Artemether–Lumefantrine Treatment Failure in a Falciparum Malaria Patient in Tunisia

Aim: Malaria, especially that caused by Plasmodium falciparum, is one of the most important infectious diseases in the world, and its control is hampered by increasing resistance of malaria parasites to available drugs. Case: We report a case of possible clinical failure of artemether-lumefantrine treatment in a 26-year old Tunisian traveler with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria imported from Cote d’Ivoire. Conclusion: This was a first reported case of treatment failure of artemetherlumefantrine in Tunisia. INTRODUCTION Malaria, especially that caused by Plasmodium falciparum, is one of the most important infectious diseases in the world, and its control is hampered by increasing resistance of malaria parasites to available drugs. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), especially artemether-lumefantrine, is known to be the best treatment [1]. Many studies have reported artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) to be the best antimalarial drugs available, due to their efficacy and potential to lower the emergence of resistance. It is now first-line therapy for uncomplicated malaria in endemic areas with multidrug resistant Plasmodium falciparum [2]. We report a case of possible artemether-lumefantrine clinical failure in a Tunisian traveler with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria imported from Cote d’Ivoire.