4.06.2012
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Announcements / Press Releases
Last week Roadmaps Updates [RBM] — (English)
Country facts and updates....
At least in theory, malaria and various other vector-borne or communicable diseases are among the easiest to contain [UBC Faculty of Science] — (English)
Anti-inflammatory agents developed by UBC microbiologist Robert Hancock, used in combination with anti-malarial drugs, have been shown to boost survival rates of severe malaria by as much as 50 per cent...
Algae: Key Ingredient in Malaria Vaccine [USCD] — (English)
UCSD scientists have created the first malaria vaccine out of algae, a development that could make treatment affordable and accessible for the two billion individuals worldwide affected by the disease...
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Articles requiring subscription
Poor-quality antimalarial drugs in southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa [Lancet Infect Dis. 2012 Jun;12(6):488-96] — (English)
Poor-quality antimalarial drugs lead to drug resistance and inadequate treatment, which pose an urgent threat to vulnerable populations and jeopardise progress and investments in combating malaria. Emergence of artemisinin resistance or tolerance in Plasmodium falciparum on the Thailand-Cambodia border makes protection of the effectiveness of the drug supply imperative. We reviewed published and unpublished studies reporting chemical analyses and assessments of packaging of antimalarial drugs. Of 1437 samples of drugs in five classes from seven countries in southeast Asia, 497 (35%) failed chemical analysis, 423 (46%) of 919 failed packaging analysis, and 450 (36%) of 1260 were classified as falsified. In 21 surveys of drugs from six classes from 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, 796 (35%) of 2297 failed chemical analysis, 28 (36%) of 77 failed packaging analysis, and 79 (20%) of 389 were classified as falsified. Data were insufficient to identify the frequency of substandard (products resulting from poor manufacturing) antimalarial drugs, and packaging analysis data were scarce. Concurrent interventions and a multifaceted approach are needed to define and eliminate criminal production, distribution, and poor manufacturing of antimalarial drugs. Empowering of national medicine regulatory authorities to protect the global drug supply is more important than ever...
Can New Chemistry Make a Malaria Drug Plentiful and Cheap? [Science Vol. 336 no. 6083 pp. 798-799 DOI: 10.1126/science.336.6083.798] — (English)
German chemist Peter Seeberger, head of a team of 70 researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, has found a way to produce artemisinin, the world's most important antimalaria medication, much more cheaply and easily than current methods allow...
Spatial correlation between malaria cases and water-bodies in Anopheles sinensis dominated areas of Huang-Huai plain, China [Parasites & Vectors 2012, 5:106 doi:10.1186/1756-3305-5-10] — (English)
The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between the distribution of water bodies and presentation of malaria cases using spatial analysis tools in order to provide guidance to help formulate effective strategies for use in controlling the sources of malaria infection, based on the identification of risk areas and population...
Biologically meaningful coverage indicators for eliminating malaria transmission [10.1098/rsbl.2012.0352 Biol. Lett.] — (English)
The overwhelming diversity of the world's malaria transmission systems and optimal strategies for controlling them can be simply conceptualized and mapped across two-dimensional scenario space defined by the proportion of blood meals that vectors obtain from humans and the proportion of human exposure to them which occurs indoors...
Seasonal performance of a malaria rapid diagnosis test at community health clinics in a malariahyperendemic region of Burkina Faso [Parasites & Vectors 2012, 5:103 doi:10.1186/1756-3305-5-103] — (English)
Malaria symptomatic and asymptomatic children were recruited in a passive manner in two community clinics (CCs). Malaria diagnosis by microscopy and RDT were performed. Performance of the tests was determined...
Human exposure to anopheline mosquitoes occurs primarily indoors, even for users of insecticide-treated nets in Luangwa Valley, South-east Zambia [Parasites & Vectors 2012, 5:101 doi:10.1186/1756-3305-5-101] — (English)
We studied the human biting behaviour of the malaria vector Anopheles funestus Giles and the potential malaria vector Anopheles quadriannulatus Theobald in Luangwa valley, south-east Zambia...
Transcriptome of the adult female malaria mosquito vector Anopheles albimanus [BMC Genomics 2012, 13:207 doi:10.1186/1471-2164-13-207] — (English)
To better understand the biological basis of malaria transmission and to develop novel and effective means of vector control, there is a need to explore the mosquito biology beyond the An. gambiae complex...
Plasmodium vivax Duffy binding protein: baseline antibody responses and parasite polymorphisms in a well-consolidated settlement of the Amazon Region [Tropical Medicine & International Health, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2012.03016.x] — (English)
Objective To investigate risk factors associated with the acquisition of antibodies against Plasmodium vivax Duffy binding protein (PvDBP) – a leading malaria vaccine candidate – in a well-consolidated agricultural settlement of the Brazilian Amazon Region and to determine the sequence diversity of the PvDBP ligand domain (DBPII) within the local malaria parasite population...
Seasonal variation in metabolic rate, flight activity and body size of Anopheles gambiae in the Sahel [doi: 10.1242/jeb.069468 June 15, 2012 J Exp Biol 215, 2013-2021] — (English)
To assess the role of eco-physiological changes associated with dry season survival, we measured body size, flight activity and metabolic rate of wild-caught mosquitoes throughout 1 year in a Sahelian locality, far from permanent water sources, and at a riparian location adjacent to the Niger River. We found significant seasonal variation in body size at both the Sahelian and riparian sites...