Publications by authors named "Mark Minnery"

Background: Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and schistosomiasis comprise the most wide-spread NTDs globally. Preventative chemotherapy is a cost-effective approach to controlling morbidity of both diseases, but relies on large scale surveys to determine and revise treatment frequency. Availability of detailed information on survey costs is limited despite recent methodological surveying innovations.

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Background: Kenya is endemic for soil-transmitted helminths (STH) with over 6 million children in 27 counties currently at-risk. A national school-based deworming programme (NSBDP) was launched in 2012 with a goal to eliminate parasitic worms as a public health problem. This study used model-based geostatistical (MBG) approach to design and analyse the impact of the NSBDP and inform treatment strategy changes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Large-scale assessments of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) programs are critical for understanding the need for mass drug administration (MDA) in India; baseline surveys showed high prevalence rates of STHs in Chhattisgarh (80.2% in 2015) and Himachal Pradesh (29.0% in 2016).
  • Follow-up surveys in 2018 revealed a dramatic drop in prevalence after multiple rounds of MDA, with Chhattisgarh showing an 85.5% reduction to 11.6% and Himachal Pradesh achieving a remarkable 99.0% reduction to 0.3%.
  • The significant decrease in STH infections is attributed to the effectiveness of sustained de
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Introduction: More than 70% of new HIV infections in Asia occurred in eight countries in 2020: Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam-with a rising incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for those at risk of acquiring HIV, yet wide-scale implementation of PrEP, on a daily or event-driven basis, has been limited in Asia.

Methods: The Optima HIV model was applied to examine the impact of scaling-up PrEP over five-years to cover an additional 15% of MSM compared with baseline coverage, a target deemed feasible by regional experts.

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Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are among the most common parasitic infections globally, disproportionately affecting children. Treatment of STH in Kenya is often targeted at preschool (PSAC) and school aged (SAC) children delivered through annual mass drug administration (MDA) in primary schools. Understanding group-specific prevalence and dynamics between treatment and coverage is critical for continued treatment success.

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Article Synopsis
  • * It highlights the use of empirical data from local prevalence testing and digital environmental imagery to inform mapping efforts, especially in areas lacking comprehensive disease registries.
  • * Through case studies on soil-transmitted helminths in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, the article demonstrates that model-based geostatistics significantly outperforms current WHO guidelines in designing and analyzing prevalence surveys, indicating potential for improved mapping in other diseases.
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Introduction: Eswatini achieved a 44% decrease in new HIV infections from 2014 to 2019 through substantial scale-up of testing and treatment. However, it still has one of the highest rates of HIV incidence in the world, with 14 infections per 1,000 adults 15-49 years estimated for 2017. The Government of Eswatini has called for an 85% reduction in new infections by 2023 over 2017 levels.

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A rapid reduction in under-five mortality has put Bangladesh on-track to reach Millennium Development Goal 4. Little research, however, has been conducted into neonatal reductions and sub-national rates in the country, with considerable disparities potentially masked by national reductions. The aim of this paper is to estimate national and sub-national rates of neonatal mortality to compute relative and absolute inequalities between sub-national groups and draw comparisons with rates of under-five mortality.

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Introduction: Tuberculosis, reported as the second most common infectious cause of death worldwide, is a key mortality contributor in developing countries and globally. The disease is endemic in Peru and while relative success was achieved during the 1990s in its control, this slowed as new complications, such as multi drug resistant TB arose. Health centre workers participating in the national DOTS program, create the front-line TB work-force in Peru meaning their knowledge and attitudes about the disease are key in its control.

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Background: India has the world's highest total number of under-five deaths of any nation. While progress towards Millennium Development Goal 4 has been documented at the state level, little information is available for greater disaggregation of child health markers within states. In 2000, new states were created within the country as a partial response to political pressures.

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