Spatial repellents: from discovery and development to evidence-based validation

Malaria Journal | May 14, 2012

International public health workers are challenged by a burden of arthropod-borne disease that remains elevated despite best efforts in control programmes. With this challenge comes the opportunity to develop novel vector control paradigms to guide product development and programme implementation. The role of vector behaviour modification in disease control was first highlighted several decades ago but has received limited attention within the public health community. This paper presents current evidence highlighting the value of sub-lethal agents, specifically spatial repellents, and their use in global health, and identifies the primary challenges towards establishing a clearly defined and recommended role for spatial repellent products in disease control. more »

Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management in Malaria Vectors (GPIRM)

The Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management in malaria vectors (GPIRM) is a call to action. Through this document, WHO and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership call on governments of malaria-endemic countries, donor organizations, UN agencies, as well as research and industry partners, to implement a five-pillar strategy to tackle the growing threat of insecticide resistance and to facilitate the development of innovative vector control tools and strategies.

Global Fund to Resume Health Grants

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has boosted its coffers and will resume funding new grants following the launch of a management overhaul prompted by a slowdown in donations and disclosures of some misused grant money.

Waiting for AMFm's Evaluation: What Will It Say on Supply-Side Subsidies?

A few weeks ago, the Independent Evaluation of the Affordable Medicines Facility - malaria (AMFm) Phase 1 evaluation was released by the Global Fund on its website.

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Articles

How Entrepreneurs Are Leading The Fight Against Fake Pharmaceuticals

With fakes of the cancer drug Avastin popping up in U.S. clinics in the past few months, patients are naturally worried about whether their medicines are safe. Considering eighty percent of the ingredients in U.S. medicines come from overseas - mostly from China and India because their products are generally good and cheap - consumers are right to worry that insufficient oversight in foreign markets puts them at risk.

The US Senate's Resolution on World Malaria Day - a nice gesture ... but more is needed

We commend the US Senators from both political parties for introducing a World Malaria Day Resolution. Notwithstanding the successes, there are still many challenges that lie ahead and they must be addressed.

AFM Marks World Malaria Day

Today, April 25th, marks World Malaria Day - a day on which we remind ourselves about the terrible toll of malaria worldwide and recommit ourselves to fight this disease.

Implications of public-health insecticide resistance and replacement costs for malaria control: challenges and policy options for endemic countries and donors

Millions of people rely on public-health insecticides for malaria prevention. Yet growing insecticide resistance may threaten malaria control programs through decreasing effectiveness and possibly unsustainable cost-increases.

Innovative Financing for Malaria - AFM's take on the Malaria Bond

During the last Roll Back Malaria Partnership Board meeting, the Board acknowledged the Malaria Bond Business Plan developed by the Task Force on Innovative Financing and endorsed the next phase, including outreach to key stakeholders.

Drug-Resistant Malaria Emerging in Africa: Researchers

Drug-resistant malaria may be emerging in Africa, according to a study that suggests the most powerful drugs against the disease are losing potency on the continent most affected by it.

Buy more and better bednets for the money, says new report

On World Malaria Day, with Médecins sans Frontières reporting a crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has seen an upsurge of cases of the disease overwhelm the available response (see MSF's account here), and general concern about the rise of resistance to antimalarials and the shrinking of resources, here is a bit of hopeful news.

Tanzania: Fresh Dream as IRS Cuts Malaria in Kagera

The annual Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) has cut malaria cases in two regions by over 50 per cent in the last four years, latest reports show. The regions where IRS is taking place every year are Kagera, Mwanza and Mara.

Making drugs into profit in Uganda

Emmanuel Katongole's pioneering efforts in Uganda have turned him into successful businessman making money from producing affordable life-saving drugs for the treatment of HIV and malaria. Fifteen years ago, he started a pharmaceutical company at the time the government was beginning to concentrate more on health care and less on the direct supply of medicines.

Not Too Hot to Handle

The authors of a recent study published in the journal Nature conclude that the forecasted future effects of rising temperatures on malaria "are at least one order of magnitude smaller than the changes observed since about 1900 and about two orders of magnitude smaller than those that can be achieved by the effective scale-up of key control measures."

Assessment of the effect of insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying for malaria control in three rural kebeles of Adami Tulu District, South Central Ethiopia

The present study has provided some evidence for the success of ITNs/IRS combined malaria control measures in Aneno Shisho kebele in Adami Tulu District. Therefore, the combined ITNs/IRS malaria control measures must be expanded to cover all kebeles in the District of Ethiopia.

Artemisinin-based combination therapy does not measurably reduce human infectiousness to vectors in a setting of intense malaria transmission

Benefits of ACT in suppressing transmission are more likely to be evident where transmission is already low or effective vector control is widely implemented.

Do patients adhere to over-the-counter artemisinin combination therapy for malaria? Evidence from an intervention study in Uganda

Overall, adherence to subsidized ACT purchased over-the-counter was found to be moderate. Further, a non-trivial fraction of those who complete treatment are taking the full course too quickly.

Price Subsidies, Diagnostic Tests, and Targeting of Malaria Treatment: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

In response to parasite resistance to older malaria medicines, the global health community is considering making new, more effective malaria treatments called Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs) available over-the-counter at heavily subsidized rates throughout Africa.

High Prevalence of Malaria in Zambezia, Mozambique: The Protective Effect of IRS versus Increased Risks Due to Pig-Keeping and House Construction

To reduce the burden of malaria, national control programs need to ensure high coverage of effective IRS and promote the use of ITNs, particularly in households with elevated risks of infection, such as those keeping farm animals, and those with grass roofs.