Author: ulick

In MalariaWorld this week there is reference to a publication preprint in BMC Pediatrics ‘The double burden: co-occurrence of malaria and anaemia in children under five in Ghana – a multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis’ by Karikari et al. The study utilised data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey to assess the co-occurrence […]

In MalariaWorld this week there is a news story about an evolutionary model that examines the tradeoffs that limit harm caused by the malaria parasite. An article in phys org discusses the paper ‘Immunity can impose a reproduction–survival tradeoff on human malaria parasites’ by Patterson et al published in the journal, Evolution. The long modelling […]

Two research studies on novel bug hunting were reported this week. Large scale larviciding in Tanga region was reported in MalariaWorld. And genetically modified mosquitos developed in Tanzania were reported by ‘The Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Society’ on LinkedIn. ‘A large-scale mosquito larviciding in Tanga Region, Tanzania, reduced mosquito densities to varying degrees across malaria […]

NTV Uganda reports that health workers are concerned about low uptake of malaria vaccine (reported in MalariaWorld).  In the report, available on YouTube, Dr Myers Lugemwa, head of the Malaria Control Programme at the Health Ministry, attributes the low turnout for the vaccine to a lack of public awareness. Dr Lugemwa reported that when launched […]

The hype about Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere, so it is no surprise that AI is referenced with respect to malaria research. In MalariaWorld this week there is a link to a blog post ‘Can AI Democratize the Global Fight Against Malaria?’ in Health Policy Watch. The post is a conversation with Jeremy Burrows, Medicines […]

One of the most profound statements I know is by Science Fiction writer, Philip K Dick, best known for Bladerunner. In his 1978 essay ‘How to Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall  Apart Two Days Later’ Dick said “One day a girl college student in Canada asked me to define reality for her, for a […]

The lead news story in MalariaWorld this week is that gut bacteria are associated with life-threatening complications in African children with severe malaria. The referenced article ‘Gut bacterial dysbiosis in pediatric severe malaria associates with post-discharge mortality’ by Bednarski et al was published in Nature Communications. In the study analysis of gut bacteria in stool […]

An article on LinkedIn from Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health at Gates Foundation announced phase III trial for ganaplacide-lumefantrine (GanLum), a new non-artemisinin malaria treatment being developed by Swiss Pharma Giant, Novartis. The posting linked to web post from NPR. ‘New malaria drug could be a life-saver as the standard drug shows signs of […]

In MalariaWorld this week a study from Madagascar examines early bio-efficacy loss of ITNs. In ‘Early Bio-Efficacy Loss of Nets Mass Distributed for Malaria Vector Control in Madagascar in 2018: Implications for Malaria Prevention’, Nepomichene et al assess the bio-efficacy of DawaPlus® 2.0 and PermaNet® 2.0 ITNs upon arrival and at 12, 24, and 36 […]

A case-control study in MalariaWorld this week found association between malaria and undernutrition. ‘Associations between undernutrition and malaria infection: a case–control study from Rwanda’ by Uwimana et al found significant association between malaria and vitamin E and iron deficiency. There was a significant association in the occurrence of malaria with sub-optimal lipid consumption. The case […]