Running continuously since Sept 2021, the PLATCOV trial has randomised over 1700 patients presenting with COVID19 infections. Work by PLATCOV\u2019s Dr Phrutsamon Wongnak published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases has shown that rates of oropharyngeal viral clearance have accelerated dramatically since the trial started: A SARS CoV2 viral clearance half-life in untreated patients of around 16 hours In Sept 2021 had reduced to around 9 hours by Oct 2023. The results highlight the importance of pharmacometric platform trials like PLATCOV, so that we are prepared for the next pandemic.
In April 2024, the Head of MAEMOD, Wirichada (Pan) Pan-ngum was awarded the title of Associate Professor at the University of Oxford in recognition of her contributions to research, teaching and administration/citizenship at Oxford and beyond. Please join us in extending your heartiest congratulations to Pan for this significant honour and recognition of academic achievement. Well done, Pan!
Experts from across the globe joined forces to discuss how screening technologies can be improved so they can be more widely used to detect substandard and falsified medical products.
A new study, led by researchers at the Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO) and the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) at NDM, found that a large number of national guidelines recommend at least one treatment proven not to work.
Global Health research at the University of Oxford and its partners is broad reaching, bringing significant impact across all academic disciplines of medicine, the physical and life sciences, social sciences and humanities. The Diagnostics in Tropical and Infectious Disease (DiTi) award, run by the Translational Research Office, aims to strengthen the long-term partnership between Oxford University and Mahidol University by establishing partnerships and supporting collaborative projects to develop diagnostic devices for tropical and infectious diseases, with the goal of driving more translational research initiatives in global health. \r\nRead this interview from award winner Dr Chris Chew.
An updated systematic search and review of published information from over 4,000 malaria samples has identified areas in central, eastern and north-eastern India where treatment-resistant malaria parasites could be more prevalent.
New research by the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, explores the potential benefits of a presumptive lateral flow rapid diagnostic test in managing acute non-malarial febrile illness (NMFI) patient care in rural areas of Southeast Asia.
Researchers have found that a new test using a CRISPR-Cas12a system (CRISPR-BP34) diagnosed patients with melioidosis, an often-fatal tropical disease caused by the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei, within hours, rather than days as in current bacterial culture methods, so patients could receive the correct, life-saving antibiotics faster.
An analysis of over 11,000 falciparum malaria individual patient data sets has found that acutely malnourished children have a higher risk of reinfections and treatment failures, even when treated with recommended doses of artemisinin-based combination therapies, currently the best malaria treatment available. The malaria parasite clearance was also likely to be longer in these children.
New work from the Medicine Quality Group at IDDO and MORU pilots the use of stable isotope mass spectrometry to estimate where falsified antimalarials and their components come from. The study, published in Scientific Reports, is a collaboration between the Medicine Quality Research Group, LOMWRU, and MORU Bangkok, working with stable isotope scientists in Utah, USA.
Researchers have found that widely available rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), typically used for common infections, can be repurposed to detect substandard and falsified (SF) vaccines, a significant but overlooked issue in global public health. Preliminary data suggests RDTs could be utilized by international organizations and regulators to screen vaccine supply chains for falsified products. This innovative approach addresses the urgent need for affordable tools to combat the threat of SF vaccines.
Findings reveal resistance patterns for a priority pathogen--also known as typhoid fever--with high mortality and morbidity in resource-constrained settings
MORU' and IDDO\u2019s Medicine Quality Research Group (MQRG) have written a chapter in a new book which examines the global issue of substandard and falsified medical products.
A recent study by the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) at NDM outlined a highly effective method for dengue surveillance. The researchers improved risk detection in real time by combining space-time modelling and anomaly detection. This will help in making dengue prevention more effective not only in Thailand but also in other regions with similar challenges.
Giving high oral doses of the anti-influenza drug Favipiravir to adults with early symptomatic COVID-19 treatment did not accelerate viral clearance, say researchers in a study published in BMC Infectious Diseases. In fact, there was no difference in the rate of viral clearance between patients given favipiravir and patients receiving no study drug.
Although Nipah virus gets increasing attention in epidemic preparedness, there has been almost no bioethical work on the epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. Further work on public health ethics should address communication about the modes of transmission, surveillance, measures during epidemics, and social or religious norms, as well as potential vaccine trials and the different local contexts where trials may occur, and the use of unproven therapeutics during outbreaks. Further bioethics work may help to ensure that research and public health interventions for Nipah virus disease are ethically acceptable and more likely to be effective.
In a recent study, NDM\u2019s Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) researchers introduced an anomaly detection system, as an early warning mechanism for potential malaria outbreaks in countries like Thailand.
Medical Action Myanmar successfully eliminated falciparum malaria in Eastern Myanmar within six years, employing 172 community health workers for early diagnosis and treatment. Their approach, integrating basic health services with malaria care, led to a rapid reduction in both falciparum and vivax malaria cases. This cost-effective strategy challenges traditional, labor-intensive methods, emphasizing the importance of community health workers in achieving malaria elimination in challenging, remote areas.
To boost the fight against drug-resistant malaria parasites now emerging in Africa, researchers will study the safety and efficacy of a fixed-dose combination (FDC) containing three antimalarial drugs currently given to patients separately in a triple artemisinin-based combination therapy (TACT) cocktail.
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.
Handheld Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) devices offer new hope for easily detecting falsified COVID-19 vaccines \u2014 even if the vaccine vials are unopened, say researchers in a paper published in Vaccine on 20 Oct 2023
An estimated 95,000\u2013167,000 inpatients at English National Health Service (NHS) hospitals caught SARS-CoV-2 while in hospital during England\u2019s \u2018second wave\u2019 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.
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).
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.
In the first ever direct comparison between the two leading COVID antivirals molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid\u00ae), researchers report in this week\u2019s Lancet Infectious Diseases that while both drugs worked, nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid\u00ae) was more effective, clearing the virus from the throat more rapidly than molnupiravir.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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\u2019s research impacts have been of truly global significance.
'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.
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.
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 \u2018The relationship between substandard and falsified antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance and patient outcomes\u2019. 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.
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.
Treating patients ill with severe scrub typhus \u2013 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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
![\"PLATCOV](\"https://www.tropmedres.ac/news/platcov-researchers-find-dramatic-acceleration-of-sars-cov2-viral-clearance-rates-since-sept-2021/responsive_image?ratio=r16x9&scale=w760\")
\n \n \n\n\n