Roundup of articles and publications on the latest innovations in malaria, polio, lymphatic filariasis, and onchocerciasis

30 March 2024 – 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

• Insecticidal Paint: An Alternate Integrated Vector Management Strategy for Mosquito Control – Link
• Evaluating the carnivorous efficacy of Utricularia aurea (Lamiales: Lentibulariaceae) on the larval stages of Anopheles stephensi, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae – Link
• Comparison of different trapping methods to collect malaria vectors indoors and outdoors in western Kenya – Link
• Cost-effectiveness of malaria vector control activities in Sudan – Link

Diagnostic testing and treatment

• New treatment for relapsing malaria, tafenoquine rolled out in Brazil starting with the Yanomami indigenous people – Link

Data

• The national distribution of lymphatic filariasis cases in Malawi using patient mapping and geostatistical modelling – Link
• Possible potential spread of Anopheles stephensi, the Asian malaria vector – Link

Immunisation

• Over 8.8 million children to be vaccinated in Polio outbreak response campaign – Link
• Zimbabwe’s drive to vaccinate 4.6 million children polio – Link
• Polio immunization campaigns: securing a brighter future for Yemeni children – Link
• DOH rolls out routine immunization, bivalent oral polio vaccine vaccination – Link

Surveillance

• Genomic malaria surveillance of antenatal care users detects reduced transmission following elimination interventions in Mozambique – Link

Elimination progress

• Experts reflect on a decade of Wild Polio-Free Certification for the South-East Asia Region – Link
• Community and health worker perspectives on malaria in Meghalaya, India: covering the last mile of elimination by 2030 – Link
• Hispaniola makes strides against disfiguring disease – Link 

Outbreak

• Circulating vaccine derived polio virus type 2 outbreak and response in Yemen, 2021–2022, a retrospective descriptive analysis – Link

Climate and Health

• WHO launches new toolkit empowering health professionals to tackle climate change – Link
• Amidst spreading infectious diseases and climate change, US FDA should renew its focus on neglected tropical diseases – Link

Other

• Health ministers convene in pivotal year for polio eradication at the 10th meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks – Link
• Prevalence of non-falciparum malaria infections among asymptomatic individuals in four regions of Mainland Tanzania – Link
• Global Research Agenda on Knowledge Translation and Evidence-informed Policy-making – Link 
• Envisioning an Africa free of Neglected Tropical Diseases – Link
• Attributes of Anopheles gambiae swarms in South Central Uganda – Link
• New trial to study how the human immune system adapts to ‘tolerate’ malaria parasites – Link
• UNICEF Zimbabwe humanitarian situation report No. 3 (Polio Response) – 14 March 2024 – Link
• Innovative approaches needed to overcome health system barriers in malaria vaccination – Link

 

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