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.
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\u2019s largest multinational trial of COVID-19 prevention.
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.
Researchers analysing clinical trial data for the new antimalarial drug tafenoquine find that higher doses are needed to cure reliably vivax malaria infection.
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.
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.
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.
The joint MORU and IDDO Study to review global COVID-19 therapeutics guidelines, led by PIs Cintia V. Cruz, Mia Cokljat and Philippe Gu\u00e9rin, 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.
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.
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.
Microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained blood films is key to quantifying and detecting malaria parasites but there can be difficulties in ensuring both a high-quality manual reading and inter-reader reliability. The EasyScan GO was developed as a potential solution to this, a microscopy device using machine-learning-based image analysis for automated parasite detection and quantification.
David Warrell, our founding director, has been appointed by the Queen \u2018Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George for services to global Health Research and Clinical Practice\u2019. Please join us in congratulating Sir David on receiving this richly deserved high honour!
Today is World Malaria Day. The global fight against malaria is at a critical point. No new antimalarial drugs are expected in the near future, and if multi-drug resistant falciparum malaria becomes established in East Africa and spreads to other parts of Africa, millions will be at risk of drug-resistant malaria infection and death. The development of triple artemisinin-based combination therapies aims to prevent or delay the emergence of artemisinin and multi-drug resistant malaria in Africa.
A triple artemisinin-based combination therapy (TACT) of artemether-lumefantrine plus amodiaquine (AL+AQ) for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in areas with a high prevalence of artemisinin resistance is a well-tolerated, effective treatment for multidrug-resistant parasites, say a team of MORU-led researchers.
A new malaria study using a very large analysis of pooled individual patient data (IPD) from more than 70,000 patients of all ages, has been published in BMC Medicine by the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network Falciparum Haematology Study Group
From 2002-2018, there has been a steady increase in the places and proportion of infected people reporting validated kelch13 (K13) artemisinin resistance markers, according to a study in The Lancet Microbe. This increase in artemisinin resistance threatens efforts to eliminate malaria in Asia by 2030 \u2014 and control efforts in other endemic regions. The authors say that more consistent data collection, over longer time periods in the same areas, and rapid sharing of data are needed to map the spread of resistance and better inform policy decisions.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is responsible for at least 1.27 million deaths per year \u2014 with over 97,000 deaths in 2019 in SE Asia alone, according to a study published in The Lancet by the Global Research on AntiMicrobial resistance (GRAM) project, who urged urgent action from policymakers and health communities to avoid further preventable deaths.
Patients in north Africa and the Middle East are using antibiotics in sharply rising quantities far beyond the global average, raising concerns over the escalating risks of resistance to medicines to treat bacterial infections. Estimated antibiotic consumption for 204 countries between 2000 and 2018 shows a 46 per cent increase in global antibiotic usage, with a surge in nations including India and Vietnam.
A downloadable resource for educators, health & research professionals to help develop young peoples\u2019 understanding of AMR and positive actions they can take to mitigate it.
To mark WHO World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, 18-24 Nov 2021, and help reduce the overuse of antibiotics, MORU researchers have released a new, easy to use online tool \u2013 Antibiotic Footprint Calculator \u2013 that could make an important contribution in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), one of the world\u2019s most significant emerging threats to public health.
Global antibiotic consumption rates increased by 46 percent in the last two decades, according to the first study to provide longitudinal estimates for human antibiotic consumption covering 204 countries from 2000 to 2018, published in Lancet Planetary Health by the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project.
A global study examining the impact of chloroquine / hydroxychloroquine in preventing COVID-19, COPCOV has recruited 3,386 participants as of 26 Oct from sites in Benin, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali, Nepal, Pakistan, Zambia, and closed sites in Thailand, Niger and the UK. Last week, the COPCOV team agreed with active site research teams that it will continue to recruit new participants until 30 Nov 2021, with preliminary study results expected Q1 2022.
A new, extensive systematic review has identified significant research gaps in the treatment of scrub typhus which could be improved by developing a database for individual participant data (IPD) to enable more detailed analyses to address important knowledge gaps such as the optimum dosing for children and to improve patient outcomes.
Every year, the Nuffield Department of Medicine (NDM) awards NDM Prizes to its most outstanding graduate research students. MORU was well represented this year, with Mo Yin and Rebecca Inglis highly commended in the category NDM Overall Prize, for conducting research with an outstanding impact. Will Schilling (MORU) received a prize as first year DPhil student.
Following the meeting of the Medical Sciences Divisional Committee to consider applications for the conferral of the title of Associate Professor, we are pleased to announce that Rashan Haniffa, Dorcas Kamuya, Isabella Oyier, Le Van Tan and Timothy Walker have been awarded the title Associate Professor
A 6-week recruitment burst at Aga Khan University in Pakistan led the way as COPCOV enrolment broke 1600 participants. Led by MORU, COPCOV is the world\u2019s largest trial trying to determine if hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine prevent COVID-19.
An international team, led by Phaik Yeong Cheah, conducted an anonymous online survey from May-June 2020, asking 5,058 people in Thailand, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Italy and Slovenia to share their experiences. Anne Osterrieder and colleagues report the unequal impacts of public health measures, and the prevalence of \u2018fake news\u2019.
About one-third of children diagnosed with severe malaria may instead have an alternative cause of illness, but simple blood tests could help researchers distinguish between the two and speed up research on new treatments.
Malaria continues to be a major killer, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting the world\u2019s most vulnerable populations with more than 500,000 deaths per year, most of them African children. Emergence of resistance to antimalarial drugs is major public health issue. American Society for Microbiology Editor Dr Cesar Arias discusses with Professor Sir Nick White the latest information on this rapidly evolving field.
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