Experts call for more research for treating malaria during pregnancy

More research is needed on the treatment of malaria during pregnancy, according to a team of doctors.

An essay by leading malaria experts has been published in the PLoS Medicine journal and describes the safety of drugs during pregnancy as a "catch-22" situation.

Nicholas White, from Mahidol University in Thailand, said that the medical profession has been "cautious" about giving drugs to pregnant women since the catastrophic effects of thalidomide 50 years ago.

He describes the "dangerous" situation as drugs can not be trialled among pregnant women so any recommendations "are not the result of good medical research".

"International agencies and funders need to provide adequate support for quality studies in pregnancy and, in an increasingly litigious climate, to underwrite the liabilities," he added.

The World Health Organisation estimates that more than a million people, mainly infants, young children and pregnant women, die of malaria every year.