Publications by authors named "Ard McLean"

Article Synopsis
  • Anaemia is a major public health issue in Bangladesh, particularly in pregnancy, with a 38% prevalence found among 1500 pregnant women in a recent study, where 48% were also iron deficient.
  • The study revealed that high concentrations of iron in drinking water (≥2 mg/L) could increase ferritin levels but did not significantly affect overall iron deficiency or anaemia rates.
  • Findings indicate that iron deficiency during pregnancy may be more common than previously thought, calling for further research on the role of drinking water iron in managing anaemia in Bangladesh.
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Serum iron has long been thought to exhibit diurnal variation and is subsequently considered an unreliable biomarker of systemic iron status. Circadian regulation (endogenous ~24-h periodic oscillation of a biologic function) governs many critical physiologic processes. It is unknown whether serum iron levels are regulated by circadian machinery; likewise, the circadian nature of key players of iron homeostasis is unstudied.

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Background: Artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum threatens global malaria elimination efforts. To contain and then eliminate artemisinin resistance in Eastern Myanmar a network of community-based malaria posts was instituted and targeted mass drug administration (MDA) with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (three rounds at monthly intervals) was conducted. The prevalence of artemisinin resistance during the elimination campaign (2013-2019) was characterized.

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Background: Myanmar has a large majority of all malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion. In the past decade, substantial progress was made in malaria control. The residual burden of malaria is in remote areas where currently recommended malaria elimination approaches are generally not feasible.

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Introduction: Approximately 40% of children aged 6-59 months worldwide are anaemic. Iron-containing multiple micronutrient powders (MNPs) and iron supplements (syrup/drops) are used to combat anaemia in children in different parts of the world. However, evidence for functional benefits of iron supplementation in children is scarce, and potential risks remain poorly defined, particularly concerning diarrhoea and malaria.

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Therapeutic efficacy in COVID-19 is dependent upon disease severity (treatment effect heterogeneity). Unfortunately, definitions of severity vary widely. This compromises the meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and the therapeutic guidelines derived from them.

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Background: Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by intracellular bacteria from the genus Orientia. It is estimated that one billion people are at risk, with one million cases annually mainly affecting rural areas in Asia-Oceania. Relative to its burden, scrub typhus is understudied, and treatment recommendations vary with poor evidence base.

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Background: The pathogenesis of malaria in pregnancy (MiP) involves accumulation of P. falciparum-infected red blood cells (pRBCs) in the placenta, contributing to poor pregnancy outcomes. Parasite accumulation is primarily mediated by P.

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Introduction: Pregnant women have an increased risk of infection, which is associated with low birth weight and preterm delivery. VAR2CSA, a variant surface antigen expressed on the parasitized erythrocyte surface, enables sequestration in the placenta. Few studies have prospectively examined relationships between antibody responses during pregnancy and subsequent adverse birth outcomes, and there are limited data outside Africa.

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Background: To contain multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, malaria elimination in the Greater Mekong subregion needs to be accelerated while current antimalarials remain effective. We evaluated the safety, effectiveness, and potential resistance selection of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine mass drug administration (MDA) in a region with artemisinin resistance in Myanmar.

Methods: We did a cluster-randomised controlled trial in rural community clusters in Kayin (Karen) state in southeast Myanmar.

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Background: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is a common HIV-associated opportunistic-infection worldwide. Existing literature focusses on hospital-based outcomes of induction treatment. This paper reviews outpatient management in integrated primary care clinics in Yangon.

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Background: Lower respiratory infections constitute a major disease burden worldwide. Treatment is usually empiric and targeted towards typical bacterial pathogens. Understanding the prevalence of pathogens not covered by empirical treatment is important to improve diagnostic and treatment algorithms.

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Background: Most antibiotic prescribing occurs in primary care. Even within the same health facility, there may be differences between prescribers in their tendency to prescribe antibiotics, which may be masked by summary data. We aimed to quantify prescriber variability in antibiotic prescription to patients with acute fever in primary care clinics in Myanmar.

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Background: Little research has been published on the prevalence of rickettsial infections in Myanmar. This study determined the seroprevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to rickettsial species in different regions of Myanmar.

Methods: Seven hundred leftover blood samples from patients of all ages in primary care clinics and hospitals in seven regions of Myanmar were collected.

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Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was first reported in December 2019, many independent trials have been planned that aim to answer similar questions. Tools allowing researchers to review studies already underway can facilitate collaboration, cooperation and harmonisation. The Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO) has undertaken a living systematic review (LSR) to provide an open, accessible and frequently updated resource summarising characteristics of COVID-19 study registrations.

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Objectives: Integration of HIV care with general healthcare may improve patient engagement. We assessed patient outcomes in four clinics offering HIV care integrated into primary care clinics in Yangon, Myanmar.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort analysis of 4551 patients who started antiretroviral therapy between 2009 and 2017.

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Background: Community health workers (CHWs) can provide diagnosis and treatment of malaria in remote rural areas and are therefore key to the elimination of malaria. However, as incidence declines, uptake of their services could be compromised if they only treat malaria.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 571,286 malaria rapid diagnostic tests conducted between 2011 and 2016 by 1335 CHWs supported by Medical Action Myanmar.

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Introduction: During pregnancy, immunoglobulin G (IgG) is transferred from the mother to the fetus, providing protection from disease in early infancy. Plasmodium falciparum infections may reduce maternofetal antibody transfer efficiency, but mechanisms remain unclear.

Methods: Mother-cord paired serum samples collected at delivery from Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Thailand-Myanmar Border Area (TMBA) were tested for IgG1 and IgG3 to four P.

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AbstractPostpartum women may have an altered susceptibility to and . The relationship between naturally acquired malarial immunity and susceptibility to malaria postpartum is yet to be determined. IgG levels were measured against and antigens from delivery in 201 postpartum and 201 nonpregnant controls over 12 weeks.

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During pregnancy a variety of immunological changes occur to accommodate the fetus. It is unknown whether these changes continue to affect humoral immunity postpartum or how quickly they resolve. IgG levels were measured to P.

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It is well established that pregnant women are at an increased risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection when compared to non-pregnant individuals and limited epidemiological data suggest Plasmodium vivax risk also increases with pregnancy. The risk of P. falciparum declines with successive pregnancies due to the acquisition of immunity to pregnancy-specific P.

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