Ultra-sensitive detection of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> by amplification of multi-copy subtelomeric targets (Publications)
qPCR in community surveillance and for monitoring interventions to better describe malaria epidemiology and inform malaria elimination efforts [...] BACKGROUND: Planning and evaluating malaria control strategies relies on accurate definition of parasite prevalence in the population. A large proportion of asymptomatic parasite infections can only be [...] might still remain undetected when absent in the limited blood volume sampled. CONCLUSIONS: Measured malaria prevalence in communities is...
Lack of associations of alpha(+) - thalassemia with the risk of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> and <em>Plasmodium vivax</em> infection and disease in... (Publications)
unknown. An increase in risk of Plasmodium vivax malaria in early childhood resulting in a cross-species protection against severe P. falciparum malaria has been proposed as a possible mechanism in Melanesian [...] wild-type allele. No significant differences in the incidence of P. falciparum (Pf) or P. vivax (Pv) malaria were observed between alpha(+)-thalassemia homozygote (Pf: Incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.13, CI(95) [...] = 0.008). This study therefore failed to confirm an increased risk of...
Ultra-sensitive detection of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> by amplification of multi-copy subtelomeric targets (Publications)
qPCR in community surveillance and for monitoring interventions to better describe malaria epidemiology and inform malaria elimination efforts [...] BACKGROUND: Planning and evaluating malaria control strategies relies on accurate definition of parasite prevalence in the population. A large proportion of asymptomatic parasite infections can only be [...] might still remain undetected when absent in the limited blood volume sampled. CONCLUSIONS: Measured malaria prevalence in communities is...
Association between the proportion of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> and <em>Plasmodium vivax</em> infections detected by passive surveillance and the... (Publications)
proportion of infections detected in routine malaria data, P(Detect), was derived from paired household cross-sectional survey and routinely collected malaria data within health facilities. P(Detect) was [...] BACKGROUND: Passively collected malaria case data are the foundation for public health decision making. However, because of population-level immunity, infections might not always be sufficiently symptomatic [...] model in 431 clusters spanning the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The...
Assessing whether universal coverage with insecticide-treated nets has been achieved: is the right indicator being used? (Publications)
(ITNs) are the primary tool for malaria vector control in sub-Saharan Africa, and have been responsible for an estimated two-thirds of the reduction in the global burden of malaria in recent years. While the [...] ITN for 2 people did not exceed 60% at the national level in any survey, except in Uganda's 2014 Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS). At 80% population ITN access, the expected proportion of households with [...] success of an ITN distribution programme. Under current ITN distribution...
Smartphone Applications to Improve Child Health (News)
https://www.swisstph.ch/en/news/news-detail/news/smartphone-applications-to-improve-child-health
manage malaria-negative children Several studies conducted by Swiss TPH since 2008 revealed that out of 10 febrile children presenting at a health facility in cities in Tanzania, one had malaria, treatable [...] health facility in Tanzania ten years ago, the diagnosis they received was very often the same: malaria. “This wrong assumption meant that many children were sent home with antimalarial medicines without [...] Valérie D’Acremont, medical doctor and fever management specialist at Swiss...
Population pharmacokinetics of the antimalarial amodiaquine: a pooled analysis to optimize dosing (Publications)
Amodiaquine plus artesunate is the recommended antimalarial treatment in many malaria-endemic countries. However, pediatric doses are largely based on a linear extrapolation from adult doses. We pooled [...] amodiaquine, to optimize the dose across all age groups. Adults and children with uncomplicated malaria received daily weight-based doses of amodiaquine or artesunate-amodiaquine over three days. Plasma [...] 22.4% (15.6 - 31.9%) lower at the start of treatment than during convalescence,...
High proportions of asymptomatic and submicroscopic <em>Plasmodium vivax </em>infections in a peri-urban area of low transmission in the Brazilian... (Publications)
regional elimination, it is important to investigate the role of this asymptomatic reservoir in malaria transmission in peri-urban areas. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of Plasmodium spp. [...] conducted including all inhabitants in a peri-urban area of Manaus, western Amazonas State, Brazil. Malaria parasites were detected by light microscopy (LM) and qPCR. Sexual stages of Plasmodium spp. were [...] carried gametocytes and presented low asexual parasitemia. This reservoir actively...
Estimating the duration of Plasmodium falciparum infection from trials of indoor residual spraying (Publications)
cross-sectional survey data collected from three historical trials of indoor residual spraying against malaria: one from two contiguous districts in Tanzania-Kenya (Pare Taveta) carried out in 1954, the others [...] showed considerable variation but no general age trend. There was also no clear relationship between malaria endemicity and infection duration. Analyses of successive sampling from the same individuals with [...] areas. Periods of several years may be required to evaluate long-term...
Clonal expansion of artemisinin-resistant <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> in Uganda is associated with substandard treatment practices (Publications)
the frame of the Community Access to Rectal Artesunate for Malaria project, blood samples were collected from children with signs of severe malaria before and after RAS implementation. K13 polymorphisms were [...] a driver of this recent emergence. Rectal artesunate (RAS) as pre-referral treatment for severe malaria in children was implemented in 2019 in Northern Uganda. The objective of this study was to determine
