Global health officials are calling for stepped-up measures to combat artemisinin-resistant malaria following the recent release of a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) that shows growing evidence of its spread to parts of Burma and Vietnam. The report said that the drug-resistant strain of the deadly disease has begun to appear in southeastern Burma and southern and central Vietnam, after first emerging on the Thailand-Cambodia border in 2005. The statement, released on Sept. 27, said urgent action was needed to prevent the reversal of fragile gains made in malaria control in the region.