Research

Report of the Twelfth WHOPES Working Group Meeting

None | 15 Jun 2023 | World Health Organization

The twelfth meeting of the WHOPES Working Group, an advisory group to the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES), was convened at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, from 8 to 11 December 2008.

Use of drugs, perceived drug efficacy and preferred providers for febrile children: implications for home management of fever

Elizeus Rutebemberwa et al | 12 Jun 2023 | Malaria Journal

Community distribution of anti-malarials and antibiotics has been recommended as a strategy to reduce the under-five mortality due to febrile illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa. However, drugs distributed in these interventions have been considered weak by some caretakers and utilization of community medicine distributors has been low.

Marked Increase in Child Survival after Four Years of Intensive Malaria Control

Immo Kleinschmidt et al | 03 Jun 2023 | American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

In malaria-endemic countries in Africa, a large proportion of child deaths are directly or indirectly attributable to infection with Plasmodium falciparum. Four years after high coverage, multiple malaria control interventions were introduced on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, changes in infection with malarial parasites, anemia, and fever history in children were estimated and assessed in relation to changes in all-cause under-5 mortality.

Influence of Rapid Malaria Diagnostic Tests on Treatment and Health Outcome in Fever Patients, Zanzibar—A Crossover Validation Study

Mwinyi Msellem et al | 28 Apr 2023 | PloS Medicine

The use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for Plasmodium falciparum malaria is being suggested to improve diagnostic efficiency in peripheral health care settings in Africa.

Pilot study comparing technologies to test for substandard drugs in field settings

Roger Bate, Richard Tren, Kimberly Hess, Lorraine Mooney & Karen Porter | 27 Apr 2023 | African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology

Researchers procured a range of antimalarial, antibiotic and antimycobacterial drugs from cities in six countries: Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. Semi-quantitative thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and disintegration tests, Raman spectrometry, and near-infrared (NIR) spectrometry were used to measure the concentration of active ingredients and excipients (spectrometry only) to determine whether the tested samples were of good quality.

Antimalarial Drugs - Challenges and Suggestions for the Way Forward

None | 21 Apr 2023 | Africa Fighting Malaria

Roll Back Malaria's theme for World Malaria Day 2009 is "Counting Malaria Out". AFM supports the Roll Back Malaria Partnership in their efforts to improve data collection and track progress of malaria control efforts. For the past year, AFM and its partners have focused on "counting out" poor-quality antimalarial drugs.

Malaria misdiagnosis in Uganda - implications for policy change

Joan Nankabirwa et al | 16 Apr 2023 | Malaria Journal

In Uganda, like in many other countries traditionally viewed as harbouring very high malaria transmission, the norm has been to recommend that febrile episodes are diagnosed as malaria. In this study, the policy implications of such recommendations are revisited.

Home management of malaria with artemether-lumefantrine compared with standard care in urban Ugandan children: a randomised controlled trial

Sarah G Staedke et al | 14 Apr 2023 | The Lancet

Home management of malaria—the presumptive treatment of febrile children with antimalarial drugs—is advocated to ensure prompt effective treatment of the disease. We assessed the effect of home delivery of artemether-lumefantrine on the incidence of antimalarial treatment and on clinical outcomes in children from an urban setting with fairly low malaria transmission.

Early results of integrated malaria control and implications for the management of fever in under-five children at a peripheral health facility: a case study of Chongwe rural health centre in Zambia

Pascalina Chanda et al | 17 Mar 2024 | Malaria Journal

Malaria related OPD visits have reduced at Chongwe rural health facility. The reduction in health facility malaria cases has led to an increase in diagnoses of respiratory infections. These findings have implications for the management of non-malaria fevers in children under the age of five years.

Review: Provider Practice and User Behavior Interventions to Improve Prompt and Effective Treatment of Malaria: Do We Know What Works?

Lucy A. Smith et al | 16 Mar 2024 | American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Effective case management of uncomplicated malaria is a cornerstone of successful malaria control. With current calls for the global elimination of malaria, all strategies to control malaria need to reach the highest achievable level of effective implementation.