Impact of oral azithromycin and intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine regimen on child mortality in Sierra Leone: trial protocol for a randomised, two-arm, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial (ICARIA).

Background: Azithromycin has been shown to be beneficial in preventing infectious diseases, including malaria, infectious diarrhoea and pneumonia. A cluster randomised control trial on azithromycin MDA in children in Niger, Malawi and Tanzania found a reduction in all-cause under-five (U5) mortality in communities who received azithromycin compared to placebo. However, the reduction was largest and statistically significant only in Niger.

Immunisation coverage and factors associated with incomplete immunisation in children under two during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone.

Background: Routine childhood immunisation is one of the most important life-saving public health interventions. However, many children still have inadequate access to these vaccines and millions remain (partially) unvaccinated globally. As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health systems worldwide, its effects on immunisation have become apparent.

Efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine for treatment of mild SARS-CoV-2 infection and prevention of COVID-19 severity in pregnant and postpartum women: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Introduction: Pregnant women have an increased risk of severe COVID-19. Evaluation of drugs with a safety reproductive toxicity profile is a priority. At the beginning of the pandemic, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was recommended for COVID-19 treatment.

Coverage of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infants after four years of implementation in Sierra Leone.

Background: Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria in infants (IPTi) is a malaria control strategy consisting of the administration of an anti-malarial drug alongside routine immunizations. So far, this is being implemented nationwide in Sierra Leone only. IPTi has been renamed as Perennial Malaria Chemoprevention -PMC-, accounting for its recently recommended expansion into the second year of life.

Gravidity and malaria trends interact to modify P. falciparum densities and detectability in pregnancy: a 3-year prospective multi-site observational study.

Background: Low-density Plasmodium falciparum infections prevail in low transmission settings, where immunity is expected to be minimal, suggesting an immune-independent effect on parasite densities. We aimed to describe parasite densities in pregnancy, and determine how gravidity and antibody-mediated immunity affect these, during a period of declining malaria transmission in southern Mozambique.

Methods: We documented P.

Acceptability of Clinical Trials on COVID-19 during Pregnancy among Pregnant Women and Healthcare Providers: A Qualitative Study.

Participation of pregnant women in clinical trials entails challenges mainly related to concerns about the risks for fetuses. We undertook a qualitative study from June to October 2020 to assess the acceptability of participating in COVID-19 clinical trials among pregnant women in Spain. Phenomenology and grounded theory were used as methodological approaches.

No evidence of false-negative Plasmodium falciparum rapid diagnostic results in Monrovia, Liberia.

Background: Malaria diagnosis in many malaria-endemic countries relies mainly on the use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). The majority of commercial RDTs used in Africa detect the Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2). pfhrp2/3 gene deletions can therefore lead to false-negative RDT results.

Hydroxychloroquine efficacy and safety in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease severity during pregnancy (COVID-Preg): a structured summary of a study protocol for a randomised placebo controlled trial.

Objectives: The primary objectives of the study are: 1. To assess the effect of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in reducing SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding by PCR in infected pregnant women with mild symptoms. 2.