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On 17th March, ERGO's own Catrin Moore paid a visit to the budding scientists at Freeland School. There, pupils had the opportunity to learn about vectors and the diseases that they carry, getting a close look at specimens of ticks and mosquitos under a microscope.
World’s largest clinical trial for COVID-19 treatments expands internationally
OCGHR Research
22 February 2021
The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) Trial, the world’s largest clinical trial for COVID-19 treatments, has now expanded internationally with Indonesia and Nepal among the first countries to join. The first patients have been recruited to RECOVERY International.
Tocilizumab reduces deaths in patients hospitalised with COVID-19
OCGHR Research
12 February 2021
The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial has demonstrated that tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory treatment, reduces the risk of death when given to hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19. The study also showed that tocilizumab shortens the time until patients are successfully discharged from hospital and reduces the need for a mechanical ventilator.
Evidence supports WHO recommendation for primaquine combined with ACTs to block Plasmodium falciparum transmission
OCGHR Publication Research
12 February 2021
Evidence from a new study, initiated by the Primaquine Roll Out Group and conducted at WWARN, supports the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for use of 0.25mg/kg dose of primaquine (PQ) combined with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) to block Plasmodium falciparum transmission.
Baricitinib to be investigated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in the RECOVERY trial
OCGHR Research
3 February 2021
Baricitinib – an anti-inflammatory treatment for rheumatoid arthritis– is being investigated in the RECOVERY trial, the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, taking place in 177 hospital sites across the UK and with over 33,000 patients recruited so far. As an anti-inflammatory, baricitinib may block the signalling activity of cytokine molecules which contribute to the hyper-inflammatory state seen in severe COVID-19. It is thought that baricitinib may act also have some anti-viral activity. The other treatments currently being investigated in the RECOVERY trial are Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, Aspirin and Colchicine.
RECOVERY trial closes recruitment to convalescent plasma treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19
OCGHR Research
15 January 2021
Convalescent plasma has been widely used as a treatment for COVID-19 but to date there has been no convincing evidence of the effect of convalescent plasma on clinical outcomes in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Recruitment to the convalescent plasma arm of the RECOVERY trial has now closed. The preliminary analysis based on 1873 reported deaths among 10,406 randomised patients shows no significant difference in the primary endpoint of 28-day mortality. Recruitment to all other treatment arms – tocilizumab, aspirin, colchicine, and Regeneron’s antibody cocktail – continues as planned.
Check-list recommended to improve reporting of microscopy methods and results in malaria studies
MORU OCGHR Publication Research
13 January 2021
A study to explore the variations of how microscopy methods are reported in published malaria studies has recommended standardised procedures should be implemented for methodological consistency and comparability of clinical trial outcomes.
Receiving and responding to community feedback during health system crises in Kenya
KWTRP Publication Research
18 December 2020
The responsiveness of a health system is one of its goals, alongside fairness in financing and outcomes. Listening and responding to the public can make a health system stronger and fairer. However, responsiveness is likely to be undermined, especially for vulnerable and marginal populations, in periods of crises such as disease outbreaks. In the current COVID-19 crisis, there has been more focus on health system control interventions, with minimal consideration of community views. KWTRP colleagues in Kenya consider community engagement and citizens feedback channels, concerns raised by the public and how they were handled, and highlight lessons learned.
RECOVERY trial finds no benefit from azithromycin in patients hospitalised with COVID-19
OCGHR Research
15 December 2020
Established in March 2020, the RECOVERY trial tests a range of potential treatments for COVID-19, including azithromycin, a widely used antibiotic that also reduces inflammation. The azithromycin arm of the trial was established to determine whether or not the drug has a meaningful benefit among patients hospitalised with COVID-19. A preliminary analysis shows no significant difference in the primary endpoint of 28-day mortality; there was also no evidence of beneficial effects on the risk of progression to mechanical ventilation or length of hospital stay.
New study on the risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after Plasmodium falciparum malaria
MORU OCGHR Publication Research
1 December 2020
A new study quantifying the high risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria aims to identify populations in which a policy of universal radical cure, combining artemisinin-based combination therapy with a hypnozoitocidal antimalarial drug, would be most beneficial.
Aga Khan University enrols first COPCOV Pakistan participant
MORU Research
18 November 2020
As the world anxiously awaits COVID-19 vaccines, people working in healthcare settings remain at risk of infection from COVID-19. The Pakistani arm of COPCOV, the global study to test if hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine can prevent COVID-19 in healthcare workers, has begun to enrol participants at Aga Khan University, joining sites in the UK and Thailand.
Aspirin to be investigated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in the RECOVERY trial
OCGHR Research
6 November 2020
Aspirin will be investigated in the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. The RECOVERY trial is taking place in 176 hospital sites across the UK, and has so far recruited over 16,000 patients. Patients with COVID-19 are at higher risk of blood clots forming in their blood vessels. Platelets seem to be hyperreactive in COVID-19 and may be involved in the clotting complications. As an antiplatelet agent, aspirin may reduce the risk of blood clots in patients with COVID-19.
Trials of Oxford coronavirus vaccine begin in Kenya
KWTRP Research
30 October 2020
Kenya has joined the global efforts in search of an effective vaccine for COVID-19 with the start of a trial evaluating the ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019 Oxford coronavirus vaccine. Following the necessary approvals from regulators, as well as the national ministry of health, and Kilifi county, the first volunteers for the trial have recently received their vaccinations.
IDDO and ISARIC partner to support data collection and analysis for COVID-19
OCGHR Research
27 October 2020
In January 2020, ISARIC launched an international initiative for standardised COVID-19 clinical data collection. To date, ISARIC has collected data from over 118,000 individuals from 648 sites across 52 countries. To maximise the impact of this global collaboration, ISARIC has partnered with IDDO, which has over a decade’s worth of experience in collecting and standardising disparate data from various diseases and areas around the world. Together, ISARIC and IDDO are developing systems that include working with those who collect the data to generate collaborative analysis, and building data governance systems that allow data to be shared more widely.
COVID-19 vaccine research in Kenya
KWTRP Research
24 September 2020
Researchers at KWTRP and University of Oxford collaborate to evaluate the ChAdOx1 nCOV-19 vaccine in Kenya
Large scale systematic review details causes of non-malarial febrile illnesses globally and identifies research priorities
COMRU LOMWRU OCGHR Publication Research
21 September 2020
A series of articles that set out to explore the global distribution of infections that cause non-malarial febrile illness has been published in BMC Medicine. The series brings together the results of large-scale systematic reviews of the causes of fever in Africa, Latin America, and Southern and South-Eastern Asia, and has helped identify major knowledge gaps, geographical differences, priority areas for diagnostics research and development, and enabled the most comprehensive systematic review of literature to date.
RECOVERY COVID-19 phase 3 trial to evaluate REGN-COV2 investigational antibody cocktail
OCGHR Research
15 September 2020
RECOVERY, one of the world’s largest efforts to find effective COVID-19 treatments, will evaluate the impact of Regeneron’s REGN-COV2 investigational antibody cocktail on mortality, hospital stays, and the need for ventilation in the UK. RECOVERY aims to identify treatments that may be beneficial for people hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Microscopy standards to harmonise methods for malaria clinical research studies
MORU OCGHR Publication Research
10 September 2020
Research Malaria Microscopy Standards (ReMMS) applicable to malaria clinical research studies have been published in Malaria Journal. The paper describes the rationale for proposed standards to prepare, stain and examine blood films for malaria parasites.
Hydroxychloroquine doses in COVID-19 prevention trials should be safe, study finds. Now let’s find out if they’re effective.
MORU Research
10 September 2020
As the world waits impatiently for a COVID-19 vaccine, an exhaustive review of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine pharmacology suggests that the doses used in COVID-19 prevention trials are safe, say University of Oxford affiliated researchers in a study published in PLoS Medicine.
Trial results show a 77% reduction in dengue incidence in Wolbachia-treated communities
OUCRU Research
26 August 2020
The World Mosquito Program posted the results of a 3-year randomised controlled trial in Yogyakarta, Indonedia, providing compelling gold standard evidence for the efficacy of the Wolbachia method in controlling dengue. The deployment of Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes lead to a reduction of 77% in dengue incidence in Wolbachia-treated versus untreated areas.
Hydroxychloroquine is being discarded prematurely in COVID-19 prevention
MORU Research
6 August 2020
Hydroxychloroquine could still prevent COVID-19 and save tens of thousands of lives around the world, say leading scientific researchers. While it doesn’t work in treatment of hospitalised patients, it could still prevent infections. However, fraudulent data, unjustified extrapolation and exaggerated safety concerns together with intense politicisation and negative publicity may stop COPCOV, the only large, global clinical trial testing hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 prevention, from ever finding out.