{ "items": [ "\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n \n \n SMRU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 27/11/2020. The migrant-friendly residential TB program of SMRU on the Thailand-Myanmar border has achieved high treatment success rate. However, many TB patients admitted to the centers are in advanced stage of disease. Win Pa Pa Htun and colleagues show that early TB death (in the first month of treatment) is highest among pulmonary TB cases and in particular in HIV co-infected patients and in those with co-morbidity. Early detection and treatment for both TB and HIV are crucial for migrants, if the case fatality rate is to be reduced in this marginalized population.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 24/11/2020. Malaria Screener is a smartphone application developed by the National Library of Medicine, in partnership with Richard Maude and colleagues at MORU Epidemiology, aiming to improve the availability of high quality malaria diagnosis. It is cheap, fast and easy-to-use with a standard smartphone and microscope and detects malaria parasites by machine learning.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n OUCRU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 20/11/2020. Providing compensation for participants in clinical research is well established but defining compensation in low-resource settings is challenging due to ethical concerns and the lack of appropriate frameworks. Evelyne Kestelyn and colleagues at OUCRU Vietnam developed a compensation and reimbursement framework, providing a consistent, fair and transparent decision-making process that will be implemented across all future clinical research.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n OUCRU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 17/11/20. Rogier van Doorn and colleagues show that antibiotics were prescribed to almost all 500 children with mild respiratory infection presenting to an outpatient clinic. They assessed prior antibiotic use by questionnaire and urine testing (HPLC), and reported overuse and overprescription of antibiotics when most respiratory infections are caused by viruses, and selection of resistant Enterobacteriaceae in gutflora with transmission potential.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 10/11/20. Artemisinin-based combination therapies are not only effectively curing malaria, they also impact male malaria parasites in their capacity for onward transmission to the mosquito. Here, Andrea Ruecker and colleagues provide clear evidence that artemisinin resistant parasites overcome this sterilising effect to successfully infect mosquitoes under drug pressure, facilitating the spread of artemisinin resistance.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n \n \n SMRU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 06/11/20. Victor Chaumeau and colleagues assessed the impact of outdoor residual spraying on the biting rate of malaria mosquitoes in four villages in Kayin state, Myanmar. They reported a 10-fold decrease in mosquito biting rate immediately after the intervention and concluded that outdoor residual spraying can be used to control malaria mosquitoes in this area.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n KWTRP\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 31/10/2020. Existing neonatal prognostic models are suited for advanced care settings; however, they use parameters that are not available in low-resource settings. Jalemba Aluvaala and colleagues demonstrate that two novel models - NETS and SENSS - using basic routine data can accurately predict in-hospital mortality which may allow us to better understand neonatal mortality.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n OUCRU\n \n \n \n \n OUCRU-Nepal\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 20/10/2020. Buddha Basnyat and colleagues describe findings from NUFIT, the Nepal Undifferentiated Febrile Illness Trial, a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial. The trial revealed that 7 days of sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim (Bactrim) is inferior to azithromycin in the treatment of undifferentiated febrile illness (fever without a focus) and enteric fever in Nepal and the wider region in South Asia.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 13/10/2020. Xin Hui Chan and colleagues summarise their rapid reviews on the efficacy of personal protective equipment for preventing COVID-19 in primary and community care. They highlight how PPE is designed for use as an ensemble, is a complex intervention which should include appropriate training and support, and is the least effective of the hierarchy of controls.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n KWTRP\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 09/10/2020. Children with severe anaemia are more likely to get bacterial infections. Kelvin Mokaya, Sarah Atkinson and colleagues discuss how severe anaemia interferes with iron regulation, and how this promotes bacterial growth in blood and dampens immune responses to these bacteria. The authors also suggest possible studies that can be used to explore their hypothesis.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 07/10/2020. The Asia-Pacific region is the epicentre of the emergence of resistance against frontline antimalarials, and also faces a high proportion of non-falciparum malaria. Sarah Auburn and colleagues review novel approaches for molecular surveillance that can help track drug resistant parasites and the spread of parasites across the region, discussed at a recent APMEN workshop in Jakarta, and how these approaches can provide important information for policy makers in malaria-endemic regions.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n KWTRP\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 29/09/2020. In a collaborative effort to investigate the mechanism of protection conferred by the rare Dantu blood group variant, found at highest frequency in East Africa, Silvia Kariuki and colleagues found a strong correlation between red blood cell membrane tension and parasite invasion ability. Increased membrane tension led to resistance to parasite invasion, and Dantu red blood cells had higher average membrane tension, meaning that a greater proportion resisted invasion. The findings from this study could inform the design of drugs that imitate this increased membrane tension to prevent or treat malaria.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n \n \n SMRU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 25/09/2020. Prevention of mother to child transmission of hepatitis B with maternal tenofovir DF is one option to reach elimination of this infection. However, implementing this in a resource limited setting is challenging. Marieke Bierhoff and colleagues describe the most common challenges and possible solutions like transport assistance and local agreements to facilitate access.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 22/09/2020. This case-control study, conducted by Direk Limmathurotsakul and colleagues in Thailand, shows that wearing masks all the time, maintaining >1 m distance, having close contact for <15 minutes, and frequent handwashing are independently associated with lower risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 18/09/2020. New findings by Ric Price and colleagues highlight that a remarkably high number of P. vivax infections arise from relapses (reactivation of dormant liver stages). This has important implications since almost 85% of recurrent infections could be prevented if more patients were treated with primaquine. The study emphasises the important of work done by the VxWG (Vivax Working Group for the Asia Pacific Malaria Eliminiation Network) in promoting wider access to safe and effective radical cure.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n OUCRU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 11/09/2020. Nineteen different enterovirus serotypes were detected in 1196 Vietnamese children presenting with hand foot and mouth disease during 2015-2018. Le Van Tan and colleagues show that EV-A71 was the major cause, especially in those with severe disease, followed by CV-A6, CV-A10 and CV-A16. Multivalent vaccines are urgently needed to control hand foot and mouth disease.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n \n \n SMRU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 27/08/2020. Germana Bancone and colleagues from EDCD (Nepal) and SMRU conducted this study in malaria endemic districts of Nepal, showing that G6PD deficiency is prevalent among most ethnic groups across the region. G6PD testing will be necessary for safe deployment of 8-aminoquinolines in order to eliminate Plasmodium vivax malaria in Nepal.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 25/08/2020. With renewed interest in chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, much has recently been written and published about the risk of haemolysis in G6PD deficient individuals. William Schilling and colleagues believe many have overlooked the wealth of data which already exists about this very issue. Here presented is an overview of the long-accrued evidence (as well as that from recent COVID-19 publications) that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine do not induce haemolysis in G6PD deficiency.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n LOMWRU\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 10/03/2020. Incidence data about infectious diseases are needed to inform decisions about vaccine introduction. Using data from health-seeking behaviour survey for fever and data from hospital bloodstream infection, Mayfong Mayxay and colleagues estimated typhoid and paratyphoid fever incidence in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and found that the incidence is low, with an annual incidence of 4.7 and 0.5 per 100,000 persons, for typhoid and paratyphoid fever, respectively.
\n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n LOMWRU\n \n \n \n \n MORU\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n \n \nPosted 14/08/2020. David Dance and colleagues describe a multi-centre study, co-ordinated by EUCAST, to establish interpretative criteria for Burkholderia pseudomallei disc diffusion tests. Three MORU network sites (Laos, Thailand and Cambodia) participated. The results, based on 361 isolates, will enable laboratories around the world to conduct quality-assured testing of B. pseudomallei susceptibility.
\n \n\n \n \n