Author: ulick

In MalariaWorld this week there is a discussion of the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in Republic of Congo. ‘Low practical knowledge but high willingness to use malaria rapid diagnostic tests among healthcare workers in the Republic of Congo’ by Baina et al is a survey of healthcare worker (HCW) knowledge about use […]

In MalariaWorld this week there is a report with data showing that malaria has declined this century in Bangladesh with seasonal variation of occurrence. ‘Long‑term associations between seasonal variability and malaria transmission in Bangladesh: a 16‑year national time‑series analysis’ by Akter et al is a retrospective ecological time-series study conducted using monthly malaria surveillance data […]

MalariaWorld remains on its shorter summer edition and contains no topic of interest not reported previously. Thankfully my email inbox had a thought-provoking article from ‘A Midwestern Doctor’ entitled ‘Why Medicine Won’t Cure You—and How That’s Finally Changing’. The anonymous writer’s substack is a great source of insight of what is wrong with the western […]

In MalariaWorld this week the most interesting article again discusses the link between malaria and poverty. ‘Prevalence, determinants, and wealth‑related inequalities in malaria among under five children in Uganda: evidence from the malaria indicator survey’ by Mwebesa et al is a secondary analysis of data from the Uganda Malaria Indicator Survey (UMIS) 2018–2019 and finds […]

In MalariaWorld this week there is analysis of a demographic and health survey that found that poverty is the largest factor associated with malaria incidence of under-fives. ‘Identifying age-common and age-specific factors of Plasmodium infection in Nigerian children under five: Application of a cluster-aware multistage selection framework to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey’ […]

The mass distribution of free insecticide treated nets (ITNs) is not immune from the law of unintended consequences. In MalariaWorld this week there is a news article from Nature called ‘The catch in repurposing malaria nets’. A study in southwest Madagascar shows how repurposed bed nets provide food and income to coastal households, while raising […]

A theme in MalariaWorld this week is research questioning the effectiveness and/or safety of malaria drugs. The lead news article ‘Artemisinin resistance is rising in East Africa—leaving anti-malarials at risk of failure’. The medicalxpress article by Ryan O’Hare of Imperial College London, discussed a study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, that maps the rise […]

A study in MalariaWorld last week found a link between malaria and nutrition. ‘The gut microbiome in early life predicts malaria susceptibility’ by Dutton et al of the University of Florida studied infants from birth in malaria-endemic eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Infant faecal samples were collected at six weeks, and at three, six and […]

Surprisingly, we can agreed with the headline of a blog post published in MalariaWorld this week, but for a different reason. The post with the same name was written by Fredros Okumu for Devex. Devex is described thus by Editor in chief Raj Kumar – ‘Devex is the platform for insider journalism on global development […]

An article in MalariaWorld this week again reinforces the suspicion that malaria is a generic illness that can be found if sought. It reminds one of the testing for COVID19 that happened in much of the world in 2020-2022. ‘Non-linear age dynamics of malaria infection and fine-scale environmental exposure in rural Uganda’ by Lang et […]