Malaria Research

Objective: Vivax malaria is common in Pakistan. We carried out this study to determine the effects of this infection on blood counts and the impact of splenomegaly on these results.
Methods: This was a retrospective observational study carried out at 1 Mountain Medical Battalion, Bagh, Azad Kashmir. Old medical records of all patients admitted with vivax malaria from Jan 2010 to Oct 2012 were scrutinized. The presence or absence of a palpable spleen and the results of complete blood counts and platelet counts measured at the time of admission were noted down. Anaemia was defined as Hb<13g/dl in men, leukopenia as total leukocyte count (TLC)<4000/µl and thrombocytopenia as platelets count <150000/µl. Data was analysed with STATA version 12.1. The results of haematology parameters were compared amongst patients with splenomegaly and the rest.
Results: Anaemia was seen in 22.15%, neutropenia in 23.49% and thrombocytopenia in 90.60% of the 149 male patients having a mean age of 27.54±5.11 years. The differences in mean blood counts and the number of patients with haematological abnormalities in the two groups were statistically insignificant.
Conclusion: Since the blood counts are not affected by presence or absence of splenomegaly, mechanisms other than hypersplenism are important.

Abstract
Background: An estimated 3.3 billion people live in malaria-endemic regions; sub-Saharan Africa
accounts for 90% of all reported malaria deaths. An estimated 25% of all childhood mortality for those
under the age of five in Africa is said to be attributed to malaria. Insecticide-treated bednets (ITN) have
been shown to be effective in reducing all-cause mortality by 17%.The clinical presentation of malaria
varies across varying transmission intensities. A severe form of the disease, like cerebral malaria, tends
to be more pronounced in regions of low transmission.
Objectives: This paper sought to determine if there are adverse effects associated with ITN use, how
significant is it, and is it a cause for concerns. Moreover, do the benefits associated with ITN use
outweigh possible long-term adverse effects? What implications does the possibility of adverse effects
have on current malaria policies? And are those policies sufficient to mitigate these adverse effects if
they were to occur?
Methods: Literature search for published randomized controlled trial of ITN or ITC studies was carried
out using PubMed and Google Scholar. Search terms were: “delayed immunity,” “naturally acquired
immunity,” “rebound mortality,” “insecticide-treated bednets and naturally acquired immunity,” and
“resurgence malaria.”
Results: Three cluster-randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. Fixed effect meta-analysis
of three studies gave a hazard ratio of 1.06 (95% Cl: 0.97- 1.16 P= 0.75). Results from the pooled
analysis corroborate with those in the included studies, in that, no rebound mortality was detected in
children 12-59 months who had access to ITNs since birth compared with those that were exposed to
normal levels of malaria transmission for at least their first year of life.
Conclusion: Pooled analyses of three cluster-randomized controlled trials suggested that the use of
ITNs in areas of high endemicity is not associated with rebound mortality. However, several
longitudinal studies have reported evidence of rebound mortality due to the development of insecticide
resistance and possibly the delay in immunity acquisition. These contradictory results demonstrate the
dire need for long-term careful monitoring of the impact of ITN and the improvement in individual case
management as well as increased access to modern anti-malarial drugs.

This paper presents a deterministic model for monitoring the impact of drug resistance on the transmission dynamics of malaria in a human population. The model has a diseasefree equilibrium, which is shown to be globally-asymptotically stable whenever a certain threshold quantity, known as the effective reproduction number, is less than unity. For the case when treatment does not lead to resistance development, the model has a wild strain-only equilibrium whenever the reproduction number of the wild strain exceeds unity. It is shown, using linear and nonlinear Lyapunov functions, coupled with the LaSalle Invariance Principle, that this equilibrium is globally-asymptotically stable for a special case. The model has a resistant strain-only equilibrium, which is globally-asymptotically stable whenever its reproduction number is greater than unity and exceeds that of the wild strain. In this case, the two strains undergo competitive exclusion, where the strain with the higher reproduction number displaces the other. Further, for the case when treatment does not lead to resistance development, the model can have no coexistence equilibrium or a continuum of coexistence equilibria. When treatment leads to resistance development, the model can have a unique coexistence equilibrium or a resistant-only equilibrium. This coexistence equilibrium is shown to be locally-asymptotically stable, using a technique based on Krasnoselskii sub-linearity argument. Numerical simulations of the model show that for high treatment rates, the resistant strain can dominate, and drive out, the wild strain. Finally, when the two strains co-exist, the proportion of individuals with the resistant strain at steady-state decreases with increasing rate of resistance development.

Malaria is a contagious disease caused by the infection of erythrocytes by Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted to human by parasitic female anopheles' mosquitoes during feeding. Malaria is a type of infection that can be fatal if left untreated. It is very important to classify malaria virus images quickly and accurately using computer-aided systems. Because there are not enough personnel in each health unit to perform this procedure, traditional methods are both time consuming and open to errors. Once malaria images have been classified, it will be easier to diagnose malaria virus related diseases. Multiple methods have been developed to process large amounts of data. In particular, deep learning methods are frequently used for classification. In this paper, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have been used to classify malaria images as healthy and parasited. Then, medium filter and gauss filter are applied to the original dataset. When classifying malaria data, the highest accuracy rate is achieved in the DenseNet201 architecture with gaussian filtered data of 97.83%. It is observed that the result obtained with the preprocessed data are higher. The application is implemented in the Matlab environment and works independently of the size of the images in the data set.

This paper presents a seven-dimensional ordinary differential equation modelling the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria between humans and mosquitoes with non-linear forces of infection in form of saturated incidence rates. These incidence rates produce antibodies in response to the presence of parasite-causing malaria in both human and mosquito populations.The existence of region where the model is epidemiologically feasible is established. Stability analysis of the disease-free equilibrium is investigated via the threshold parameter (reproduction number R0) obtained using the next generation matrix technique. The model results show that the disease-free equilibrium is asymptotically stable at threshold parameter less than unity and unstable at threshold parameter greater than unity. The existence of the unique endemic equilibrium is also determined under certain conditions. Numerical simulations are carried out to confirm the analytic results and explore the possible behavior of the formulated model.

This is the mere Proposal(Not full/Actual Research) done by GENI MABELYA for Dissertation Submitted to the School of Graduate studies in Partial fulfillment for the Degree of masters of public health 2015.
This work is a copyright material protected under the Copyrights and Neighboring Rights Act, [CAP 218 R.E 2002], (Laws of Tanzania) and International Instruments for the protection of intellectual property rights. All Rights Reserved. No part of this research paper may be reproduced, copied, adopted, abridged or stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, ( save for the application of ‘fair use doctrine,’ ) without the prior written permission of the author or CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH AND ALLIED SCIENCES SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH in that behalf.

Malaria ranks among the foremost health issues facing the world, especially tropical countries. This endemicity of malaria has threatened health delivery services of the country. Ashanti region records one of the highest malaria cases in the country. This research studies the prevalence of malaria worldwide. The research further talks about the incidence of malaria in the Lake Bosomtwe Area, and the history of the Bosomtwe-Atwima Kwawoma district. In this paper, I explored the causes, effects, preventions and treatment of malaria. Questionnaires were used in collecting data from selected respondents at a random sampling. Specific attention was given to causes of malaria in the lake Bosomtwe area as unsanitary practices, ignorance and lack of protective devices. Poverty and death were explored in this research as the major effects of malaria on the inhabitants.

Indian novelists in English for whom globalization is an everyday fact of existence. Like such novelists as Rushdie, Seth, Desai and Mistry, Ghosh seems to move effortlessly across national frontiers --as Robert Dixon puts it, not inhabiting "a culture rooted in a single place, but a discursive space that flows across political and national boundaries, and even across generations in time" (9). Dixon's remark refers specifically to Ghosh's second novel, The Shadow Lines (1988), which takes the events that followed in the wake of Partition as its central subject, suggesting that the cartographical shadow-lines that divide Bengal are political fictions that nonetheless generate all-too-real murderous consequences. As I have put it myself, "'Shadow lines' are, however, far more than just the borders constructed by politicians. They are also the lines of demarcation that separate colonized and colonizer, present and past, self and image. Ultimately they are the signifying acts that construct notions of discrete identity [. . .]" (65-66). Ghosh projects a view in which the frontier that separates India from East Pakistan/Bangladesh is a "looking-glass border" (Shadow Lines 228) and in which complex affinities link the apparently dichotomized worlds of colonizer and colonized.

Background: In Ghana malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in children under 5 years. The disease ranks number one in both outpatient and inpatient statistics. The socio-economic impact of malaria is so high that it contributes highly to poverty and underdevelopment. Malaria control and elimination interventions have been scaled up and intensified as the current efforts to attain World Health Assembly, Roll Back Malaria, and Millennium development targets, to reduce and interrupt disease transmission. The major malaria intervention tools now include: The use of long-lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLIN), Artemisinin-based Combination therapy (ACT), Indoor Residual Spraying of insecticide (IRS), and Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy (IPT). Despite these interventions the prevalence remains among children hence this study.

Objectives: This study aimed at examining the correlation between body temperature and parasitemia among children presenting with malaria at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi. Every caretaker of the randomly selected children either female or male who  visited the Hospital at the time of data collection were interviewed using pre-tested structured questionnaire - on ITNs ownership, actual usage among those who own ITNs, mode of parasite transmission, surrounding environment and, socio-demographic factors and body temperature of children were measured using digital thermometer.

Results: A total of 73 children aged between 1-12years were recruited and ascertained for parasitemia using the microscope after staining.

Conclusion and recommendation: The temperature of patients at the time of reporting to the hospital has no correlation to the level of parasitemia.

Anopheles larval control, recently recommended by WHO, requires a deep knowledge of the distribution and typology of larval breeding sites. The objective of this study is to identify the different larval habitats colonized by Anopheles and their insecticide resistance mechanism. Larval surveys were carried out in three Districts in south of Benin in 2017, during the rainy and dry seasons. Mosquitoes breeding sites have been characterized and mapped. Mosquitoes from the emergence of larvae were tested to deltamethrin and bendiocarb according to the WHO protocol. The molecular identification of anopheles and the genotyping of the kdr mutation were performed by PCR and the expression of oxidases, esterases, and GSTs was measured. Larval surveys have identified 37 breeding sites categorized into 13 types. Most of the larval habitats were anthropogenics. An. coluzzii and An. gambiae were the two malaria vectors found in sympatric in the three study sites. These two vectors were highly resistant to deltamethrin with the presence of the kdr L1014F mutation at very high frequencies and an increase in esterase activities in anopheline populations collected in Zè and GST in Abomey-Calavi and Allada. The proliferation of malaria vectors is attributable to the unhealthy environment and human activities that create and maintain mosquito breeding. This study highlighted diversity in the type of breeding site of An. gambiae s.s in the Atlantic Department, suggesting the adaptation of this species in its environment. These results could be used to develop an antilarval control strategy in Abomey-Calavi, Zè and in Allada.

To identify potential selective and resistance-breaking mosquitocides against the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, we investigated the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory and mosquitocidal properties of isoxazol-3-yl dimethylcarbamates (15), and the corresponding 3-oxoisoxazole-2(3H)-dimethylcarboxamide isomers (14). In both series, compounds were found with excellent contact toxicity to wild-type susceptible (G3) strain and multiply resistant (Akron) strain mosquitoes that carry the G119S resistance mutation of AChE. Compounds possessing good to excellent toxicity to Akron strain mosquitoes inhibit the G119S mutant of An. gambiae AChE (AgAChE) with ki values at least 10- to 600-fold higher than that of propoxur, a compound that does not kill Akron mosquitoes at the highest concentration tested. On average, inactivation of WT AgAChE by dimethylcarboxamides 14 was 10-20 fold faster than that of the corresponding isoxazol-3-yl dimethylcarbamates 15. X-ray crystallography of dimethylcarboxamide 14d provided insight into that reactivity, a finding that may explain the inhibitory power of structurally-related inhibitors of hormone-sensitive lipase. Finally, human/An. gambiae AChE inhibition selectivities of these compounds were low, suggesting the need for additional structural modification.

Objective: To determine the accuracy of thrombocytopenia as a diagnostic marker for malaria. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Medicine, 1 Mountain Medical Battalion (Bagh, Azad Kashmir) from July to September 2013. Methodology: Adult patients presenting with a short history of fever without any localizing symptoms or signs were included. Exclusion criteria included patients with fever of > 7 days duration, those in whom an underlying diagnosis could be easily confirmed on the basis of history and physical examination, those on antibiotics/ antimalarials or antiplatelet agents and patients with Dengue fever. Platelet counts in venous whole blood samples were analysed with Sysmex KX-21 Haematology analyzer. Thick and thin peripheral blood smears were then prepared and examined for malarial parasites. Diagnosis of malaria was established on the basis of smear findings. Results: There were 245 patients in total. Out of the 109 patients with thrombocytopenia, 61 had vivax malaria. Platelets count was normal in 136 patients, including 4 with vivax malaria. Falciparum malaria was not seen in any patient. All cases with malaria were uncomplicated. Various measures of accuracy thus calculated were sensitivity 93.85%, specificity 73.33%, positive predictive value 55.96%, negative predictive value 97.06%, positive likelihood ratio of 3.52, negative likelihood ratio of 0.08, diagnostic odds ratio 41.94 and diagnostic accuracy of 78.78%. Conclusion: Thrombocytopenia has an excellent sensitivity and a very good specificity for vivax malaria. Normal platelet counts provide very strong evidence against malaria as the etiology of fever without a focus.

Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum predominates in Africa where the mortality attributed to its approaches 1 million annually, and accounts for 90% of the global malaria burden. The main purpose was to explore the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum among pregnant women in Yaqshid district, Mogadishu-Somalia. In this cross-sectional study, data was collected using semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS. More than one-fifth (26.7%) of the respondents currently has Plasmodium falciparum and about 82% of them suffered Plasmodium falciparum during their pregnancy. Slightly above three-fourths of the respondents were housewife (77.3%), followed by less than one-tenth health staff (8.7%) and nearly half of the respondents had Bachelor degree (46.7%). The use of routine, nationwide surveillance of infection prevalence is the key to monitoring the changing epidemiology of malaria in all countries scaling up coverage of malaria preventative strategies. Somalia has a range of political and economic barriers that might limit the success of a strategic, epidemiologically driven malaria control programmer. It has been possible to demonstrate, however, that the foci of greatest disease risk are predominantly concentrated in one area in the south and that infection risks are very low in the northern reaches of the country.

Background: Malaria is seasonal and this may influence the number of children being treated as outpatients in hospitals. The objective of this study was to investigate the degree of seasonality in malaria in lakeshore and highland areas of Zomba district Malawi, and influence of climatic factors on incidence of malaria. Methods: Secondary data on malaria surveillance numbers and dates of treatment of children <5 years of age (n = 374,246) were extracted from the Zomba health information system for the period 2012–2016, while data on climatic variables from 2012 to 2015 were obtained from meteorological department. STATA version 13 was used to analyse data using non-linear time series correlation test to suggest a predictor model of malaria epidemic over explanatory variable (rainfall, temperature and humidity). Results: Malaria cases of children <5 years of age in Zomba district accounts for 45% of general morbidity. There was no difference in seasonality of malaria in highland compared to lakeshore in Zomba district. This study also found that an increase in average temperature and relative humidity was associated of malaria incidence in children <5 year of age in Zomba district. On the other hand, the difference of maximum and minimum temperature (diurnal temperature range), had a strong negative association (correlation coefficients of R 2 = 0.563 [All Zomba] β = −1295.57 95% CI −1683.38 to −907.75 p value <0.001, R 2 = 0.395 [Zomba Highlands] β = −137.74 95% CI −195.00 to −80.47 p value <0.001 and R 2 = 0.470 [Zomba Lakeshores] β = −263.05 95% CI −357.47 to −168.63 p value <0.001) with malaria incidence of children <5 year in Zomba district, Malawi. Conclusion: The diminishing of malaria seasonality, regardless of strong rainfall seasonality, and marginal drop of malaria incidence in Zomba can be explained by weather variation. Implementation of seasonal chemoprevention of malaria in Zomba could be questionable due to reduced seasonality of malaria. The lower diurnal temperature range contributed to high malaria incidence and this must be further investigated.

Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) that lives part of its life in humans and part in mosquitoes, and it remains one of the major killers of humans worldwide, threatening the lives of more than one-third of the world population. This study determined the effect of malaria infection on the kidney function and lipid profile of malarial patients and normal individuals. This was done by carrying out tests on markers of kidney function – creatinine and electrolytes (Sodium, Potassium, Chloride and Bicarbonate ions) – and also on the concentration of
LDL- and HDL-cholesterol, triacylglycerol and VLDL as marker for lipid profile estimation. The results obtained by us showed that there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) in either of the tested electrolytes of malaria infected patients when compared with normal individuals. The only significant
variations were found in urea and creatinine. Urea concentration was significantly higher (41.70 ± 6.11a) in malaria patients when compared with normal individuals (30.00 ± 21.21b), while creatinine concentration was significantly lower (0.863 ± 0.233b) in malaria patients when compared with normal individuals (1.00 ± 0.707a). In malaria infected patients, the serum status of total and HDL-cholesterol and VLDL was higher than in normal individuals. The high value of urea in malaria infection cases was attributed to excess breakdown of red blood cells and low urea clearance through the kidney. The low level of creatinine could be due to either an increase in its clearance or decreased
muscular activities that occur in malaria infection.

Abstract: The leaf oils of Psidium guajava (white fruit) and Psidium guajava (pink fruit) collected in
KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa has been examined by Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GCMS),
and the apparent concentrations were determined by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector.
A total of twenty compounds of 88.9 % from white fruit and forty eight compounds representing 97.5 % from
pink fruit of the oils were identified. P. guajava (white fruit) produced oil that was much richer in hydrocarbons
(38.8 %), sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons (24.0 %), oxygenated sesquiterpenes (19.1 %) and alcohol (6.8 %).
The major constituents of the essential oil were caryophyllene oxide (14.0 %), caryophyllene (13.9 %), 1Hcycloprop[
e]azulene (11.6 %), adamantane (9.4 %), 3,7,11-trimethyl-1,6,10-dodecatrien-3-ol (6.8 %), α-
cubebene (6.7 %), 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (3.9 %), β-humulene (3.5 %), 1,2,4a,5,6,8ahexahydronaphthalene
(3.2 %) and α-caryophyllene (3.0 %). The leaf oil of P. guajava (pink fruit) contained
a mixture of hydrocarbons (30.5 %), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (25.4 %), alcohol (24.4 %) and oxygenated
sesquiterpenes (15.0 %). The major constituents of the essential oil were caryophyllene oxide (13.0 %),
tetracyclo[6.3.2.0(2,5).0(1,8)]tridecan-9-ol (12.9 %), caryophyllene (9.5 %), 3,7,11-trimethyl-1,6,10-
dodecatrien-3-ol (9.5 %), 1H-cycloprop[e]azulene (8.1 %), Z-3-hexadecen-7-yne (4.6 %) and eudesma-4(14),11-
diene (4.1 %). High concentration of caryophyllene oxide and caryophyllene in both the oils suggests its
usefulness as natural preservatives in the food industry. The terpenic and ester compounds could contribute to
the unique flavor of P. guajava leaves.

WHO statistics show that nearly 300 million people suffer from malaria on a yearly basis and over a million of them die from it. Statistically, every 40 seconds one child of all children in the world dies from malaria. In Africa, almost 90 percent of all recorded deaths are caused by malaria. Some time ago malaria was also a fatal disease in South-East Asia. Nevertheless, in the twentieth century a number of preventative actions have been undertaken and there has been a major improvement in the quality of intervention agencies' activities. However, a new strain – resistant to treatment and prevention – has started to grow there. Paper is an analysis of the economic impact of malaria in South East Asia, based on historical data. The study concentrates on economic perspective and outcomes of malaria in Asia region.

Judul Penelitian : Tingkat Parasitemia Malaria pada Anak-anak Di Dalam dan Di Luar Wilayah Kerja PT Freeport Indonesia
Nama / NIM : Riska Amalia Okyana / P17334109052

ABSTRAK

Awal tahun 1970 PT Freeport membutuhkan lokasi membangun permukiman dan berbagai infrastruktur di Kab. Mimika. Sehingga terjadi lonjakan penduduk sampai saat ini, kelompok manusia yang berpindah dalam jumlah banyak inilah yang menjadi faktor penting dalam meningkatnya malaria di daerah tersebut. Telah dilakukan penelitian untuk mengetahui perbedaan rata-rata kepadatan parasit malaria pada anak-anak di dalam dan di luar wilayah kerja PTFI. Metode yang digunakan adalah deskriptif studi perbandingan. Populasinya adalah seluruh penderita positif malaria di dalam dan di luar wilayah kerja PTFI, dan sampel yang dipilih adalah penderita pada anak-anak dengan rentang umur 6-12 tahun. Teknik pengambilan sampel menggunakan Purposive Sampling selama 3 hari pada setiap tempat dan data lain diambil dari tahun 2011 sampai Mei 2012, dibuat sediaan apus tipis dan sediaan tetes tebal kemudian diwarnai dengan pewarnaan Giemsa. Untuk mengetahui tingkat parasitemia dihitung per 200 leukosit pada sediaan tetes tebal atau dihitung per 1000 eritrosit pada sediaan apus tipis. Hasil penelitian diperoleh 91 anak positif malaria dari 127 anak yang diperiksa. Rata-rata kepadatan parasit malaria pada anak-anak di dalam wilayah kerja PTFI sebesar 5280/µl. Sedangkan di luar wilayah kerja PTFI yaitu; sebesar 9775/µl di Puskesmas Timika, 6492/µl di Satuan Pemukiman 12 (Desa Utikini Baru), dan 13826/µl di Satuan Pemukiman 9 Timika. Terdapat perbedaan yang signifikan antara tingkat parasitemia pada anak-anak di dalam dan di luar wilayah kerja PT Freeport Indonesia.

Kata Kunci : Parasitemia
Jumlah Pustaka : 12 (1993-2010)
 
Title of Research : Parasitemia Degree of Children’s Malaria In and Outside The Working Area of PT Freeport Indonesia
Name / NIM : Riska Amalia Okyana / P17334109052

ABSTRACT

Beginning in 1970 PT Freeport requires the location to build settlements and other infrastructure in Kab. Mimika. So that increase population until now, groups of people who migrate in large quantities is an important factor in the increase in malaria in the area. Has done research to find out the difference in mean parasite density of children’s malaria in and outside the working area of PT Freeport Indonesia. This type of research is a descriptive study of comparison. The population in this study were all patients with positive malaria within and outside the working area of Freeport, and the selected sample is a children 6-12 years. Using purposive sampling techniques, Sampling for 3 days at each site and other data taken from 2011 until May 2012, made of thin smears and thick drops then stained with Giemsa staining. To determine the level of parasitemia was calculated per 200 leukocytes in thick drops or calculated per 1000 erythrocytes on thin smears. The results obtained 91 children from 127 malaria positive children examined. The average density of malaria parasites in children in the working area of Freeport 5280/µl. Meanwhile, outside the Freeport areas; for 9775/µl in Timika health center, 6492/µl in Settlement Unit 12 (New Utikini Village), and Settlement Unit 9 13826/µl in Timika. There are significant differences between the level of parasitemia in children ins and outside the working area of PT Freeport Indonesia.

Keyword : Parasitemia
Reference : 12 (1993-2010)

Background
In malaria endemic areas, infected blood donors serve as a source of infection to blood recipients, which may adversely affect their prognosis. This necessitates the proper screening of blood to be used for transfusion in these areas. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in blood donors in Buea, Cameroon, and to evaluate the performance of a rapid diagnostic test (RDT), a malaria antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and a Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) ELISA in the detection of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in the target population.

Methods
In a prospective study conducted between September 2015 and June 2016, 1 240 potential blood donors were enrolled. The donors were screened for malaria parasites using Giemsa microscopy (GM) and a RDT. A sub-sample of 184 samples, comprising 88 positive and 96 negative samples, were selected for the evaluation of the pLDH ELISA and the antibody ELISA. The chi-square test and correlation analysis were performed as part of the statistical analyses. The statistical significance cut-off was set at P < 0.05.

Results
The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in this study was found to be 8.1% (95% CI: 6.6 – 9.7). The prevalence was not observed to be dependent on the age or sex of the participants. The RDT had a sensitivity (88.0%), specificity (99.1%), and negative predictive value (99.0%) higher than the ELISAs. The performance of the pLDH ELISA, which demonstrated the highest positive predictive value (91.6%), was generally comparable to the RDT. The sensitivity was lowest with the antibody ELISA (69.9%), which also demonstrated the highest false positive and false negative rates. The detection threshold for the pLDH (three parasites/μl) was lower compared to the RDT (50 – 60 parasites/μl). Non-significant positive correlations were observed between the parasite density and the pLDH titers and malaria antibody titers.

Conclusions
Overall, the RDT and the pLDH ELISA demonstrated a perfectly correlated agreement with GM, meanwhile the antibody ELISA demonstrated a substantially correlated agreement with GM. The pLDH is therefore recommended for mass screening of blood (to detect malaria parasitaemia) for transfusions in the study area. However, where this is not feasible, an RDT will suffice.

Background: Malaria is a major health problem in the tropical and subtropical world. In India, 95% of the population resides in malaria endemic regions and it is major public health problem in most parts of the country. The present work has developed malaria maps by integrating socio-economic, epidemiology and geographical dimensions of three eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. The area has been studied in each dimension separately, and later integrated to find a list of vulnerable pockets/villages, called as malarial hotspots. Methods: The study has been done at village level. Seasonal variation of malaria, comparison of epidemiology indices and progress of the medical facility were studied. Ten independent geographical information system (GIS) maps of socio-economic aspects (population, child population, literacy, and work force participation), epidemiology (annual parasitic index (API) and slides collected and examined) and geographical features (settlement, forest cover, water bodies, rainfall, relative humidity, and temperature) were drawn and studied. These maps were overlaid based on computed weight matrix to find malarial hotspot. Results: It was found that the studied dimensions were inter-weaving factors for malaria epidemic and closely affected malaria situations as evidenced from the obtained correlation matrix. The regions with water logging, high rainfall and proximity to forest, along with poor socio-economic conditions, are primarily hotspot regions. The work is presented through a series of GIS maps, tables, figures and graphs. A total of 2,054 out of 8,973 villages studied were found to be malarial hotspots and consequently suggestions were made to the concerned government malaria offices. Conclusion: With developing technology, information tools such as GIS, have captured almost every field of scientific research especially of vector-borne diseases, such as malaria. Malarial mapping enables easy update of information and effortless accessibility of geo-referenced data to policy makers to produce cost-effective measures for malaria control in endemic regions.

Expansion of various types of water infrastructure is critical to water security in Africa. To date, analysis of adverse disease impacts has focused mainly on large dams. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of both small and large dams on malaria in four river basins in sub-Saharan Africa (i.e., the Limpopo, Omo-Turkana, Volta and Zambezi river basins). The European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) Yearly Water Classification History v1.0 data set was used to identify water bodies in each of the basins. Annual malaria incidence data were obtained from the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) database for the years 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. A total of 4907 small dams and 258 large dams in the four basins, with 14.7million people living close (

Introduction: Assam is considered as a vulnerable state for malarial infection. Malarial patient exhibit several divergent values in their blood cell parameter as well as changes in concentration of normal serum ferritin level. The study was intended to observe the concentration of serum ferritin level and estimation of hematological feature among malaria patients in Assam.
Materials and Methods: During the period from August 2012 to January 2013, a total of 77 blood samples have been collected from 77 individuals suspected with malaria from different malaria endemic districts of Assam.
Results: A total of 36 cases were found to be malaria positive of which 25 were symptomatic and 11 were asymptomatic. Overall the percentage of parasitaemia was found 0.1-15%. Distribution of malaria cases was observed in all age groups and both the sexes. Hematological values among the malaria positive patients revealed that about 89% were having anaemia, 66.67% with Thrombocytopenia and 47% Lymphocytopenia. Iron de􀏐iciency anaemia was recorded in 63.87% of the patients. Other haematological
status includes 30.56% individual with Granulocytosis and 50.00% subjects with low Mean platelet volume etc. Results also showed that the serum ferritin level in the malaria positive population ranged in from 70 ng/ml to 300 ng/ml, with a mean value of 114 ng/ml.
Conclusion: In our study, hematological abnormality and low serum ferritin level is observed as an imperative marker for identi􀏐ication of malaria patients.
Key words: Malaria, polymerase chain reaction, SD Bioline malaria Pv/Plasmodium falciparum test

Malaria and HIV, two of the world’s most deadly diseases, are widespread, but their distribution overlaps greatly in sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, malaria and HIV coinfection (MHC) is common in the region. In this paper, pertinent publications on the prevalence, impact,
and treatment strategies of MHC obtained by searching major electronic databases (PubMed, PubMed Central, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Scopus) were reviewed, and it was found that the prevalence of MHC in SSA was 0.7%–47.5% overall. Prevalence was 0.7%–47.5% in
nonpregnant adults, 1.2%–27.8% in children, and 0.94%–37% in pregnant women. MHC was associated with an increased frequency of clinical parasitemia and severe malaria, increased parasite and viral load, and impaired immunity to malaria in nonpregnant adults, children, and pregnant women, increased in placental malaria and related outcomes in pregnant women, and impaired antimalarial drug efficacy in nonpregnant adults and pregnant women. Although a few cases of adverse events have been reported in coinfected patients receiving antimalarial and antiretroviral drugs concurrently, available data are very limited and have not prompted major revision in treatment guidelines for both diseases. Artemisinin-based combination therapy and cotrimoxazole are currently the recommended drugs for treatment and prevention of malaria in HIV-infected children and adults. However, concurrent administration of cotrimoxazole and sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine in HIV-infected pregnant women is not recommended, because of high risk of sulfonamide toxicity. Further research is needed to enhance our understanding of the impact of malaria on HIV, drug–drug interactions in patients receiving antimalarials and antiretroviral drugs concomitantly, and the development of newer, safer, and more cost-effective drugs and vaccines to prevent malaria in HIV-infected pregnant women.

This paper presents a deterministic model for monitoring the impact of drug resistance on the transmission dynamics of malaria in a human population. The model has a diseasefree equilibrium, which is shown to be globally-asymptotically stable whenever a certain threshold quantity, known as the effective reproduction number, is less than unity. For the case when treatment does not lead to resistance development, the model has a wild strain-only equilibrium whenever the reproduction number of the wild strain exceeds unity. It is shown, using linear and nonlinear Lyapunov functions, coupled with the LaSalle Invariance Principle, that this equilibrium is globally-asymptotically stable for a special case. The model has a resistant strain-only equilibrium, which is globally-asymptotically stable whenever its reproduction number is greater than unity and exceeds that of the wild strain. In this case, the two strains undergo competitive exclusion, where the strain with the higher reproduction number displaces the other. Further, for the case when treatment does not lead to resistance development, the model can have no coexistence equilibrium or a continuum of coexistence equilibria. When treatment leads to resistance development, the model can have a unique coexistence equilibrium or a resistant-only equilibrium. This coexistence equilibrium is shown to be locally-asymptotically stable, using a technique based on Krasnoselskii sub-linearity argument. Numerical simulations of the model show that for high treatment rates, the resistant strain can dominate, and drive out, the wild strain. Finally, when the two strains co-exist, the proportion of individuals with the resistant strain at steady-state decreases with increasing rate of resistance development.

Neglected tropical diseases are a group of tropical diseases
endemic in poor countries even though medical
treatment and cures are available. They are considered
a global health problem due to the severity of the physiological
changes they induce in their hosts. Malaria is
a disease caused by Plasmodium sp. that in its cerebral
form may lead to acute or long-term neurological deficits,
even with effective antimalarial therapy, causing
vascular obstruction, reduced cerebral blood flow and
many other changes. However, Plasmodium falciparum
infection can also develop into a cerebral malaria (CM)
disease that can produce neurological damage. This
review will discuss the mechanisms involved in the
neuropathology caused by CM, focusing on alterations
in cognitive, behavior and neurological functions in human
and experimental models.

Background: Malaria in Cape Verde is unstable, with a sporadic and seasonal transmission of low endemicity. In this sense, the community perceptions regarding malaria transmission, their attitudes and practices against the disease are very important to understand and to better develop the best strategical policies to achieve malaria elimination goal. This study aim to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Cape Verdean population about malaria, a country in the elimination step of disease. Methods: A cross-sectional malaria KAP Survey was performed at the household level. A structured open questionnaire was developed and applied to residents of randomly selected households from 5 islands and 15 municipalities in Cape Verde. Correlation analyses were performed using a logistic regression model to determine the factors that are associated with the complete knowledge of the population about malaria.

Plasmodium vivax malaria is an important public health problem in Venezuela where the therapeutic regimen administers primaquine as the only drug available to prevent recurrence of P. vivax malaria. However, Primaquine is an oxidative drug that can cause hemolysis in subjects deficient in the enzyme Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase. The objective of this paper is to show concisely what was done and found about this enzyme defect in Venezuela. Based on the review of the scientific literature of virtual data (Bireme/OPS, Medline, PudMed, Scielo) from descriptors or related keywords, the objective of this research was achieved. The information found is located in three chapters: Malaria as a public health problem; treatment of P. vivax malaria and G6PD deficiency; and G6PD deficiency in Venezuela. It is concluded that the researchers have advanced progressively and firmly in obtaining information about G6PD deficiency in Venezuela, a country considered endemic for P. vivax malaria, in order to provide key information for the treatment of such an important health problem.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of coinfection with malaria and intestinal parasites, as well as to determine its association with anaemia in children aged 10 years and below in Muyuka, Cameroon.
Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Participants were febrile children who were admitted to
the Muyuka district hospital between April and October 2012. Blood and stool samples were collected from those participants who gave consent to take part in the study. Haemoglobin concentration (Hb) and complete blood count
(CBC) were performed using an automated haematology analyser (Mindray®, BC-2800). Giemsa-stained blood film was
examined to detect malaria parasites, while the formol-ether concentration technique was used to detect intestinal
parasitic infections (IPIs). The Pearson’s chi-square, Student’s T-test and correlation analysis were all performed as part of
the statistical analyses.
Results: Four hundred and eleven (411) children successfully took part in this study. The prevalence of malaria, IPIs, malaria and IPI coinfection, and anaemia observed were 98.5 %, 11.9 %, 11.9 % and 44.8 %, respectively. Anaemia and IPIs were significantly associated with age; anaemia was more prevalent in children under five years of age (p = 0.000), whereas IPIs were more prevalent in children aged between five and 10 years (p = 0.006). The parasite species isolated included Ascaris lumbricoides (36 [73.5 %]), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (9[18.4 %]) and hookworm (4 [8.2 %]). The mean Hb observed was 10.64 g/dl (±1.82). A significant negative correlation was observed between malaria parasite density and Hb. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of anaemia among children infected with malaria, IPIs, or malaria and IPI coinfection, or among non-infected children. Similarly, the mean Hb did not differ among infected and non-infected children.
Conclusion: This study showed that malaria and IPIs still constitute a major public health problem in the study area despite a lack of any significant association between these infections and anaemia. The findings suggest that there is a need for the implementation of control measures to curb the rate of malaria and IPIs in the study area.

Surveillance is a key component of control and elimination programs. Malaria surveillance has been
typically reliant on case reporting by health services, entomological estimates and parasitemia
(Plasmodium species) point prevalence. However, these techniques become less sensitive and
relatively costly as transmission declines. There is great potential for the development and application
of serological biomarkers of malaria exposure as sero-surveillance tools to strengthen malaria control
and elimination. Antibodies to malaria antigens are sensitive biomarkers of population-level malaria
exposure and can be used to identify hotspots of malaria transmission, estimate transmission levels,
monitor changes over time or the impact of interventions on transmission, confirm malaria elimination,
and monitor re-emergence of malaria. Sero-surveillance tools could be used in reference laboratories
or developed as simple point-of-care tests for community-based surveillance, and different applications
and target populations dictate the technical performance required from assays that are determined by
properties of antigens and antibody responses. To advance the development of sero-surveillance tools
for malaria elimination, major gaps in our knowledge need to be addressed through further research.
These include greater knowledge of potential antigens, the sensitivity and specificity of antibody
responses, and the longevity of these responses and defining antigens and antibodies that differentiate
between exposure to Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax. Additionally, a better understanding of the
influence of host factors, such as age, genetics, and comorbidities on antibody responses in different
populations is needed.

Malaria is preventable and treatable yet it remains the number one killer disease in Africa. In 2010 an estimated 219 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide and 660,000 death cases were reported in Africa alone according to the 7th President‘s Malaria Initiative (PMI) report of April 2013. Malaria remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Kenya with close to 24 million of the population at risk of infection. Mbita Sub County has a malaria prevalence of 30% compared to 38% Nyanza and western Kenya. Outpatient health facility morbidity data in Mfangano Island shows that there were very high incidences of malaria reported in 2013 as compared to all other diseases reported in selected facilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of preventive strategies on malaria prevalence in Mfangano Island, Mbita Sub County. This study was guided by the following objectives: To examine how utilization of mosquito nets influence malaria prevalence among households in Mfangano Island, to assess the extent to which environmental hygiene influences malaria prevalence on households in Mfangano Island, to determine how malaria knowledge seeking behaviour influences malaria prevalence among households in Mfangano Island, and lastly to assess the extent to which malaria prophylaxis drug influences malaria prevalence among households in Mfangano Island, Mbita Sub County. The study had a target population of 9,873 and a sample size of 373 households. Data collection instruments used in this study were questionnaires and key informant interviews (KIIs). Questionnaires were administered to 373 household heads in Mfangano Island and 355 questionnaires were returned and analysed representing 95% return rates. Key informant interviews were used to collect qualitative data from 10 respondents chosen by purposive sampling technique. They were District Malaria Control Coordinator, District Disease Surveillance Coordinator, 2 Health facility in-charges, District Health Records Information Officer, 2 Community Health Extension Workers, Area Chief, Area assistant chief and a village elder. The instruments used were organized into sections intended to extract relevant information from the respondents according to the study objectives. The test retest technique was used to ensure reliability of research instruments while validity was ensured through pilot testing and reviews. Data obtained was cleaned, verified and analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The study findings indicate that 86.2% own mosquito nets. Among these, 78.9% have nets that are treated by a chemical. The findings on net utilization reveal that 76.6% use the net always as compared to 13.5% who use the nets occasionally and 2.5% do not use at all. Poor attitude at 67.6% was cited as one of the reasons why some people do not use mosquito nets and 14.4% of the respondents cited that the nets are stuffy. The study established that those who clear their compound occasionally had higher cases of malaria at 52% as compared to those who clear their compound 2-3 times a week at 21%. The study also established that health promotion is needed for knowledge dissemination about malaria prevention and behaviour change. The findings showed that only 9% of the responses were sure that malaria is contracted through a bite from a female anopheles mosquito. And on knowledge of malaria prevention, 83.1% cited using a combination of strategies, sleeping under a net, clearing of the compound, using mosquito coil and taking anti-malarial medicine while 17.9% advocated for either of the strategies. The study further established that most people at 58.3% buy antimalarial medicine as a preventive measure against suspected malaria. It was concluded that all the preventive strategies discussed have an influence on malaria prevalence in Mfangano Island. Results from correlations showed significant and positive correlations among variables under study. The researcher then recommended that malaria prevention require a multi-faced approach and that all preventive strategies should be employed together if malaria burden has to be reduced in Mfangano Island.

Despite major successes in reducing malaria burden over the past decade, malaria remains a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality , with over 200 million clinical cases and almost half a million deaths estimated to have occurred in 2017 alone. 1 Malaria is caused by several Plasmodium spp. with P. falciparum accounting for the majority of cases and P. vivax being a second major cause. 1 Other species, P. ovale, P. malariae, and P. knowlesi represent a small burden globally, but are important in some populations. Malaria control and elimination efforts have been spearheaded by currently available tools for surveillance, vector control, and drug treatment, but one intervention strategy lagging behind is the development of a highly efficacious malaria vaccine. Vaccine development has been immensely challenging, partly due to the complex biology and life cycle of Plasmodium spp. Briefly, infected mosquitoes deposit spo-rozoites into the skin of a human host prior to taking a blood meal. These sporozoites progress to establish infection in the liver, where Abstract Developing efficacious vaccines for human malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is a major global health priority, although this has proven to be immensely challenging over the decades. One major hindrance is the incomplete understanding of specific immune responses that confer protection against disease and/or infection. While antibodies to play a crucial role in malaria immunity, the functional mechanisms of these antibodies remain unclear as most research has primarily focused on the direct inhibitory or neutralizing activity of antibodies. Recently, there is a growing body of evidence that antibodies can also mediate effector functions through activating the complement system against multiple developmental stages of the parasite life cycle. These antibody-complement interactions can have detrimental consequences to parasite function and viability, and have been significantly associated with protection against clinical malaria in naturally acquired immunity, and emerging findings suggest these mechanisms could contribute to vaccine-induced immunity. In order to develop highly efficacious vaccines, strategies are needed that prioritize the induction of an-tibodies with enhanced functional activity, including the ability to activate complement. Here we review the role of complement in acquired immunity to malaria, and provide insights into how this knowledge could be used to harness complement in malaria vaccine development. K E Y W O R D S antibodies, complement, immunity, malaria, vaccines

TEKİR SÜLEYMAN, Bölüm Adı:Cumhuriyet’in İlk Yıllarında Türkiye’de Sıtma İle Mücadele Faaliyetleri(1923-1930), Kitap Adı: Tarihsel Süreçte Anadolu'da Sıtma, Yayın Yeri:Gece Kitaplığı, Editör:Eren Akçiçek, Fevzi Çakmak, Şükran Köse, Çağrı Büke, ISBN:6051807249, İstanbul 2017, Bölüm Sayfaları:397-420. 1919-1923 yıllarında Anadolu'da işgalci düşman kuvvetleriyle mücadele etmek zorunda kalan Türk halkı, kurtuluştan sonra birbirinden farklı sorunlarla mücadele etmek zorunda kaldı. Bu sorunların başında her yerde kol gezen salgın hastalıklar bulunuyordu. Sıtma bu salgınlar içerisinde uzun süre ve sabırla mücadele edilmesi gereken hastalıklardan birisiydi. Özellikle durgun ve hareketsiz sulak arazilerde fazlasıyla görülen hastalık için Anadolu toprak-ları coğrafi özellikleri bakımından gerekli şartları sağlamaktaydı. Bataklık arazilerde görülen sıtma sivrisinekler aracılığıyla insanlara geç-mekteydi. Uzun süren savaş dönemlerinde bataklıkların kurutulmasıyla ilgili çalışmalar yapılamadığından 1923-1929 yıllarında sıtma vakalarında büyük artışlar görüldü. Hastalığın en önemli tedavi maddesi olan kinine ulaşımın zor olması hastalığın yayılmasına ve ölümcül etkilerinin ortaya çıkmasına neden oldu. Bu şartlar karşısında Sağlık Bakanlığı kurduğu sıtma ile mücadele merkezleri ile hastalığın etkilerini kırmaya çalıştı. Öncelikli olarak bataklık arazilerin ıslahı için mücadele edildi. Mevzuatın ve kanunların konuyla ilgili yetersiz kalması üzerine birtakım yasal düzenlemeler yapıldı. Mücadelenin kesintisiz devam edilebilmesi için devlet bütçesinden büyük bir miktar sıtma ile mücadele için ayrıldı. 1923-1929 yılları arasında yasal düzenlemeler, karantina merkezleri, bataklık alanların ıslahı ve ilaçlaması gibi radikal tedbirler alındı.

We investigated the impact of the kdr genotypes on the survival rate of mosquitoes exposed to insecticides in the main malaria vectors Anopheles coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s.. The genotype-phenotype interaction was investigated following two experimental designs; the first one consisted to determine the survival rate of well-characterized adult mosquito strains sharing different kdr genotypes but same genetic background to various insecticides, whereas the second one consisted to expose wild mosquitoes to the same insecticides. Two to five days old adult females were exposed to DDT (4%), deltamethrin (0.05%), and permethrin (0.75%) following WHO protocols. Alive and dead specimens were kept separately to screen the kdr mutations 1014F. The correlation between the kdr genotype and the survival rate to insecticides was investigated in An. coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s. using a logistic regression model. In the laboratory strains, after exposure to DDT and permethrin, the survival rate was significantly higher in F/F individuals comparing to L/F and L/L individuals (p<0.05). A perfect correlation was observed between the survival rate and the

Apesar do desenvolvimento tecnológico e científico, a malária permanece como um dos maiores problemas de saúde a serem combatidos. As estratégias modernas para o controle da doença prevêem ações conjuntas, como o combate do inseto vetor, diagnóstico rápido e preciso, garantia de terapêutica adequada, redução dos casos de resistência, além do desenvolvimento de novos agentes terapêuticos e vacina e através da otimização da ação de fármacos utilizados na atualidade. Os sistemas de liberação controlada de fármacos vêm recebendo atenção especial nesta área de pesquisa, com o desenvolvimento de estratégias para a veiculação de agentes bioativos e vacinas na forma de nanodispositivos tais como lipossomas, nanopartículas e micropartículas. Diversos nanossistemas já demonstraram eficácia na otimização de vacinas e quimioterápicos destinados ao controle da malária. Este artigo de revisão tem por objetivo avaliar o estado da arte na terapêutica da malária e demonstrar o potencial da nanotecnologia farmacêutica como ferramenta destinada ao combate da doença.

Background: Malaria remains a major cause of febrile illness in Nigeria and interventions to reduce malaria burden in Nigeria focus on the use of insecticide-treated nets. This study determined the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia and the use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) for the control of malaria amongst under-five year old children in Calabar, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 270 under-5 year old children were recruited and structured questionnaires were used to obtain information on the background characteristics of the respondents from their caregivers. Capillary blood samples were collected from each of the patients through finger-pricking and tested for malaria parasites by Rapid Diagnostic Test and microscopy.

Malaria epidemic is one of the complex spatial problems around the world. According to WHO, an estimated 6, 27, 000 deaths occurred due to malaria in 2012. In many developing nations with diverse ecological regions, it is still a large cause of human mortality. Owing to the incompleteness of epidemiological data and their spatial origin, the quantification of disease incidence burdening basic public health planning is a major constrain especially in developing countries. The present study focuses on the integrated Geospatial and Multi-Criteria Evaluation (AHP) technique to determine malaria risk zones. The study is conducted in Vadodara district, including 12 Taluka among which 4 Taluka are predominantly tribal. The influence of climatic and physical environmental factors viz., rainfall, hydro geomorphology; drainage, elevation, and land cover are used to score their share in the evaluation of malariogenic condition. This was synthesized on the basis of preference over each factor and the total weights of each data and data layer were computed and visualized. The district was divided into three viz., high, moderate and low risk zones .It was observed that a geographical area of 1885.2sq.km comprising 30.3% fall in high risk zone. The risk zones identified on the basis of these parameters and assigned weights shows a close resemblance with ground condition. As the API distribution for 2011overlaid corresponds to the risk zones identified. The study demonstrates the significance and prospect of integrating Geospatial tools and Analytical Hierarchy Process for malaria risk zones and dynamics of malaria transmission.