, via Nicholas Kristof’s blog.
It’ll be interesting to learn whether he took prophylaxis or not. [...]
“The Malaria Wars: Sonia Shah answers your malaria questions” is online today on NYTimes.com’s Freakonomics blog. Got some interesting questions about DDT, malaria in the United States, and malaria’s animal reservoirs. Enjoy!
My piece on the history of malaria–complete with illustrations and sidebars–appears in today’s Wall Street Journal. Check it out here.
An op-ed I wrote about a forbidden topic–the fact that many rural Africans do not want to sleep under the bednets we donate to them–appeared in this weekend’s Los Angeles Times. A prominent malariologist had this to say about it: “Excellent story – finally someone that dares to speak up. Mind you, your death sentence [...]
My story on the problem of pharmaceutical residues in the environment–which has led to the mass poisoning of vultures in South Asia–is now up on Yale e360, and here on this website.
I’ll never look at my medicine cabinet, or drugstore aisles, the same way. I had no idea that so many drugs we take pass [...]
Check out my new review of Scorcese’s horror flick about a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane, “Shutter Island,” just out in The Lancet.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
Sonia Shah