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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.
Antimicrobial usage among acutely ill hospitalized children aged 2‒23 months in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
Posted 29/09/2025. Overuse of antimicrobials strongly drives antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Among 3,101 acutely ill children admitted to 9 hospitals in Africa and South Asia, 91% received antimicrobials, including 11% where antimicrobials were not indicated. Notably, there was limited escalation and de-escalation of antimicrobial treatment, likely due to a lack of guidance. By Jay Berkley
Communication among health professionals using newborn technology for care: an exploratory scoping review
Posted 30/09/2025. Effective communication supports the adoption of health interventions. Gloria Ngaiza and colleagues reviewed communication among health professionals using newborn technology for care. The findings showed limited information, centred on a few technologies and disciplines of health professionals. The context of technology use was also crucial in communication, and further research is necessary to explore these areas.
Engagement with migrant communities at the Thai-Myanmar border: Lessons learnt from a community advisory board
Posted 26/09/2025. Supa-at Asarath, Napat Khirikoekkong, Phaik Yeong Cheah, and colleagues reflects on engagement with the Tak Province Community Ethics Advisory Board (T-CAB), established in 2009 on the Thai-Myanmar border, capturing views from members on their involvement in health and research topics, their motivations, benefits, and challenges. Findings show how T-CAB improves research ethics, design, and community trust.
Risk stratification of childhood infection using host markers of immune and endothelial activation in Asia (Spot Sepsis): a multi-country, prospective, cohort study
Posted 24/09/2025. WHO danger signs often misclassify febrile children in resource-limited settings. In the first community-based study across seven Asian sites, Arjun Chandna and colleagues show host-response biomarkers, especially sTREM-1, outperform traditional tools for predicting severe illness. These findings highlight the potential for biomarker-based triage tools to transform childhood infection care.
Making MALDI-TOF MS for entomological parameters accessible: A practical guide for in-house library creation
Posted 23/09/2025. MALDI-TOF MS remains underutilised in entomology due to challenges in reference library construction. Marta Maia and colleagues demystify the process and share a detailed workflow for creating in-house libraries. The versatility of this platform is highlighted as it may be used for analysing multiple parameters including species, age, infection, and blood-meal source.
Delivery of care in high mortality hospital settings: a direct observational study examining 1848 h of neonatal nursing in Kenya
Posted 20/08/2025. In resource-constrained countries, deploying better technologies is expected to improve neonatal care, but little attention has been paid to nurse staffing. Abdulazeez Imam and colleagues demonstrate high levels of missed nursing care and ‘off-loading’ of care to largely unsupervised nursing students and mothers, resulting from severe newborn unit nursing shortages in Kenya.
A clinical practice guideline for tuberculous meningitis
Posted 19/08/2025. Joseph Donovan and colleagues at OUCRU took a leading role in the development of the first international clinical practice guideline for tuberculous meningitis. This collaboration reviewed evidence to guide diagnosis and treatment of the most lethal form of tuberculosis, providing recommendations, identifying knowledge gaps, and setting global research priorities for improved care.
A just war on bugs? Ethical differences between antimalarial resistance and antibacterial resistance
Posted 15/08/2025. IIn this commentary, Phaik Yeong Cheah and colleagues argue that antimalarial resistance and antibacterial resistance raise distinct ethical considerations. Unlike antibacterial resistance, mitigating antimalarial resistance has well-defined goals and does not involve environmental factors or the use in livestock. These differences make it clear that not all microbes should be addressed in the same way, and that interventions must be tailored accordingly.
Use of the International Classification of Diseases to Perinatal Mortality (ICD-PM) with verbal autopsy to determine the causes of stillbirths and neonatal deaths in rural Cambodia: a population-based, prospective, cohort study
Posted 08/08/2025. Perinatal cause-of-death data in low-resource settings are scarce. Applying the WHO's new ICD-PM classification system to verbal autopsy data in rural Cambodia, Kaajal Patel and colleagues identified hypoxia, prematurity, and infection as leading causes. We found that adaptations to ICD-PM were needed to better classify deaths, especially when the timing of death was unknown.
Handheld Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy for rapid non-invasive detection of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol in medicinal syrups
Posted 06/08/2025. Pavel Matousek, Paul Newton and colleagues from the Medicine Quality Research Group developed a portable laser-based method, SORS, to detect toxic contaminants in medicinal syrups without opening bottles. This innovation addresses the urgent need for accessible screening, following deadly contamination incidents in Asia and Africa. The technology enables rapid, non-invasive testing across supply chains to improve medicine safety.
Safety and tolerability of metformin in overweight and obese patients with dengue: An open-label clinical trial (MeDO)
Posted 05/08/2025. Nguyet Nguyen Minh and colleagues at OUCRU-Vietnam investigated the safety and tolerability of metformin as an adjunctive therapy in patients with dengue and obesity. Metformin was associated with more adverse events, mainly severe gastrointestinal symptoms and did not improve clinical, laboratory or virological parameters. The data does not support progression to a larger randomised controlled trial.
Risk factors and mitigation strategies of laboratory-acquired infections in research and clinical laboratories worldwide: a systematic review
Posted 01/08/2025. Causes of laboratory‑acquired infections and pathogen escapes are often under‑reported. A review from 2000–2024 identified 712 cases and 17 deaths. Common incidents included needlestick injuries and PPE failures. Research laboratories reported more decontamination issues, while clinical laboratories faced sample‑handling risks. These findings support targeted improvements in laboratory risk management practices. By Sandhya Dhawan
Optimization of heat inactivation protocols for Orientia and Rickettsia species
Posted 30/07/2025. Stuart Blacksell and colleagues evaluated heat inactivation of Orientia tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi, R. conorii, and R. honei at 56 °C, 80 °C, and 90 °C for varying times. All were inactivated at 56 °C for 5 minutes. O. tsutsugamushi showed greater reduction, with time–temperature effects differing by species, highlighting important pathogen‑specific heat‑treatment requirements for biosafety purposes.
Over the counter use of topical corticosteroid for skin conditions among patients before attending skin specialist clinic in Nepal: A qualitative study
Posted 29/07/2025. Why do many patients arrive at skin clinics only after their conditions worsen, despite early treatment? This study from Nepal reveals how over-the-counter steroid use, informal networks, convenience, and customary practices shape care-seeking for skin conditions. These factors also mirror patterns seen in over-the-counter antimicrobial use. By Bipin Adhikari.
Evaluation of the Wondfo G6PD/Hb Test for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency: preliminary performance, matrix equivalence, and usability
Posted 25/07/2025. Increased availability of validated G6PD tests can enhance diagnostic capacity in LMIC for vivax radical cure and neonatal health. This preliminary evaluation of a new point-of-care G6PD quantitative test showed excellent performance in frozen and fresh samples collected in Thailand (SMRU) and USA. A WHO pre-qualification study is now ongoing in Brazil and Thailand. By Germana Bancone
R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine drives diverse immune responses in pre-exposed adults: insights from a phase IIb controlled human malaria infection trial
Posted 23/07/2025. Elizabeth Kibwana and colleagues show the R21/Matrix-M vaccine induces broad, durable and functional antibody responses (IgG1/3, IgA, IgM) with complement fixing ability, and produces memory B cells, along with increased T follicular helper cells in Kenyan adults. These findings support its potential effectiveness in malaria-endemic populations, advancing vaccine strategies for individuals with prior exposure
Changing the narrative: visual methods can reinforce or reduce disease-related stigma
Posted 22/07/2025. Visual methods, like photography and video, play a powerful role in shaping perceptions of skin diseases in global health. They can overcome language barriers, amplify lived experiences, and challenge stigma. Yet, if poorly designed, they risk reinforcing harmful stereotypes and further marginalizing affected communities. Ethical, inclusive approaches are essential for meaningful impact. By Marlous Grijsen
Comparative virulence analysis of seven diverse strains of Orientia tsutsugamushi reveals a multifaceted and complex interplay of virulence factors responsible for disease
Posted 17/07/2025. Scrub typhus, caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, varies in severity depending on the bacterial strain. Jeanne Salje and colleagues compared seven strains in mice and found no single predictor of virulence. Instead, disease severity results from multiple bacterial genes influencing immune responses. These findings could inform future vaccine development and diagnostics.
Single low dose primaquine to block the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum—proposed stand-alone and ACT-adapted regimens
Posted 16/07/2025. At long last and almost 13 years since the WHO recommendation, we now have evidenced-based regimens of single low dose primaquine to block the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum and help eliminate artemisinin and partner drug resistant malaria which is currently spreading rapidly across eastern Africa and beyond. By Bob Taylor
Why should we be concerned by internalised racism in global health?
Posted 15/07/2025. Internalised racism is an overlooked concept that can shape how professionals from historically marginalised backgrounds see themselves within global health. This essay by Bipin Adhikari and colleagues offers a space for reflection on how deep-rooted racial hierarchies may quietly influence identity, behaviour, and institutional culture. Advancing equity in global health also means understanding how these patterns take hold within us.