Population impact of malaria control interventions in the health district of Kati, Mali.

Background: WHO and its partners have adopted alternative control interventions since the failure to eradicate malaria worldwide in the 1960s and 1970s. The aim of these interventions has been to redesign the control interventions to make them more effective and more efficient. The purpose of this study is to assess the population impact of control interventions implemented at the community health area level.

Which diagnostic test to use for Testing and Treatment strategies in low-transmission settings: a secondary analysis of a longitudinal interventional study.

Background: The lack of sensitive field tests to diagnose blood stages and hypnozoite carriers prevents Testing and Treatment (TAT) strategies to achieve elimination in low-transmission settings, but recent advances in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and serology position them as promising tools. This study describes a PCR-based TAT strategy (PCRTAT) implemented in Saint Georges (SGO), French Guiana, and explores alternative strategies (seroTAT and seroPCRTAT) to diagnose and treat carriers.

Methods: The PALUSTOP cohort study implemented in SGO (September 2017 to December 2018) screened participants for using PCR tests and treated positive cases.

Prospective acceptability of mass drug administration for malaria in Kedougou region in Senegal: a mixed method study.

Background: In Senegalese high-burden regions, the existing package of interventions is insufficient to reach the malaria elimination goal. Asymptomatic carriers of Plasmodium contribute significantly to malaria persistence and are not targeted by current interventions. The systematic treatment of all individuals in a community (mass drug administration, MDA) is a relevant intervention to tackle asymptomatic infections.

Analytical Sensitivity Analysis and Clinical Impact Modeling of Rapigen Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Malaria.

Laboratory benchmarking allows objective analysis of the analytical performance of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). We present the analytical detection limits of the Rapigen BIOCREDIT Malaria Ag Pf/Pv (pLDH/pLDH), the Rapigen BIOCREDIT Malaria Ag Pf (pLDH/HRPII), and two best-in-class WHO-prequalified comparator RDTs, generated using standardized panels containing recombinant antigen, in vitro cultured parasites, international standards, and clinical samples. Detection limit antigen concentrations of HRP2, PfLDH, and PvLDH were determined for the Rapigen and comparator RDTs.

Molecular markers of artemisinin resistance during falciparum malaria elimination in Eastern Myanmar.

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.

Seasonal Patterns of Mpox Index Cases, Africa, 1970-2021.

Across 133 confirmed mpox zoonotic index cases reported during 1970-2021 in Africa, cases occurred year-round near the equator, where climate is consistent. However, in tropical regions of the northern hemisphere under a dry/wet season cycle, cases occurred seasonally. Our findings further support the seasonality of mpox zoonotic transmission risk.

Understanding the impact of mobility on Plasmodium spp. carriage in an Amazon cross-border area with low transmission rate.

Despite the large reduction in malaria incidence in the last decade, the last kilometre to elimination is often the hardest, especially in international border areas. This study investigated the impact of mobility on Plasmodium spp. carriage in people living in a cross-border area in Amazonia with a low malaria transmission rate.

Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum carriage at the end of the dry season is associated with subsequent infection and clinical malaria in Eastern Gambia.

Background: Chronic carriage of asymptomatic low-density Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia in the dry season may support maintenance of acquired immunity that protects against clinical malaria. However, the relationship between chronic low-density infections and subsequent risk of clinical malaria episodes remains unclear.

Methods: In a 2-years study (December 2014 to December 2016) in eastern Gambia, nine cross-sectional surveys using molecular parasite detection were performed in the dry and wet season.

'Forest malaria' in Myanmar? Tracking transmission landscapes in a diversity of environments.

Background: In the Greater Mekong Subregion, case-control studies and national-level analyses have shown an association between malaria transmission and forest activities. The term 'forest malaria' hides the diversity of ecosystems in the GMS, which likely do not share a uniform malaria risk. To reach malaria elimination goals, it is crucial to document accurately (both spatially and temporally) the influence of environmental factors on malaria to improve resource allocation and policy planning within given areas.

Fever and health-seeking behaviour among migrants living along the Thai-Myanmar border: a mixed-methods study.

Background: Fever is a common reason to seek healthcare in Southeast Asia, and the decline of malaria has complexified how is perceived, and what actions are taken towards it. We investigated the concept of fever and the determinants influencing health-seeking behaviours among migrants on the Thai-Myanmar border, where rapid economic development collides with precarious political and socio-economic conditions.

Methods: We implemented a mixed-methods study between August to December 2019.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and living conditions in Bamako (Mali): a cross-sectional multistage household survey after the first epidemic wave, 2020.

Objectives: In low-income settings with limited access to diagnosis, COVID-19 information is scarce. In September 2020, after the first COVID-19 wave, Mali reported 3086 confirmed cases and 130 deaths. Most reports originated from Bamako, with 1532 cases and 81 deaths (2.

Malaria temporal dynamic clustering for surveillance and intervention planning.

Background: Targeting interventions where most needed and effective is crucial for public health. Malaria control and elimination strategies increasingly rely on stratification to guide surveillance, to allocate vector control campaigns, and to prioritize access to community-based early diagnosis and treatment (EDT). We developed an original approach of dynamic clustering to improve local discrimination between heterogeneous malaria transmission settings.

Investigation of a mpox outbreak in Central African Republic, 2021-2022.

Human monkeypox virus is spreading globally, and more information is required about its epidemiological and clinical disease characteristics in endemic countries. We report the investigation of an outbreak in November 2021 in Central African Republic (CAR). The primary case, a hunter, fell ill after contact with a non-human primate at the frontier between forest and savannah.

Cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection within the homeless population: insights from a city-wide longitudinal study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in a cohort of homeless people using survival analysis. Seroprevalence in the homeless community was also compared with that of the general population.

Design: Cohort study.

The Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Vaccination and Infection on Neutralizing Antibodies: A Nation-wide Cross-sectional Analysis.

Background: Neutralising antibodies (nAbs) play a critical role in the protection against severe COVID-19. In the era of vaccine boosters and repeated SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks, identifying individuals at risk represents a public health priority.

Methods: Relying on the Monaco COVID Public Health Programme, we evaluated nAbs from July 2021-June 2022 in 8,080 SARS-CoV-2 vaccinated and/or infected children and adults, at their inclusion visit.

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Malaria Incidence in the Health District of Kati, Mali, 2015-2019.

Introduction: Despite the implementation of control strategies at the national scale, the malaria burden remains high in Mali, with more than 2.8 million cases reported in 2019. In this context, a new approach is needed, which accounts for the spatio-temporal variability of malaria transmission at the local scale.

National Monkeypox Surveillance, Central African Republic, 2001-2021.

We analyzed monkeypox disease surveillance in Central African Republic (CAR) during 2001-2021. Surveillance data show 95 suspected outbreaks, 40 of which were confirmed as monkeypox, comprising 99 confirmed and 61 suspected monkeypox cases. After 2018, CAR's annual rate of confirmed outbreaks increased, and 65% of outbreaks occurred in 2 forested regions bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Sub-national tailoring of seasonal malaria chemoprevention in Mali based on malaria surveillance and rainfall data.

Background: In malaria endemic countries, seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) interventions are performed during the high malaria transmission in accordance with epidemiological surveillance data. In this study we propose a predictive approach for tailoring the timing and number of cycles of SMC in all health districts of Mali based on sub-national epidemiological surveillance and rainfall data. Our primary objective was to select the best of two approaches for predicting the onset of the high transmission season at the operational scale.

Surveillance to achieve malaria elimination in eastern Myanmar: a 7-year observational study.

Background: The collection and utilization of surveillance data is essential in monitoring progress towards achieving malaria elimination, in the timely response to increases in malaria case numbers and in the assessment of programme functioning. This paper describes the surveillance activities used by the malaria elimination task force (METF) programme which operates in eastern Myanmar, and provides an analysis of data collected from weekly surveillance, case investigations, and monitoring and evaluation of programme performance.

Methods: This retrospective analysis was conducted using data collected from a network of 1250 malaria posts operational between 2014 and 2021.

Stratification at the health district level for targeting malaria control interventions in Mali.

Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Mali. Between 2017 and 2020, the number of cases increased in the country, with 2,884,827 confirmed cases and 1454 reported deaths in 2020. We performed a malaria risk stratification at the health district level in Mali with a view to proposing targeted control interventions.

Residential Mobility of a Cohort of Homeless People in Times of Crisis: COVID-19 Pandemic in a European Metropolis.

Most vulnerable individuals are particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study takes place in a large city in France. The aim of this study is to describe the mobility of the homeless population at the beginning of the health crisis and to analyze its impact in terms of COVID-19 prevalence.

High levels of pathological jaundice in the first 24 hours and neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia in an epidemiological cohort study on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Population risks for neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia (NH) vary. Knowledge of local risks permits interventions that may reduce the proportion becoming severe. Between January 2015 and May 2016, in a resource-limited setting on the Thailand-Myanmar border, neonates from 28 weeks' gestation were enrolled into a prospective birth cohort.

Longitudinal trends in malaria testing rates in the face of elimination in eastern Myanmar: a 7-year observational study.

Background: Providing at-risk communities with uninterrupted access to early diagnosis and treatment is a key component in reducing malaria transmission and achieving elimination. As programmes approach malaria elimination targets it is critical that each case is tested and treated early, which may present a challenge when the burden of malaria is reduced. In this paper we investigate whether malaria testing rates decline over time and assess the impacts of integrating malaria and non-malaria services on testing rates in the malaria elimination task force (METF) programme in the Kayin state of Myanmar.

Development of weight and age-based dosing of daily primaquine for radical cure of vivax malaria.

Background: In many endemic areas, Plasmodium vivax malaria is predominantly a disease of young adults and children. International recommendations for radical cure recommend fixed target doses of 0.25 or 0.