Health facility-based data on women receiving sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine during pregnancy in Tanzania: lessons to learn from a cross-sectional survey... (Publications)
data on women receiving sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy (IPTp) was carried out at antenatal care clinics in Mkuranga and Mufindi districts [...] system (HMIS) registers, interviews with health-care workers (HWs) and district and national level malaria control program managers corroborated by inter-temporal assessment through observations at HF levels [...] measures are urgently needed to accommodate data on new interventions and...
Achieving high coverage of larval-stage mosquito surveillance: challenges for a community-based mosquito control programme in urban Dar es Salaam,... (Publications)
BACKGROUND: Preventing malaria by controlling mosquitoes in their larval stages requires regular sensitive monitoring of vector populations and intervention coverage. The study assessed the effectiveness [...] ess of operational, community-based larval habitat surveillance systems within the Urban Malaria Control Programme (UMCP) in urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys were carried [...] particularly low for late-stage Anopheles (2.7%, 3/111), the most direct...
Eastern Africa, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands (Publications)
Travellers in East Africa are potentially exposed to malaria, arboviral infections, schistosomiasis, African sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis) and many other infectious diseases. Exposure determines [...] presenting with an acute febrile illness may have acquired an infection specific to the region (e.g. malaria, African tick bite fever) or common worldwide (e.g. influenza, EBV). East Africa is the second most [...] of the region. Of concern are recent reports of emerging artemisinin...
Effect of RTS,S/AS01E vaccine booster dose on cellular immune responses in African infants and children (Publications)
RTS,S/AS01(E), the first approved malaria vaccine, demonstrated moderate efficacy during the phase 3 pediatric trial. We previously investigated cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses following the primary [...] from 709 children and infants after RTS,S/AS01(E) antigen stimulation, and their associations with malaria risk and antibodies one month post-booster and one year later were assessed. IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-17, [...] circumsporozoite protein (CSP) remained higher after one year. IL-2 was...
The impact of using primaquine without prior G6PD testing: a case series describing the obstacles to the medical management of haemolysis (Publications)
vivax malaria in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient individuals employs weekly primaquine dosing. This is the only recommended regimen for this patient sub-group. If national malaria programs [...] with unknown G6PD status from two different countries were prescribed primaquine as per national malaria program guidelines. During treatment both patients presented to the clinic with symptoms of anaemia
EMBO Fellowship for Researcher at Swiss TPH (News)
https://www.swisstph.ch/de/news/news-detail-1/news/embo-fellowship-for-research-at-swiss-tph
Since joining Swiss TPH last year, Daniel Ballmer has focused his research on the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum , in particular the molecular mechanisms that drive gametocyte formation - a critical [...] critical yet poorly understood cell differentiation process essential for malaria transmission. “During gametocyte formation, P. falciparum undergoes a remarkable transformation, completely remodelling its [...] and to potentially reveal new avenues for future drug development,” said...
Pan-Africa Network for Genomic Surveillance of Poverty Related Diseases and Emerging Pathogens (Projects)
https://www.swisstph.ch/de/projects/project-detail/project/pan-africa-network-for-genomic-surveillance-of-poverty-related-diseases-and-emerging-pathogens
The main objective of the PANGenS project is to use genomic epidemiology of tuberculosis, malaria and emerging and re-emerging pathogens in Africa to better understand disease etiology, dynamics of disease [...] will aid infectious disease monitoring, and genomic surveillance will detect drug-resistant TB and malaria parasites. To achieve this, PANGenS will develop genomic epidemiology capacity across Africa by [...] components, from wet lab to bioinformatics, and to establish proof-of-concept...
WHO TVC (Projects)
https://www.swisstph.ch/de/projects/project-detail/project/who-tvc
Increasing coverage of malaria vector control interventions globally has led to significant reductions in disease burden. However due to its high recurrent cost, there is a need to determine if and when [...] reduced. We conduct literature reviews and simulate a mathematical model of Plasmodium falciparum malaria epidemiology to determine the impact of scaling back vector control on transmission and disease.
Analysis of diagnostic findings from the European mobile laboratory in Gueckedou, Guinea, March 2014 through March 2015 (Publications)
2015. METHODS: The unit diagnosed EVD and malaria, using the RealStar Filovirus Screen reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kit and a malaria rapid diagnostic test, respectively. RESULTS:
Cryptic population structure and insecticide resistance in <em>Anopheles gambiae</em> from the southern Democratic Republic of Congo (Publications)
Congo (DRC) suffers from one of the highest malaria burdens worldwide, but information on its Anopheles vector populations is relatively limited. Preventative malaria control in DRC is reliant on pyrethroid-treated
