Search results
Showing results for
ASTMH nominated Professor Rose McGready, SMRU Deputy Director, as an Honorary International Fellow. Rose received the prestigious award in recognition of outstanding accomplishment by an “individual not an American citizen who has made eminent contributions to some phase of tropical medicine and hygiene”. Rose will formally receive her award at the ASTMH Annual Meeting, to be help 28 Oct-1 Nov in New Orleans, Louisiana.
©
Stéphane Ribrault
Impact analysis of flood-induced changes in geographical accessibility and coverage to healthcare in both public and private sector, 2024, Kenya
Posted 20/05/2026. Bibian Robert, Samuel Muchiri and colleagues examined the compounded impact of flooding and a public hospital doctors' strike on geographic access to health facilities in Kenya in 2024. They demonstrated that population coverage within 30 minutes fell from 94% to 73%, with arid northern counties disproportionately affected, underscoring the urgent need for climate-resilient infrastructure and decentralised health services.
Antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens causing community-acquired and hospital-acquired lower respiratory tract infections (2010–24): a systematic review and meta-analysis
Posted 19/05/2026. Gilbert Lazarus and Raph Hamers conducted a systematic review of >336,000 respiratory isolates across 51 countries, showing concerningly high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria causing lower respiratory tract infections, particularly in hospital-acquired infections and LMICs, with variations across regions. The study highlights the need for stronger AMR surveillance, and health systems strengthening worldwide.
Population pharmacokinetics of DNDI-6148 in healthy adults
Posted 13/05/2026. Towards new treatments for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. DNDI-6148 is a promising oral drug candidate for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. In a first-in-human trial, single oral doses up to 380 mg were well tolerated in healthy adults. Frauke Assmus and colleagues developed a population pharmacokinetic model, demonstrating dose-dependent non-linear behaviour and supporting dose selection for future patient trials.
Methods for estimating the burden of acute tropical infectious diseases: A scoping review
Posted 12/05/2026. This scoping review synthesised methods used to estimate the burden of acute tropical infectious diseases, particularly neglected tropical diseases. Reviewing 60 studies, Qian and colleagues identified major advances in machine learning and geospatial modelling, while highlighting persistent challenges including underreporting, data sparsity, and methodological uncertainty that limit evidence-based public health decision-making.
Predicting referral need for febrile children in low-resource community settings in South and Southeast Asia
Posted 08/05/2026. A new multi-country study implemented across South and Southeast Asia, led by MORU and MSF, shows that triage tools combining simple clinical assessments with pulse oximetry or a targeted blood test outperform current globally recognised danger signs in identifying febrile children at highest risk, while substantially reducing unnecessary hospital referrals. By Arjun Chandna
A sustainable house design to improve child health in rural Africa: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
Posted 28/04/2026. Children in Tanzania that lived in novel design houses were less likely to get malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory infections than were those living in conventional homes during a 3-year trial. The two-storey ‘Star Home’ puts bedrooms on the upper floor, where mosquitoes abundance is lower, and the latrine outside to help reduce the spread of diarrhoeal diseases. The design is a proof of concept to demonstrate that research can inform architecture that improves health outcomes. By Lorenz Von Seidlein
A repetitive nucleotide insertion in the rplV gene is associated with in vitro resistance to azithromycin in Rickettsia typhi
Posted 07/05/2026. Weerawat Phuklia and colleagues showed that reduced susceptibility to azithromycin in Rickettsia typhi can be induced under laboratory drug pressure. A small genetic change in a ribosomal protein likely affects how the drug binds. The change was reversible without antibiotic pressure, helping improve laboratory methods for studying antibiotic susceptibility in this bacterium.
Effect of external cephalic version in a resource-limited setting on the Thailand-Myanmar border: a retrospective cohort with propensity score analysis
Posted 06/05/2026. Pregnant women with breech presentation are offered external cephalic version (ECV) to avoid breech birth. Nay Win Tun, Sue Lee and colleagues found no difference in presentation at birth between women who were offered ECV or not. However, successful ECV was associated with significantly better outcomes, highlighting the importance of improving practitioner skill and ECV success rates to maximise clinical benefit.
Plasmodium vivax malaria relapse risk depends on transmission intensity: evidence from a longitudinal study in Northwest Thailand
Posted 05/05/2026. A prospective longitudinal cohort study in Thailand (2010-2014) showed declining incidence (0.19 to 0.09 per person-year) of Plasmodium vivax infections after primaquine radical cure. Primaquine efficacy at 4 months was 75% less than predicted in a previously published taylor-made probability model. This suggests higher doses of 8-aminoquinolines may not be needed in pre-elimination settings. By Cindy Chu
Missed at birth: a cross-sectional analysis of national determinants and subnational changes in birth registration coverage in Kenya, using 2014 and 2022 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data
Posted 27/04/2026. Bibian Robert, Emelda Okiro and colleagues examine national and subnational trends in birth registration in Kenya using 2014 and 2022 Demographic and Health Surveys data. They identify persistent gaps and key determinants of under-registration, highlighting inequities by geography and socio-economic status, and underscores the need for targeted policies to improve civil registration system coverage and inclusivity.
A four-item risk score to target acute HIV infection testing among men who have sex with men in Indonesia: development and validation in the INTERACT prospective cohort
Posted 23/04/2026. Gilbert Lazarus, Raph Hamers and colleagues developed a simple four-item risk score accurately identified acute HIV infection among Indonesian men who have sex with men. The risk score enables targeted resource-efficient testing for acute HIV infection. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment are critical steps to reduce onward transmission and curb the escalated HIV epidemic among key populations in Indonesia.
Sustaining community-based malaria services through stakeholder engagement: lessons from co-creation in northeastern Thailand
Posted 22/04/2026. This public engagement project explored how active participation by malaria post workers and community members can maintain malaria awareness and elimination advocacy in low-transmission settings. Through iterative stakeholder engagement in northeastern Thailand bordering Laos and Cambodia, Monnaphat Jongdeepaisal and colleagues co-created locally owned health education tools integrating malaria with local health priorities to support a stronger and sustainable community-based health care in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Mapping the global prevalence and socioecological drivers of child sexual abuse: a systematic review and synthesis
Posted 14/04/2026. Child sexual abuse affects millions of children worldwide yet remains largely underreported. Salum Mshamu and colleagues highlight its global prevalence and key risk factors across individual, family and societal levels. Prompted by field experiences, they explore how child sexual abuse may surface in global health research, helping researchers better recognize and respond during fieldwork.
A mixed-methods evaluation of outreach service provision by the “Strengthening Migrant Access to Reproductive Health in Thailand” Initiative, 2020–2024
Posted 13/04/2026. Beginning in 2020, SMRU set out on something bold. It completely restructured maternal health services to incorporate outreach delivery—meeting migrant women where they are. Through COVID and a coup in Myanmar, this program delivered and offset the structural barriers migrant women face in accessing care. By Rose McGready
African-specific genetic loci determine iron status and risk of severe malaria and bacteremia in African children
Posted 10/04/2026. In a genetic study of nearly 4,000 African children, John Muriuki and colleagues iidentified African-specific variants that regulate iron and are also linked to risk of severe malaria and bacteremia. These findings highlight iron’s role in host–pathogen interactions and call for population-specific research and more targeted, safer public health strategies to address iron deficiency and anemia.
Community perceptions and acceptance of ivermectin for malaria control on Sumba Island, Indonesia
Posted 01/04/2026. This qualitative study led by OUCRU and MORU researchers and local partners, explores community perceptions and acceptance of using ivermectin-treated livestock for malaria control in Sumba, Indonesia. It finds generally positive attitudes, shaped by perceived benefits, trust and local relevance, while highlighting the importance of respectful research interactions and community engagement. By Mary Chambers
The ‘Public’ in Public Involvement: A Call to Centre Frontline Staff Voices in Health Workforce Research
Posted 31/03/2026. Who counts as the “public” for public involvement in health workforce research, and whose voices are missing? In this viewpoint, Yingxi Zhao and colleagues argue that current involvement frameworks overlook frontline staff. They call for broader, more flexible approaches that centre staff experiences to improve relevance, impact, and meaningful involvement in workforce research.
Impact of switching from manual to automated aerobic blood culture on bacteremia diagnosis in Lao PDR
Posted 25/03/2026. At a Lao primary-to-tertiary hospital, automated blood culture processing did not increase growth yield but shortened time to pathogen detection versus manual methods. However, adopting a single bottle reduced blood volume submitted across ages. Monitoring and clinician feedback on volumes may improve practice, though adding extra bottles would double costs. By Risara Jaksuwan
Prevalence, spatial and temporal distribution of tungiasis in the Kilifi Health and Demographic Surveillance System (KHDSS) in Kenya
Posted 24/03/2026. Using geostatistical techniques, Nelson Ouma, Lynne Elson and colleagues found that tungiasis cases in the Kilifi HDSS area are mainly concentrated in the southern regions. They also observed that prevalence changes throughout the year and different households are affected at different times. Factors linked to tungiasis include population density, rainfall, land surface temperature, vegetation cover, altitude, soil aluminium and organic carbon content, as well as the absence of a house floor.
Cohort Profile: the SMRU Refugee and Migrant Pregnancy Study in Western Thailand and Eastern Myanmar
Posted 17/03/2026. The “Shoklo Malaria Research Unit Refugee and Migrant Pregnancy Cohort” established 40 years ago describes outcomes of refugee and migrant pregnancies at the Thailand-Myanmar border. With 94,645 registrations, the evidence has had local and international impact, improving maternal-newborn health practices, and changing the WHO guidelines on malaria treatment during pregnancy. By Rose McGready