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

30 July 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

• Precision-guided tools for malaria control – Link
• Field evaluation of a volatile pyrethroid spatial repellent and etofenprox treated clothing for outdoor protection against forest malaria vectors in Cambodia – Link
• Beating river blindness: blackfly bites dramatically reduced after breeding sites are destroyed with machetes – Link

Diagnostic testing and treatment

• Therapeutic efficacy of pyronaridine-artesunate (Pyramax) in treating Plasmodium vivax malaria in the central highlands of Vietnam – Link
• Implementation of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) testing for Plasmodium vivax case management, a mixed method study from Cambodia – Link

Data

• Spatiotemporal analysis of within-country imported malaria in Brazilian municipalities, 2004–2022 – Link

Drug and vaccine development

• WHO prequalifies Biological E novel oral polio vaccine – Link
• Development of a new and promising antimalarial agent – Link | Link to Paper

Drug resistance

• Urgent strategies needed to fight artemisinin resistance in East Africa – Link 

Immunisation

• Malaria vaccines: a new era of prevention and control – Link
• Second round of polio vaccination campaign to reach 1.3 million children in 12 governorates of Yemen – Link
• A ‘new era’ in malaria control has begun with a vaccination campaign for children in Ivory Coast – Link

Elimination progress

• Impact of ivermectin and vector control on onchocerciasis transmission in Togo: Assessing the empirical evidence on trends in infection and entomological indicators – Link
  
• Mekong malaria elimination: epidemiology summary, volume 25, January–March 2024 – Link
• Mapping malaria transmission foci in Northeast Thailand from 2011 to 2021: approaching elimination in a hypoendemic area – Link

Outbreak

• In new study, USF researchers connect Florida malaria outbreak with South and Central America – Link | Link to Paper

Climate and Health

• Leading up to COP29 the climate-health nexus is on the frontline to control infectious diseases – Link
• CDC develops new test to identify climate-driven malaria-carrying mosquitoes – Link

Other

• Community involvement in Onchocerciasis post-elimination surveillance in Bududa District, Eastern Uganda: A cross-sectional study – Link
• LEDoxy-SL: A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, 24-Month trial of six weeks of daily doxycycline plus hygiene-based essential care for reducing Progression of Filarial Lymphedema in Sri Lanka – Link
• Impact of COVID-19 on the neglected tropical diseases: a scoping review – Link
• Modelling onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy and the impact of ivermectin treatment on its prevalence and incidence – Link
• Variant type 2 poliovirus isolated from sewage samples in Gaza – Link
• Community engagement in research addressing infectious diseases of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: A qualitative systematic review – Link
• Zimbabwe prepares for ward based mass drug administration for bilharzia, intestinal worms and lymphatic filariasis – Link
• Nepal holds high-level strategic roundtable meeting to tackle neglected tropical diseases – Link

 

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