Many of the children were also treated with a second (non-artemisinin) drug, lumefantrine. But a high number of kids who got the two-drug combination therapy also saw their illnesses come back, suggesting that the malaria parasite might be developing resistance to lumefantrine, too.

Scientists have detected resistance to artemisinin, a key malaria drug, for the first time among children in Africa with severe disease. The continent accounts for 95% of all deaths from malaria globally, and children are the most badly affected.

Discover new findings on partial artemisinin resistance in Ugandan children with severe malaria. Study reveals a potential need for revised malaria treatment protocols in Africa.

The 10.3% of participants that experienced recrudescence -- recurrent malaria caused by the same strain of P. falciparum as the initial infection after treatment with artesunate followed by artemether-lumefantrine combination therapy -- was also notable John told MedPage Today.

The malaria parasite may be gaining resistance against artemisinin, the drug most often used to try and save children with mosquito-borne malaria.