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\n \n \n \nPosted 01/09/2020. This paper provides an overview of FIEBRE\u2019s activities. The study aims to identify infections that are treatable and/or preventable, to assess antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial pathogens and to collect qualitative data on care-seeking and treatment behaviours. Paul Newton and colleagues detail clinical and laboratory assessments, data analysis plan, and outline the study\u2019s strengths and limitations.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 27/08/2020. Germana Bancone and colleagues from EDCD (Nepal) and SMRU conducted this study in malaria endemic districts of Nepal, showing that G6PD deficiency is prevalent among most ethnic groups across the region. G6PD testing will be necessary for safe deployment of 8-aminoquinolines in order to eliminate Plasmodium vivax malaria in Nepal.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 25/08/2020. With renewed interest in chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, much has recently been written and published about the risk of haemolysis in G6PD deficient individuals. William Schilling and colleagues believe many have overlooked the wealth of data which already exists about this very issue. Here presented is an overview of the long-accrued evidence (as well as that from recent COVID-19 publications) that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine do not induce haemolysis in G6PD deficiency.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 10/03/2020. Incidence data about infectious diseases are needed to inform decisions about vaccine introduction. Using data from health-seeking behaviour survey for fever and data from hospital bloodstream infection, Mayfong Mayxay and colleagues estimated typhoid and paratyphoid fever incidence in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and found that the incidence is low, with an annual incidence of 4.7 and 0.5 per 100,000 persons, for typhoid and paratyphoid fever, respectively.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 14/08/2020. David Dance and colleagues describe a multi-centre study, co-ordinated by EUCAST, to establish interpretative criteria for Burkholderia pseudomallei disc diffusion tests. Three MORU network sites (Laos, Thailand and Cambodia) participated. The results, based on 361 isolates, will enable laboratories around the world to conduct quality-assured testing of B. pseudomallei susceptibility.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 28/07/2020. Ticks, fleas and lice from dogs in Vientiane (Lao PDR) were shown to carry a variety of zoonotic pathogens including R. felis (cat-flea typhus). Matthew Robinson and colleagues highlight the risk of these pathogens transmitted between dogs and humans within the city, as well as the role of pets in human diseases, and important public health considerations
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\n \n \n \nPosted 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.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 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.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 09/07/2019. On behalf of the Cambodian Ministry of Health Technical Working Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, Paul Turner and colleagues at COMRU recently led a review of published data on AMR in Cambodia. Significant AMR was identified in a range of priority pathogens although data were limited. On-going national AMR surveillance will address this data gap.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 31/05/2019. Drug-resistant infections caused by Enterobacteriaceae, a family of Gram-negative bacteria, account for a high and increasing disease burden amongst hospitalised neonates in Southeast Asia; carbapenem-resistant strains are particularly important because of limited antibiotic treatment options. Tamalee Roberts and colleagues found that nearly two thirds of infants in a neonatal unit in Thailand became asymptomatic carriers with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae during their hospital stays. This work indicates a critical need for interventions to reduce this usually hidden reservoir of drug-resistant bacteria.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 23/10/18. A plethora of innovative portable devices to screen for poor quality medicines has become available. In a review of the scientific evidence regarding their performances, Dr Celine Caillet and colleagues show that there is a vitally important lack of independent evaluation of the majority of the 41 devices (most being spectrophotometers) found in our search, particularly in field settings. Intensive research is needed in order to inform national medicines regulatory authorities of the optimal choice of device to combat poor quality medicines.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 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!
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\n \n \n \nPosted 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.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 01/10/2019. In the light of the alarming global increase in diabetes, Kartika Saraswati and colleagues at the LOMWRU-IDDO Medicine Quality team found few investigations on the quality of antidiabetics and supplies for self-monitoring of blood glucose. However, poor quality medical products were identified on four continents. This important public health issue should thus be further investigated.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 17/03/2017. An investigation conducted by the international medical organisation M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res revealed that over a thousand people in a remote area of the Democratic Republic of Congo suffered toxic effects after ingesting fake diazepam pills. The research was published in The Lancet Global Health with contribution from Prof Paul Newton from IDDO and LOMWRU.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 25/04/2018. Mary-Ellen Gilder and colleagues at SMRU demonstrate low levels of primaquine in breast milk, findings that should change treatment policy allowing more breastfeeding women to be cured of P.vivax. This will potentially reduce the global burden of this infection which has significant negative consequences for pregnant mothers and infants.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 05/07/2019. Health information can be life-saving, but how can it be conveyed to those who could benefit most? Through analysis of an unsuccessful public health campaign, Mary Ellen Gilder and SMRU colleagues learned from migrant women valuable lessons about health messaging in communities where most women do not complete the fourth grade.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 02/07/2019. Highly efficacious treatment can limit the cumulative deleterious impact of malaria during pregnancy on the mother and fetus. Correct assessment of treatment efficacy with an adequate length of follow up is required. Makoto Saito and colleagues at the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU) on the Thailand-Myanmar border suggest that pregnant women need to be followed up longer than the currently recommended duration of follow-up to assess antimalarial drug efficacy.
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\n \n \n \nPosted 11/08/2020. This very large molecular epidemiology study done over 12 years describes the evolution and spread of antimalarial drug resistance across the entire Greater Mekong subregion (GMS). Mallika Imwong and colleagues show no evidence of spread of artemisinin resistant parasite lineages from the eastern to the western GMS. There is also no evidence for piperaquine resistance in the western GMS.
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