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A new study quantifying the high risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria aims to identify populations in which a policy of universal radical cure, combining artemisinin-based combination therapy with a hypnozoitocidal antimalarial drug, would be most beneficial.
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Credit: Dominic Chavez, World Bank
A systematic review of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Myanmar
Posted 21/11/2023. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of preventable and treatable diseases common in Myanmar, primarily affecting marginalized rural communities. Myo Swe and colleagues provide an overview of reported NTDs in Myanmar over 100 years, indicating gaps in knowledge about certain diseases to inform future research directions related to NTDs in Myanmar.
Mass drug administration for the acceleration of malaria elimination in a region of Myanmar with artemisinin-resistant falciparum malaria
Posted 07/07/2021. Frank Smithuis and colleagues conducted a large cluster randomized evaluation of mass drug administration (MDA) with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for malaria elimination in an area with high artemisinin resistant Plasmodium falciparum. MDA was a safe and effective tool to accelerate P. falciparum elimination, alongside routine community-based malaria control measures. It was well tolerated and well accepted. MDA did not select for drug resistant parasites.
Case Report: Children with Severe Nutritional Rickets in the Naga Region in Northwest Myanmar, on the border with India
Posted 29/06/2021. Frank Smithuis and colleagues describe a cluster of 29 children with severe, painful bone deformities living in very remote Nagaland, northwest Myanmar. They had low 25-hydroxyvitamin D, elevated parathyroid hormone, and elevated alkaline phosphatase levels, consistent with nutritional rickets secondary to vitamin D deficiency, calcium deficiency, or a combination of both. After treatment with vitamin D3 and calcium carbonate, we saw significant improvement in symptoms, biochemistry, and radiography. This is the first report of nutritional rickets in Myanmar in over 120 years.
Community engagement, social context and coverage of mass anti-malarial administration
Posted 16/04/2019. Lorenz Von Seidlein and colleagues in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos explored what happens to malaria transmission when all people residing in a village are treated with antimalarials at the same time, whether they are sick or not. They demonstrated that providing the necessary information is important, but building trust between residents and the team providing the antimalarials is most critical for success.
The impact of targeted malaria elimination with mass drug administrations on falciparum malaria in Southeast Asia
Posted 26/03/19. Lorenz Von Seidlein and colleagues wanted to know whether well-resourced mass drug administrations (MDA) can accelerate malaria elimination in the Greater Mekong Subregion. They randomised 16 villages in Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to receive MDAs with antimalarial drugs. The intervention had a substantial impact on the prevalence of P. falciparum infections by month 3 after the start of the MDAs. Over the subsequent 9 months, P. falciparum infections returned but stayed below baseline levels.
Geographical distribution of Burkholderia pseudomallei in soil in Myanmar
Posted 11/06/2021. Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium found in soil, can cause melioidosis, a potentially fatal disease. Melioidosis was first described in Myanmar but rarely reported over the past decades due to lack of awareness and limited diagnostic facilities. Frank Smithuis and colleagues report a widespread distribution of the organism in Myanmar soil. This should alert clinicians to consider melioidosis as a potential cause of sepsis, pneumonia or abscesses.
Ambulatory induction phase treatment of cryptococcal meningitis in HIV integrated primary care clinics, Yangon, Myanmar
Posted 14/05/2021. Cryptococcal meningitis is a common serious HIV-associated infection, responsible for 15% of AIDS related deaths globally. Patients are usually treated as in-patients. Frank Smithuis and colleagues reviewed 76 patients treated with amphotericin and fluconazole as out-patients in primary care clinics in Yangon, Myanmar. One-year survival (86%) was higher than existing hospital-based treatment studies and 1029 hospitals days were saved.
Evaluation of the forum theatre approach for public engagement around antibiotic use in Myanmar
Posted 31/07/2020. Myo Maung Maung Swe and colleagues describe evaluation and experience of using the forum theatre technique, a novel form of public engagement. Our experience was fun, informative and encouraged widespread participation around the subject of antibiotic use. We believe that this technique will be of great interest to scientists who engage in activities using participatory techniques.
Integration of HIV services with primary care in Yangon, Myanmar
Posted 21/08/2020. Frank Smithuis and colleagues did a retrospective cohort analysis looking at integration of HIV care with general health care clinics in Yangon, Myanmar. HIV patient survival was high at 0.95 at 1 year and 0.90 at 5 years. Integration is effective to attain early linkage to care but attention should be given to disengagement from care, in particular for pregnant women.
Effect of point-of-care C-reactive protein testing on antibiotic prescription in febrile patients attending primary care in Thailand and Myanmar
Posted 15/01/2019. Dr Thomal Althaus and colleagues managed to reduce antibiotic prescription using the C-reactive protein (CRP) test among 2,410 children and adults presented with a fever in primary care centres in Thailand & Myanmar. The perspective of a rapid and affordable test for CRP, identifying febrile patients who really need an antibiotic, is now possible!
Molecular characterization and mapping of G6PD mutations in the Greater Mekong Subregion
Posted 19/02/2019. Germana Bancone and colleagues characterized glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in over 10 thousand samples collected in 138 villages in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, showing a country-level prevalence in males ranging from 7.3% to 18.8%. Given this high prevalence, G6PD testing should be carried out in the Greater Mekong Subregion before P. vivax radical cure with 8-aminoquinolines.
Malaria
Posted 17/04/2018. This new Lancet malaria seminar, by Elizabeth Ashley and Charlie Woodrow, is one of a series of clinically focused, structured, up-to-date reviews which are grouped together in The Lancet Clinic with other relevant content. The aim of the seminars is to give a comprehensive overview of diseases to practising clinicians, emphasising recent advances, controversies and uncertainties.
Study analyses antimicrobial resistance surveillance networks in LMICs
Posted 10/04/2018. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to public health. A new report by Elizabeth Ashley and colleagues describes the role of supranational networks in AMR surveillance in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); Liz Ashley and colleagues analysed networks that were in existence between January 2000 and August 2017. This study reveals the challenges of establishing sustainable and effective networks to tackle resistance to antimicrobial medicines.