Publications by authors named "Mark Amunga"

Background: Significant effort and resources have been invested to control malaria transmission in sub-Saharan Africa, but it remains a major public health problem. For the parasite to be transmitted, the female Anopheles vector must survive 10-14 days following an infective bite to allow Plasmodium gametocytes to develop into infectious sporozoites. The goal of this study was to assess factors associated with wild-caught Anopheles survival and infection following host-seeking and indoor resting.

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In malaria-endemic countries, private retail outlets are a major source of antimalarials for individuals experiencing an acute febrile illness. However, there remains a challenge in how the decision to dispense the drugs is made. The lack of malaria diagnostic tools in the retail sector leads to a presumptive approach to diagnosis and overuse of ACTs.

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Malaria remains a major health priority in Nigeria. Among children with fever who seek care, less than a quarter gets tested for malaria, leading to inappropriate use of the recommended treatment for malaria; Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT). Here we test an innovative strategy to target ACT subsidies to clients seeking care in Nigeria's private retail health sector who have a confirmed malaria diagnosis.

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The human infectious reservoir of Plasmodium falciparum is governed by transmission efficiency during vector-human contact and mosquito biting preferences. Understanding biting bias in a natural setting can help target interventions to interrupt transmission. In a 15-month cohort in western Kenya, we detected P.

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Background: Much effort and resources have been invested to control malaria transmission in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it remains a major public health problem. For the disease to be transmitted from one person to another, the female vector must survive 10-14 days following an infective bite for the gametocytes to develop into infectious sporozoites which can be transmitted to the next person during a bloodmeal. The goal of this investigation was to assess factors associated with wild-caught Anopheles survival and infection following host-seeking and indoor resting.

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ACTs are responsible for a substantial proportion of the global reduction in malaria mortality over the last ten years, made possible by publicly-funded subsidies making these drugs accessible and affordable in the private sector. However, inexpensive ACTs available in retail outlets have contributed substantially to overconsumption. We test an innovative, scalable strategy to target ACT-subsidies to clients with a confirmatory diagnosis.

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