Associations between weather and malaria in an elimination setting in Peru: a distributed lag analysis.

Background: () is the predominant malaria species in countries approaching elimination. In the context of climate change, understanding environmental drivers of transmission can guide interventions, yet evidence is limited, particularly in Latin America.

Objectives: We estimated the association between temperature and precipitation and malaria incidence in a malaria elimination setting in Peru.

The role of connectivity on malaria dynamics across areas with contrasting control coverage in the Peruvian Amazon.

Network analysis may improve the understanding of malaria epidemiology in rural areas of the Amazon region by explicitly representing the relationships between villages as a proxy for human population mobility. This study tests a comprehensive set of connectivity metrics and their relationship with malaria incidence across villages with contrasting PAMAFRO (a malaria control initiative) coverage levels in the Loreto department of Peru using data from the passive case detection reports from the Peruvian Ministry of Health between 2011 and 2018 at the village level. A total of 24 centrality metrics were computed and tested on 1608 nodes (i.

Recurrence patterns and evolution of submicroscopic and asymptomatic Plasmodium vivax infections in malaria-endemic areas of the Peruvian Amazon.

Background: In the Peruvian Amazon, Plasmodium vivax malaria transmission is maintained due to the high frequency of recurrences. By understanding the recurrence rates of submicroscopic and asymptomatic cases, we can develop informed strategies to prevent transmission more efficiently and disrupt the silent transmission cycle.

Methods: A three-year, population-based cohort study was conducted in two sites, Cahuide and Lupuna, within the Loreto region in Peru from 2013 to 2015.

Spectrum of bacterial pathogens in inflammatory and noninflammatory cutaneous ulcers of American tegumentary leishmaniasis.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) ulcers exhibiting an inflammatory phenotype, characterized by purulent exudate, erythema, pain, and/or lymphatic involvement, are empirically treated with antibiotics.

Objective: The spectrum of bacteria present in localized versus inflammatory phenotypes of CL is elucidated herein.

Methods: Filter paper lesion impressions (FPLIs) from 39 patients with CL (19 inflammatory and 20 noninflammatory ulcers) were evaluated via real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and end-point PCR targeting: , , , spp.

Response to comment on 'The clinical pharmacology of tafenoquine in the radical cure of malaria: An individual patient data meta-analysis'.

In our recent paper on the clinical pharmacology of tafenoquine (Watson et al., 2022), we used all available individual patient pharmacometric data from the tafenoquine pre-registration clinical efficacy trials to characterise the determinants of anti-relapse efficacy in tropical vivax malaria. We concluded that the currently recommended dose of tafenoquine (300 mg in adults, average dose of 5 mg/kg) is insufficient for cure in all adults, and a 50% increase to 450 mg (7.

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.

Safety and efficacy of primaquine in patients with malaria from South Asia: a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background: The optimal dosing of primaquine to prevent relapsing malaria in South Asia remains unclear. We investigated the efficacy and safety of different primaquine regimens to prevent relapse.

Methods: A systematic review identified efficacy studies from South Asia published between 1 January 2000 and 23 August 2021.

Diversity and dissemination of viruses in pathogenic protozoa.

Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on Earth and play a significant role in the evolution of many organisms and ecosystems. In pathogenic protozoa, the presence of viruses has been linked to an increased risk of treatment failure and severe clinical outcome. Here, we studied the molecular epidemiology of the zoonotic disease cutaneous leishmaniasis in Peru and Bolivia through a joint evolutionary analysis of Leishmania braziliensis and their dsRNA Leishmania virus 1.

Novel detection of RNA virus-1 (LRV-1) in clinical isolates of .

American tegumentary leishmaniasis comprises a discrete set of clinical presentations endemic to Latin America. RNA virus-1 (LRV-1) is a double-stranded RNA virus identified in 20–25% of the and , however not in . This is the first report of LRV-1 in and its associations with clinical phenotypes of ATL.

Effect of adherence to primaquine on the risk of Plasmodium vivax recurrence: a WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background: Imperfect adherence is a major barrier to effective primaquine radical cure of Plasmodium vivax. This study investigated the effect of reduced adherence on the risk of P. vivax recurrence.

Unveiling drug-tolerant and persister-like cells in lines derived from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Introduction: Resistance against anti- drugs (DR) has been studied for years, giving important insights into long-term adaptations of these parasites to drugs, through genetic modifications. However, microorganisms can also survive lethal drug exposure by entering into temporary quiescence, a phenomenon called drug tolerance (DT), which is rather unexplored in .

Methods: We studied a panel of nine strains highly susceptible to potassium antimonyl tartrate (PAT), exposed promastigotes to lethal PAT pressure, and compared several cellular and molecular parameters distinguishing DT from DR.

Effect of primaquine dose on the risk of recurrence in patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium vivax: a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background: Primaquine is used to eliminate Plasmodium vivax hypnozoites, but its optimal dosing regimen remains unclear. We undertook a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of different primaquine dosing regimens to prevent P vivax recurrence.

Methods: For this systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Central for prospective clinical studies of uncomplicated P vivax from endemic countries published between Jan 1, 2000, and June 8, 2023.

Reduced polymorphism of Plasmodium vivax early transcribed membrane protein (PvETRAMP) 11.2.

Background: ETRAMP11.2 (PVX_003565) is a well-characterized protein with antigenic potential. It is considered to be a serological marker for diagnostic tools, and it has been suggested as a potential vaccine candidate.

Parasite hybridization promotes spreading of endosymbiotic viruses.

Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on Earth and play a significant role in the evolution of many organisms and ecosystems. In pathogenic protozoa, the presence of endosymbiotic viruses has been linked to an increased risk of treatment failure and severe clinical outcome. Here, we studied the molecular epidemiology of the zoonotic disease cutaneous leishmaniasis in Peru and Bolivia through a joint evolutionary analysis of parasites and their endosymbiotic RNA virus.

Hydroxychloroquine to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers: early termination of a phase 3, randomised, open-label, controlled clinical trial.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness and safety of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) prophylaxis for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers (HCW) on duty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: A total of 68 HCWs met the eligibility criteria were randomly allocated to receive HCQ (n = 36) or not (n = 32). There were no significant differences between groups in respects to age, gender, or medical history.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment and therapeutic outcomes in special populations: A collaborative retrospective study.

Background: Treatment guidance for children and older adult patients affected by cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is unclear due to limited representation of these groups in clinical trials.

Methods: We conducted a collaborative retrospective study to describe the effectiveness and safety of antileishmanial treatments in children ≤ 10 and adults ≥ 60 years of age, treated between 2014 and 2018 in ten CL referral centers in Latin America.

Results: 2,037 clinical records were assessed for eligibility.

A molecular barcode and web-based data analysis tool to identify imported Plasmodium vivax malaria.

Traditionally, patient travel history has been used to distinguish imported from autochthonous malaria cases, but the dormant liver stages of Plasmodium vivax confound this approach. Molecular tools offer an alternative method to identify, and map imported cases. Using machine learning approaches incorporating hierarchical fixation index and decision tree analyses applied to 799 P.

Challenges of design, implementation, acceptability, and potential for, biomedical technologies in the Peruvian Amazon.

Background: Biomedical technologies have the potential to be advantageous in remote communities. However, information about barriers faced by users of technology in general and in remote Indigenous communities is scarce. The purpose of this study was to characterize the leading challenges faced by researchers who have used biomedical technologies in the Peruvian Amazon.

Effectiveness of Whole-Virus COVID-19 Vaccine among Healthcare Personnel, Lima, Peru.

In February 2021, Peru launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign among healthcare personnel using an inactivated whole-virus vaccine. The manufacturer recommended 2 vaccine doses 21 days apart. We evaluated vaccine effectiveness among an existing multiyear influenza vaccine cohort at 2 hospitals in Lima.

The clinical pharmacology of tafenoquine in the radical cure of malaria: An individual patient data meta-analysis.

Tafenoquine is a newly licensed antimalarial drug for the radical cure of malaria. The mechanism of action and optimal dosing are uncertain. We pooled individual data from 1102 patients and 72 healthy volunteers studied in the pre-registration trials.

Effect of out-of-village working activities on recent malaria exposure in the Peruvian Amazon using parametric g-formula.

In the Amazon Region of Peru, occupational activities are important drivers of human mobility and may increase the individual risk of being infected while contributing to increasing malaria community-level transmission. Even though out-of-village working activities and other mobility patterns have been identified as determinants of malaria transmission, no studies have quantified the effect of out-of-village working activities on recent malaria exposure and proposed plausible intervention scenarios. Using two population-based cross-sectional studies in the Loreto Department in Peru, and the parametric g-formula method, we simulated various hypothetical scenarios intervening in out-of-village working activities to reflect their potential health benefits.