Editing Malaria (section)

===Counterfeit and substandard drugs===
Sophisticated [[counterfeit drugs|counterfeits]] have been found in several Asian countries such as [[Cambodia]],<ref name="Lon-2006"/> [[China]],<ref name="Newton-2008"/> [[Indonesia]], [[Laos]], [[Thailand]], and [[Vietnam]], and are a major cause of avoidable death in those countries.<ref name="Newton-2006"/> The WHO said that studies indicate that up to 40% of artesunate-based malaria medications are counterfeit, especially in the Greater [[Mekong]] region. They have established a rapid alert system to rapidly report information about counterfeit drugs to relevant authorities in participating countries.<ref name="Parry-2005"/> There is no reliable way for doctors or lay people to detect counterfeit drugs without help from a laboratory. Companies are attempting to combat the persistence of counterfeit drugs by using new technology to provide security from source to distribution.<ref name="Gautam-2009"/>

Another clinical and public health concern is the proliferation of substandard antimalarial medicines resulting from inappropriate concentration of ingredients, contamination with other drugs or toxic impurities, poor quality ingredients, poor stability and inadequate packaging.<ref name="Caudron-2008"/> A 2012 study demonstrated that roughly one-third of antimalarial medications in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa failed chemical analysis, packaging analysis, or were falsified.<ref name="Nayyar-2012"/>