Artesunate-tafenoquine combination therapy promotes clearance and abrogates transmission of the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium gallinaceum.

Clinical manifestations of malaria infection in vertebrate hosts arise from the multiplication of the asexual stage parasites in the blood, while the gametocytes are responsible for the transmission of the disease. Antimalarial drugs that target the blood stage parasites and transmissible gametocytes are rare, but are essentially needed for the effective control of malaria and for limiting the spread of resistance. Artemisinin and its derivatives are the current first-line antimalarials that are effective against the blood stage parasites and gametocytes, but resistance to artemisinin has now emerged and spread in various malaria endemic areas.

Effects of artesunate treatment on Plasmodium gallinaceum transmission in the vectors Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus.

In the absence of vaccines, chemotherapy is an effective and economical way for controlling malaria. Development of anti-malarial drugs that target pathogenic blood stage parasites and gametocytes is preferable for the treatment as it can alleviate the host's morbidity and mortality and block transmission of the Plasmodium parasite. Recently, our laboratory has developed an in vivo transmission blocking assay that involves administration of 7 consecutive daily doses of a test compound into domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) infected with the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium gallinaceum with 10% parasitaemia and 1% gametocytaemia.

Rapid identification of Acanthamoeba from contact lens case using loop-mediated isothermal amplification method.

A method employing loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) of 18S ribosomal RNA gene was developed to detect Acanthamoeba in contact lens cases. A prevalence of 7% (10/150) was detected, with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity when compared with the standard culture technique. Using visual inspection of turbidity a minimum of 10pg of Acanthamoeba DNA could be detected, 10 times more sensitive than quantitative PCR employing two of the LAMP primers.