Freedom from infection: enhancing decision-making for malaria elimination.

Assessing elimination of malaria locally requires a surveillance system with high sensitivity and specificity to detect its presence without ambiguity. Currently, the WHO standard criteria of observing the absence of locally acquired cases for 3 consecutive years, combined with a health systems assessment, are used to justify claims of malaria elimination. However, relying on a qualitative framework to support the application of this guideline can lead to early, over-optimistic relaxation of control measures with the potential for resurgence.

Effectiveness of malaria chemoprevention in the first two years of life in Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire compared to standard of care: study protocol for a population-based prospective cohort impact evaluation study.

Background: Perennial malaria chemoprevention (PMC) is a chemoprevention strategy endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is increasingly being adopted by National Malaria Programmes. PMC aims to reduce morbidity and mortality caused by malaria and anaemia in in young children through provision of antimalarial drugs at routine contact points with the local health system. This study aims to evaluate the impact of the programmatically-implemented country-tailored PMC programmes targeting children up to two years of age using sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) on the incidence of malaria and anaemia in children in Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire.

Malaria seroepidemiology in very low transmission settings in the Peruvian Amazon.

Despite progress towards malaria reduction in Peru, measuring exposure in low transmission areas is crucial for achieving elimination. This study focuses on two very low transmission areas in Loreto (Peruvian Amazon) and aims to determine the relationship between malaria exposure and proximity to health facilities. Individual data was collected from 38 villages in Indiana and Belen, including geo-referenced households and blood samples for microscopy, PCR and serological analysis.

Testing and treatment for malaria elimination: a systematic review.

Background: Global interest in malaria elimination has prompted research on active test and treat (TaT) strategies.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to assess the effectiveness of TaT strategies to reduce malaria transmission.

Results: A total of 72 empirical research and 24 modelling studies were identified, mainly focused on proactive mass TaT (MTaT) and reactive case detection (RACD) in higher and lower transmission settings, respectively.