Containing artemisinin resistance of in Myanmar: achievements, challenges and the way forward.

Artemisinin resistance is a major threat to global malaria control and elimination efforts. Myanmar detected the first indication of the resistance in 2009 in the eastern part of the country, bordering Thailand. Since 2010, WHO has played a vital role in ensuring that a comprehensive programme on the containment of the resistance is in place.

Initial assessment of the acceptability of a Push-Pull Aedes aegypti control strategy in Iquitos, Peru and Kanchanaburi, Thailand.

As part of a larger research program evaluating chemical threshold levels for a Push-Pull intervention to reduce man-vector (Aedes aegypti) contact, this qualitative study explored local perceptions and strategies associated with mosquito control within dengue-endemic communities in Peru and Thailand. Focus groups were used to provide preliminary information that would identify possible public acceptance issues to the Push-Pull strategy in each site. Nine focus group discussions (total of 102 individuals) conducted between September 2008 and March 2009 examined several themes: 1) current mosquito control practices; 2) perceptions of spatial repellency and contact irritancy versus killing mosquitoes; and 3) initial perceptions toward mosquito host-seeking traps.

Influenza vaccination among the elderly in Bangkok.

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of influenza vaccinations among the elderly in Bangkok in reducing influenza-like illness (ILI) and influenza-related complications. Using a non-randomized, controlled, prospective methodology, healthy, active people aged 60 years or more, living in the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) area, were studied. The two study cohorts comprised 519 persons in the vaccinated group and 520 in the non-vaccinated group.