Pilot introduction of long-lasting insecticidal nets and hammock nets in the indigenous Comarca of Guna Yala, Panama.

Background: After almost 70 years of using indoor residual spraying (IRS) as the primary intervention for malaria vector control, the Republic of Panama wanted to evaluate the operational feasibility and acceptability of distributing long-lasting insecticidal hammock nets (LLIHNs) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) in the country.

Methods: A pilot study conducted in 2019 distributed LLINs and LLIHNs to cover all sleeping spaces in 15 high burden localities of the indigenous Comarca of Guna Yala and measured retention, coverage, use and physical deterioration, washing and drying practices, as well as people's satisfaction with product characteristics post-distribution.

Results: Overall, 89.

An evaluation of LLIN physical integrity and population attitudes towards net use, care and handling during the Magude project in southern Mozambique.

Background: The Magude Project assessed the feasibility of eliminating malaria in Magude district, a low transmission setting in southern Mozambique, using a package of interventions, including long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). As the efficacy of LLINs depends in part on their physical integrity, this metric was quantified for Olyset® Nets post mass-distribution, in addition to net use, care and handling practices and other risk factors associated with net physical integrity.

Methods: Nets were collected during a cross-sectional net evaluation, nine months after the Magude project commenced, which was 2 years after the nets were distributed by the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP).

Public health impact of the spread of Anopheles stephensi in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region countries in Horn of Africa and Yemen: need for integrated vector surveillance and control.

Background: Anopheles stephensi is an efficient vector of both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax in South Asia and the Middle East. The spread of An. stephensi to countries within the Horn of Africa threatens progress in malaria control in this region as well as the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.

An evaluation of LLIN ownership, access, and use during the Magude project in southern Mozambique.

The Magude Project assessed the feasibly of eliminating malaria in a low transmission setting in southern Mozambique using a package of interventions. This study measured the ownership, access and use of long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and inequalities in these indicators across household wealth, size and population subgroups, to understand the protection that LLINs provided during the project. Data were obtained from various household surveys.

Gaps in research and capacity development for malaria surveillance and response in the Asia-Pacific: meeting report.

Background: This report is based on the 2021 annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Malaria Elimination Network Surveillance and Response Working Group held online on November 1-3, 2021. In light of the 2030 regional malaria elimination goal, there is an urgency for Asia-Pacific countries to accelerate progress towards national elimination and prevent re-establishment. The Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) Surveillance Response Working Group (SRWG) supports elimination goals of national malaria control programmes (NMCPs) by expanding the knowledge base, guiding the region-specific operational research agenda and addressing evidence gaps to improve surveillance and response activities.

Overlaying human and mosquito behavioral data to estimate residual exposure to host-seeking mosquitoes and the protection of bednets in a malaria elimination setting where indoor residual spraying and nets were deployed together.

Characterizing persistent malaria transmission that occurs after the combined deployment of indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) is critical to guide malaria control and elimination efforts. This requires a detailed understanding of both human and vector behaviors at the same temporal and spatial scale. Cross-sectional human behavior evaluations and mosquito collections were performed in parallel in Magude district, Mozambique.

The mosquito vectors that sustained malaria transmission during the Magude project despite the combined deployment of indoor residual spraying, insecticide-treated nets and mass-drug administration.

The "Magude project" aimed but failed to interrupt local malaria transmission in Magude district, southern Mozambique, by using a comprehensive package of interventions, including indoor residual spraying (IRS), pyrethroid-only long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and mass-drug administration (MDA). Here we present detailed information on the vector species that sustained malaria transmission, their association with malaria incidence and behaviors, and their amenability to the implemented control interventions. Mosquitoes were collected monthly between May 2015 and October 2017 in six sentinel sites in Magude district, using CDC light traps both indoors and outdoors.

Comment on: Emergence of the invasive malaria vector Anopheles stephensi in Khartoum State, Central Sudan.

This letter comments on the article "Emergence of the invasive malaria vector Anopheles stephensi in Khartoum State, Central Sudan" published in Parasites and Vectors 2021, 14:511. Here we aim of provide a response to this paper in the broader context of the invasion and spread of An. stephensi in the Horn of Africa, and the required response to it.

The 2019 report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: ensuring that the health of a child born today is not defined by a changing climate.

Unlabelled: The Countdown is an international, multidisciplinary collaboration, dedicated to monitoring the evolving health profile of climate change, and providing an independent assessment of the delivery of commitments made by governments worldwide under the Paris Agreement. The 2019 report presents an annual update of 41 indicators across five key domains: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. The report represents the findings and consensus of 35 leading academic institutions and UN agencies from every continent.

Setting the scene and generating evidence for malaria elimination in Southern Mozambique.

Mozambique has historically been one of the countries with the highest malaria burden in the world. Starting in the 1960s, malaria control efforts were intensified in the southern region of the country, especially in Maputo city and Maputo province, to aid regional initiatives aimed to eliminate malaria in South Africa and eSwatini. Despite significant reductions in malaria prevalence, elimination was never achieved.

The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: shaping the health of nations for centuries to come.

Unlabelled: The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change was established to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the health dimensions of the impacts of, and the response to, climate change. The Countdown tracks 41 indicators across five domains: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; finance and economics; and public and political engagement. This report is the product of a collaboration of 27 leading academic institutions, the UN, and intergovernmental agencies from every continent.