YAOUNDE — The death toll from malaria in north Cameroon has risen to 2,500. The minister of health says treated mosquito bed nets that are supposed to be distributed free are instead sold in hospitals or exported to neighboring countries. Meanwhile, hospitals say they no longer have space for patients as the epidemic keeps growing. Tanimou Maimouna cries in front of the Bon Secours clinic in … [Read more...]
Liberia Fights Fake Drugs
DAKAR — Liberia is cracking down on the sellers of fake or expired pharmaceutical drugs, but has met some resistance from people, especially in rural communities, who say these black market medicines are all they can get or afford. The traffic and sale of old and counterfeit medicine—a multimillion dollar industry—is widespread in West Africa. It is not hard to find one of … [Read more...]
Mass drug administration for the control and elimination of Plasmodium vivax malaria: an ecological study from Jiangsu province, China
Recent progress in malaria control has caused renewed interest in mass drug administration (MDA) as a potential elimination strategy but the evidence base is limited. China has extensive experience with MDA, but it is not well documented. Methods An ecological study was conducted to describe the use of MDA for the control and elimination of Plasmodium vivax in Jiangsu Province and explore the … [Read more...]
Bill Gates: What’s More Important – Connectivity or Curing Disease?
The internet is not going to save the world, says the Microsoft co-founder, whatever Mark Zuckerberg and Silicon Valley’s tech billionaires believe. But eradicating disease just might. Bill Gates describes himself as a technocrat. But he does not believe that technology will save the world. Or, to be more precise, he does not believe it can solve a tangle of entrenched and interrelated problems … [Read more...]
CDC Warns of Imported Malaria – U.S. Cases Reach 40 Year High
Increase underscores importance of taking recommended medicines to prevent malaria when traveling In 2011, 1,925 malaria cases were reported in the United States, according to data published in a supplement of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This number is the highest since 1971, more than 40 years ago, and … [Read more...]
Sonia Shah: Three Reasons We Still Haven’t Gotten Rid of Malaria
Sonia Shah is an American investigative journalist and author noted for her articles on corporate power—especially with respect to agriculture, oil and pharmaceutical industries—and on gender equality with specific reference to issues that affect developing countries. Her recent book The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years , traces the complex history of … [Read more...]
Math Prof’s Mosquito Control Models Inform Malaria Research
Genetics may provide humankind its most comprehensive answers in controlling the age-old scourges of malaria, dengue fever and West Nile virus by eliminating the ability of vector mosquitoes to host the diseases. But the new genetic solutions that involve introducing engineered malaria-resistant mosquitoes or mosquitoes replete with engineered resistant gut bacteria raise questions of their … [Read more...]
Ranbaxy Drug Synriam Receives Indian Government Approval to Treat Plasmodium Vivax
Single treatment for both Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum malaria Permission received to conduct Phase III clinical trials for pediatric formulation Gurgaon, India,: Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (Ranbaxy) today announced that the company has received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Government of India to manufacture and market Synriam … [Read more...]
GlaxoSmithKline Seeks to Market RTS,S Malaria Vaccine
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline is seeking approval to market the world's first malaria vaccine, after trials showed that it significantly cut cases of the disease in children. Results from latest clinical trial of the RTS,S vaccine were unveiled at a conference in Durban, South Africa on Tuesday. It showed that after 18 months of follow-up, the vaccine halved the number of malaria cases … [Read more...]
RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Results Promising
Results from a large-scale Phase III trial, presented today in Durban, show that the most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate, RTS,S, continued to protect young children and infants from clinical malaria up to 18 months after vaccination. Over 18 months of follow-up, RTS,S was shown to reduce cases of clinical malaria by 46% in young children (aged 5-17 months at first vaccination) and … [Read more...]