Quantifying Plasmodium vivax radical cure efficacy: a modelling study integrating clinical trial data and transmission dynamics.

Background: Plasmodium vivax forms dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that can reactivate weeks to months after primary infection. Radical cure requires a combination of antimalarial drugs to kill both the blood-stage and liver-stage parasites. Hypnozoiticidal efficacy of the liver-stage drugs primaquine and tafenoquine cannot be estimated directly because hypnozoites are undetectable.

How Much Does Prosthetic Joint Infection and Its Successful Treatment Affect Patient-reported Quality of Life?

Background: Uncomplicated joint replacement improves pain and other patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) such as joint function scores and quality-of-life measures. However, the overall impact of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) and its successful treatment on PROMs is poorly defined. In this study, we describe quality-of-life scores using the 12-item Short Form survey, version 2 (SF-12v2), collected as part of a large, prospective, observational study of PJI.

Reduced red blood cell deformability in vivax malaria.

Reduced deformability of both infected and uninfected red blood cells (RBC) contributes to pathogenesis in falciparum malaria. Whole blood RBC-deformability is not well-characterised in vivax malaria. We used a laser-assisted optical rotational cell analyzer to measure the RBC deformability in fresh whole blood from Malaysian patients with vivax malaria (n=25).

Performance of MALDI-TOF MS, real-time PCR, antigen detection, and automated biochemical testing for the identification of .

is the causative agent of melioidosis, a disease highly endemic to Southeast Asia and northern Australia, though the area of endemicity is expanding. Cases may occur in returning travelers or, rarely, from imported contaminated products. Identification of is challenging for laboratories that do not see this organism frequently, and misidentifications by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and automated biochemical testing have been reported.

Lineage-informative microhaplotypes for recurrence classification and spatio-temporal surveillance of Plasmodium vivax malaria parasites.

Challenges in classifying recurrent Plasmodium vivax infections constrain surveillance of antimalarial efficacy and transmission. Recurrent infections may arise from activation of dormant liver stages (relapse), blood-stage treatment failure (recrudescence) or reinfection. Molecular inference of familial relatedness (identity-by-descent or IBD) can help resolve the probable origin of recurrences.

SMS-based interventions for improving child and adolescent vaccine coverage and timeliness: a systematic review.

Background: The aim of this review was to investigate the impact of short message service (SMS)-based interventions on childhood and adolescent vaccine coverage and timeliness.

Methods: A pre-defined search strategy was used to identify all relevant publications up until July 2022 from electronic databases. Reports of randomised trials written in English and involving children and adolescents less than 18 years old were included.

Chloroquine has shown high therapeutic efficacy against uncomplicated Plasmodium vivax malaria in southern Ethiopia: seven decades after its introduction.

Background: Plasmodium vivax malaria is a leading cause of morbidity in Ethiopia. The first-line treatment for P. vivax is chloroquine (CQ) and primaquine (PQ), but there have been local reports of CQ resistance.

Genomic investigation and clinical correlates of the β-lactam: NaHCO responsiveness phenotype among methicillin-resistant isolates from a randomized clinical trial.

NaHCO responsiveness is a novel phenotype where some methicillin-resistant (MRSA) isolates exhibit significantly lower minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) to oxacillin and/or cefazolin in the presence of NaHCO. NaHCO responsiveness correlated with treatment response to β-lactams in an endocarditis animal model. We investigated whether treatment of NaHCO-responsive strains with β-lactams was associated with faster clearance of bacteremia.

Identification of a functional missense variant in the matrix metallopeptidase 10 (MMP10) gene in two families with premature myocardial infarction.

A positive family history is a major independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, and genetic variation is an important aspect of cardiovascular disease research. We identified a heterozygous missense variant p.L245P in the MMP10 gene in two families with premature myocardial infarction using whole-exome sequencing.

Optimizing test and treat options for vivax malaria: An options assessment toolkit (OAT) for Asia Pacific national malaria control programs.

Designing policy in public health is a complex process requiring decision making that incorporates available evidence and is suitable to a country's epidemiological and health system context. The main objective of this study was to develop an options assessment toolkit (OAT) to provide a pragmatic and evidence-based approach to the development of policies for the radical cure (prevention of relapse) of vivax malaria for national malaria control programs in the Asia-Pacific region. The OAT was developed using participatory research methods and a Delphi process using a sequential multi-phase design, adapted with a pre-development phase, a development phase, and a final development phase.

The PreQuine Platform: A novel diagnostic tool for measuring glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity and hemoglobin concentration.

Quantitative diagnosis of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is essential for the safe administration of 8-aminoquinoline based radical cure for the treatment of Plasmodium vivax infections. Here, we present the PreQuine Platform (IVDS, USA), a quantitative biosensor that uses a dual-analyte assay for the simultaneous measurement of Hemoglobin (Hgb) levels and G6PD enzyme activity within the same sample. The platform relies on a downloadable mobile application.

Field evaluation of a novel semi-quantitative point-of-care diagnostic for G6PD deficiency in Indonesia.

Background: The WHO recommends routine testing of G6PD activity to guide radical cure in patients with Plasmodium vivax malaria. Females may have intermediate G6PD enzyme activity and to date, only complex diagnostics are able to reliably identify them. The semi-quantitative G6PD diagnostic "One Step G6PD Test" (Humasis, RoK; "RDT") is a lateral flow assay that can distinguish deficient, intermediate, and normal G6PD status and offers a simpler diagnostic alternative.

Melioidosis Knowledge Awareness in Three Distinct Groups in the Tropical Northern Territory of Australia.

Melioidosis is a potentially life-threatening infection. This study aimed to assess the melioidosis knowledge among distinct participant groups in the tropical Top End of the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. Participants were categorised into three groups: NT medical students and health research staff (Group 1: Hi-Ed), Aboriginal Rangers and Aboriginal Healthcare Workers (Group 2: Rangers/AHWs), and patients with a history of melioidosis infection (Group 3: Patients).

Improved limit of detection for zoonotic and surveillance using reverse transcription for total nucleic acid preserved samples or dried blood spots.

Background: Zoonotic and symptomatic and asymptomatic infections occur across endemic areas of Southeast Asia. Most infections are low-parasitemia, with an unknown proportion below routine microscopy detection thresholds. Molecular surveillance tools optimizing the limit of detection (LOD) would allow more accurate estimates of zoonotic malaria prevalence.

Characterisation of Plasmodium vivax lactate dehydrogenase dynamics in P. vivax infections.

Plasmodium vivax lactate dehydrogenase (PvLDH) is an essential enzyme in the glycolytic pathway of P. vivax. It is widely used as a diagnostic biomarker and a measure of total-body parasite biomass in vivax malaria.

Evidence uptake is only part of the process: Stakeholders' insights on WHO treatment guideline recommendation processes for radical cure of P. vivax malaria.

Health policy processes should be evidence-informed, transparent and timely, but these processes are often unclear to stakeholders outside the immediate policymaking environment. We spoke to 36 international malaria stakeholders to gain insights on the processes involved in the World Health Organization's Global Malaria Programme's recommendations for their treatment guidelines of P. vivax malaria.

A randomised controlled trial to compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of low dose, short course primaquine in adults with uncomplicated P. vivax malaria in two hospitals in India.

Background: Plasmodium vivax remains a major challenge for malaria control and elimination due to its ability to cause relapsing illness. To prevent relapses the Indian National Center for Vector Borne Diseases Control (NCVBDC) recommends treatment with primaquine at a dose of 0.25 mg/kg/day provided over 14 days.

Updating estimates of Plasmodium knowlesi malaria risk in response to changing land use patterns across Southeast Asia.

Background: Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic parasite that causes malaria in humans. The pathogen has a natural host reservoir in certain macaque species and is transmitted to humans via mosquitoes of the Anopheles Leucosphyrus Group. The risk of human P.

Field assessment of the operating procedures of a semi-quantitative G6PD Biosensor to improve repeatability of routine testing.

In remote communities, diagnosis of G6PD deficiency is challenging. We assessed the impact of modified test procedures and delayed testing for the point-of-care diagnostic STANDARD G6PD (SDBiosensor, RoK), and evaluated recommended cut-offs. We tested capillary blood from fingerpricks (Standard Method) and a microtainer (BD, USA; Method 1), venous blood from a vacutainer (BD, USA; Method 2), varied sample application methods (Methods 3), and used micropipettes rather than the test's single-use pipette (Method 4).

A multi-criteria framework for disease surveillance site selection: case study for malaria in Indonesia.

Disease surveillance aims to collect data at different times or locations, to assist public health authorities to respond appropriately. Surveillance of the simian malaria parasite, , is sparse in some endemic areas and the spatial extent of transmission is uncertain. Zoonotic transmission of has been demonstrated throughout Southeast Asia and represents a major hurdle to regional malaria elimination efforts.

Molecular markers for malaria genetic epidemiology: progress and pitfalls.

Over recent years, progress in molecular markers for genotyping malaria parasites has enabled informative studies of epidemiology and transmission dynamics. Results have highlighted the value of these tools for surveillance to support malaria control and elimination strategies. There are many different types and panels of markers available for malaria parasite genotyping, and for end users, the nuances of these markers with respect to 'use case', resolution, and accuracy, are not well defined.