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« Back to NewsAntimicrobial resistance is a silent killer that leads to 5 million deaths a year. Solutions must include the poor
19 November 2023
AMR has been linked to close to 5 million deaths annually. We need urgent global action to counter antimicrobial resistance, but current efforts focus on solutions developed in high-income settings. If we want people to become less dependent on antibiotics, we must address the factors that create dependency on antibiotics in the first place. The solution we are working towards is fair and inclusive; it respects people and their traditions while also benefiting human health, animal welfare and the natural environment.
Just by shining a light into an unopened vial, handheld device can quickly detect falsified COVID-19 vaccines
10 November 2023
Handheld Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) devices offer new hope for easily detecting falsified COVID-19 vaccines — even if the vaccine vials are unopened, say researchers in a paper published in Vaccine on 20 Oct 2023
Estimating hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections in England
24 October 2023
An estimated 95,000–167,000 inpatients at English National Health Service (NHS) hospitals caught SARS-CoV-2 while in hospital during England’s ‘second wave’ of COVID-19, between June 2020 and March 2021, reports a study in Nature. The findings reveal the scale of hospital transmissions and highlight contributing factors, such as a limited number of single rooms.
RSTMH recognises Prof Arjen Dondorp’s contributions to significantly improving health in the tropics
24 October 2023
Awards & Appointments MORU Bangkok
We were delighted to hear that MORU Deputy Director of MORU and Head of Malaria & Critical Illness, Prof Arjen Dondorp, has been awarded the highly prestigious 2023 George Macdonald Medal!! This medal recognises outstanding individual contribution for conducting research leading to significant improvements in health in the tropics. It is a joint award from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (RSTMH).
Bipin Adhikari awarded RSTMH Emerging Leaders Award
16 October 2023
Awards & Appointments MORU Bangkok
On 28 Sept, MORU Malaria Clinical Researcher Bipin Adhikari received a 2023 Emerging Leaders Award from the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH) to recognise his significant contributions in leadership and service, including mentoring and capacity building, to the fields of tropical medicine and global health.
Paxlovid® clears COVID-19 more rapidly than molnupiravir, say Oxford researchers
28 September 2023
In the first ever direct comparison between the two leading COVID antivirals molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid®), researchers report in this week’s Lancet Infectious Diseases that while both drugs worked, nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid®) was more effective, clearing the virus from the throat more rapidly than molnupiravir.
New evidence supports higher dose antimalarial to combat relapsing malaria
26 September 2023
Analysis of data from more than 6,800 patients located across 16 countries has supported the need to increase the dose of the antimalarial drug, primaquine, in Plasmodium vivax malaria endemic countries.
Three CTMGH researchers awarded Professorships
19 September 2023
Awards & Appointments MORU Bangkok
We are delighted to announce that three Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health (CTMGH) researchers have been awarded the Professor title, in recognition of their research achievements, contribution to teaching, and contribution to the general work of the Nuffield Department of Medicine.
Identifying factors for maternal and foetal mortality from malaria
31 August 2023
A study coordinated by NDM researchers published in BMC Medicine explores the factors predicting higher mortality in pregnant women with severe malaria and describes how severe falciparum malaria in pregnancy affects foetal health and mortality.
FORESFA Edinburgh meeting stimulates discussion
28 July 2023
The second annual FORESFA meeting, held in Edinburgh, stimulated discussion on forensic investigations of falsified medicines and engagement with potential implementers.
Researchers identify potential diagnostic markers of Japanese encephalitis, a leading cause of brain infection in Asia
21 June 2023
Work by Oxford DPhil could pave way towards a rapid diagnostic test for a disease that puts millions at risk across Asia-Pacific
Direk made Full Professor at Mahidol
26 May 2023
Awards & Appointments MORU Bangkok
We are delighted that Direk Limmathurotsakul, a MORU member since 2004 and Head of Microbiology at MORU since 2012, has been awarded a full Professorship at Mahidol University.
Bob Taylor awarded Oxford Associate Professorship
26 May 2023
Awards & Appointments MORU Bangkok
We are delighted to announce that Bob Taylor has been made an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford. Since joining MORU in 2009 Bob has led many important clinical studies and trials in vivax and falciparum malaria and more recently in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Many of Bob’s research impacts have been of truly global significance.
New study highlights the evidence gap on the quality of antiretrovirals globally
12 May 2023
A new study suggests that, although there is sparse evidence, substandard and falsified antiretrovirals occur and enhanced surveillance is needed.
Global team of humanities and social science researchers to explore Just Transitions for antimicrobial resistance
9 May 2023
'Just Transitions to mitigate antimicrobial resistance' is a multidisciplinary social science and humanities programme funded by the British Academy. Led by Dr Sonia Lewycka and Professor Phaik Yeong Cheah, its team of 20 researchers will convene global and regional dialogues, engaging with key stakeholders to co-create equitable and sustainable solutions to manage antimicrobial resistance.
Fight against drug-resistant malaria in critical new phase: “We are in danger of losing our current antimalarial drugs to resistance.”
24 April 2023
On World Malaria Day 2023, the global fight against malaria has hit a critical point in Africa. Recent studies have confirmed that malaria parasites resistant to artemisinin have emerged in Rwanda, Uganda and the Horn of Africa.
After reviewing progress on improving global medicine quality, participants plan next global conference
21 April 2023
On 23 March, experts in medicine quality and substandard and falsified (SF) medicines gathered in Oxford for an informal one-day meeting following the workshop ‘The relationship between substandard and falsified antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance and patient outcomes’. Over 60 participants from multiple countries attended the meeting in the Theatre of the Department of Sociology at Oxford, and participated in focussed discussions and intense sharing of challenges and successes in medicine quality and countering SF medicines. Mainly from academia, participants also included representatives from international organisations, the private sector and NGOs.
ACORN investigators meet to kick off 2nd year of data collection
5 April 2023
Conferences & meetings MORU Bangkok
Funded by Wellcome, ACORN (A Clinically-Oriented antimicrobial Resistance Network) is an AMR surveillance project that collects clinical and microbiology data on community- and hospital-acquired infections. ACORN will assess the impacts of AMR on the duration of hospitalisation and mortality in collaboration with the WHO Global AMR Surveillance System (GLASS) team.
New antibiotic combination speeds recovery from severe scrub typhus, which infects 1 million people per year
1 March 2023
Treating patients ill with severe scrub typhus – a life-threatening infection that kills tens of thousands of people a year - with a combination of intravenous antibiotics doxycycline and azithromycin is significantly more effective than the current monotherapy of using either drug alone, say researchers in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
Watch our webinar - Radical cure of vivax malaria: can we do better?
1 March 2023
The three presentations and expert discussion by Dr Rob Commons, Dr Alison Roth and Dr James Watson, chaired by Professor Sir Nicholas White (Mahidol Oxford Research Unit) and Dr Chau Nguyen Hoang (Oxford University Clinical Research Unit), are now available.
Study supports evidence ivermectin not effective to treat COVID-19
21 February 2023
21 Feb 2023 Oxford UK - High doses of the drug ivermectin, controversially recommended by some high-profile political and media figures during the COVID-19 pandemic, is ineffective at treating the COVID-19 virus, say University of Oxford-affiliated researchers in a study published today in eLife.
Phase II Malaria vaccine trial begins in Thailand
1 February 2023
The Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) has begun a Phase II trial to demonstrate that R21/matrix M is well-tolerated and immunogenic when administered with the antimalarial drug combination.
Pilot study detects diverse DNA in ingredients of falsified tablets
10 January 2023
A recent multidisciplinary pilot study, originating from LOMWRU and the Medicine Quality Research Group of IDDO and MORU, investigated whether bacterial, plant, fungal and animal DNA in the ingredients and from the environment (eDNA) could be detected from falsified (aka counterfeit) tablets.
Ricardo Aguas awarded Associate Professorship
5 January 2023
We are delighted to announce that Ricardo Aguas has been awarded the Associate Professor title, in recognition of his achievements, contribution to teaching, and contribution to the general work of the Nuffield Department of Medicine.
COPCOV investigators meet, and prepare to submit for publication
23 December 2022
On 15-16 Dec, COPCOV investigators from around the world met in Bangkok to review study results and plan next steps. Led by co-PIs Prof Sir Nick White and Dr Will Schilling, and funded by the Wellcome Trust, the MORU-led COPCOV ( Chloroquine prevention of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the healthcare setting) is the world’s largest multinational trial of COVID-19 prevention.
Researchers call for antimicrobial resistance surveillance to be improved
20 December 2022
The number of studies reporting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data has increased in Africa, South and South East Asia according to new research in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Are we getting tafenoquine dosing right?
6 December 2022
Researchers analysing clinical trial data for the new antimalarial drug tafenoquine find that higher doses are needed to cure reliably vivax malaria infection.
Constant genetic surveillance necessary to keep multidrug-resistant malaria parasite strains in check, study finds
1 December 2022
Continually monitoring malaria parasite populations is necessary to prevent outbreaks of previously dormant multidrug-resistant malaria strains, say University of Oxford researchers. Multidrug-resistant malaria parasite strains can rapidly grow or collapse in response to public health policy changes, say the researchers in a study published today in The Lancet.
Meta-analysis informed the updated WHO guidelines for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in the first trimester of pregnancy
29 November 2022
A new WWARN meta-analysis, commissioned by the World Health Organization and which informed a change to its treatment guidelines, has been published in The Lancet. The study provides compelling evidence that artemether-lumefantrine should now replace quinine as the treatment of choice in the first trimester.
SMRU and BHF inaugurate new Admin Building
29 November 2022
Today saw the long-awaited grand opening of the new Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU) / Borderland Health Foundation (BHF) Admin Building in Mae Ramat, Thailand, near the Thai-Myanmar border. And, boy was it worth the wait! Years in the planning, the very impressive new Admin Building looked absolutely stunning, the siting and architecture being universally admired by the many guests.
Bacterial infections linked to one in eight global deaths, according to GRAM study
22 November 2022
Data showing 7.7 million deaths from 33 bacterial infections can guide measures to strengthen health systems, particularly in low-income settings
Combating drug-resistant malaria
26 October 2022
MORU research has contributed to strategies to eliminate malaria in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, helping to prevent the spread of drug-resistant malaria and improving health provision and outcomes for remote communities.
Study shows clear link between antibiotic treatment and acquisition of AMR bacteria in children
19 October 2022
A study of the genetic diversity of Streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacterium responsible for hundreds of thousands of infant deaths each year, found that deep sequencing whole pneumococcal populations gave unsurpassed sensitivity for detecting multiple colonisations and was twice as effective at detecting invasive virulent strains of the bacteria as current best methods, say researchers in a study published in Nature Microbiology.
Antimalarial chemoprophylaxis for forest goers could help accelerate malaria elimination in Cambodia
28 September 2022
Giving people antimalarials during and after visiting the forest reduced their risk of contracting malaria 6-fold, and could be the missing piece towards eliminating malaria in Asia-Pacific and South America, say Mahidol and Oxford University researchers in a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Call for researchers: Share your country’s national COVID-19 therapeutics guidelines
31 August 2022
The joint MORU and IDDO Study to review global COVID-19 therapeutics guidelines, led by PIs Cintia V. Cruz, Mia Cokljat and Philippe Guérin, is examining current national COVID-19 treatment recommendations to investigate the level of variation and whether they are consistent with WHO guidelines for the pharmacological prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
Three new full Oxford Professors from MORU
30 August 2022
Awards & Appointments MOCRU MORU Bangkok
Three MORU Network staff awarded full professorship at the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford.
INTERBIO-21st study findings could help predict infants at risk of obesity
30 August 2022
Fetal abdomen growth and the mother’s blood fat metabolites very early in pregnancy influence a child’s weight, body fat, vision and neurodevelopment at 2 years of age
Using mathematical modelling to fight malaria
12 August 2022
Researchers have created a mathematical model to predict genetic resistance to antimalarial drugs in Africa to manage one of the biggest threats to global malarial control.
Oxford conferences put focus on substandard and falsified antimicrobials and vaccines
6 August 2022
MORU’s Medicine Quality Research Group (MQRG) organised a multidisciplinary hybrid meeting at Keble College, Oxford, 3-6 July for the Wellcome Collaborative Award-funded FORESFA project (‘Forensic epidemiology and impact of substandard and falsified antimicrobials on public health’).
Incomplete reporting of COVID-19 disease severity criteria compromises meta-analysis
20 July 2022
Patients affected by COVID-19 should be treated according to the severity of their disease. However, not all key national or international organisations define severity in the same way. This imprecision in severity assessment compromises the validity of some therapeutic recommendations. Using individual patient data would better guide and improve therapeutic recommendations for COVID-19.