30 April 2023 – Below we feature a compilation of headlines, scientific articles, and technical reports on innovations, R&D and elimination progress towards polio, malaria, onchocerciasis, and lymphatic filariasis. We will be publishing these updates bi-weekly and hope they are useful.

Vector Control

  • Burden of mosquito-borne diseases across rural versus urban areas in Cameroon between 2002 and 2021: prospective for community-oriented vector management approaches – Link

Diagnostic testing and treatment

  • Malaria chemoprevention – Link
  • Monoclonal antibodies for malaria prevention – Link

Data

  • Application of mathematical modelling to inform national malaria intervention planning in Nigeria – Link

Immunisation

  • Botswana vaccinates 3,70,000 children against polio: Official – Link
  • More African countries set to approve malaria shot; 20 million doses ready in 2023 – Link
  • Vaccination on wheels for nomadic children – Link
  • New Malaria vaccine gains second approval – Link
  • First-ever Malaria vaccine approved for use in Ghana. Malaria kills 620,000 annually – Link

Surveillance

  • Reactive surveillance and response strategies for malaria elimination in Myanmar: a literature review – Link

Elimination progress

  • 2023: A Critical Year for polio eradication efforts in northern Nigeria – Link
  • UAE Press: Eliminating malaria is a reachable goal – Link
  • Is Malaria elimination feasible in Nigeria? – Link
  • Eliminating a disease is rare: GPEI leadership on polio eradication in Pakistan – Link

Outbreak

  • Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) – Burundi – Link
  • Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) – Indonesia – Link
  • New Polio Cases Confirmed – Link

Climate and Health

  • Malaria elimination held back by climate change – Link
  • Risks posed by mosquito-borne disease as climate changes assessed – Link

Other

  • Can Nigeria deal with its burden of neglected tropical diseases? – Link
  • World Malaria Day – Countries must step up efforts to reach vulnerable populations, PAHO Director says – Link
  • Molecular biology laboratory inaugurated in the Dominican Republic – Link
  • Community health workers lead the fight against malaria in Rwanda – Link
  • WHO urges increased implementation of recommended tools to combat malaria – Link
  • World Malaria Day 2023 – Link
  • Altitude, not potential larval habitat availability, explains pronounced variation in Plasmodium falciparum infection prevalence in the western Kenya highlands – Link
  • Oxford malaria vaccine rollout could have ‘major’ implications in sub-Saharan Africa, economist says – Link
  • WHO releases three online products to support implementation of NTD programmes – Link
  •  Drop in childhood vaccinations amid COVID-19 disruption: UNICEF – Link
  • “It was just the perfect storm for malaria” – Pakistan responds to surge in cases following the 2022 floods – Link

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