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Malaria remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and is responsible for over 0.5 million annual deaths globally. During the first two decades of this century, scale-up of a range of tools was associated with significant reductions in malaria mortality in the primary risk group, young African children.
Since its inception in 2005, the US President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) has played a major role in the reductions in malaria morbidity and mortality observed across Africa. With the status of PMI funding and operations currently uncertain, we aimed to quantify the impact that a fully functioning PMI would have on malaria cases and deaths in Africa during 2025.
The Global Disease Modelling group informs development and implementation of drugs, medical treatments and non-medical interventions to effectively tackle disease. They build mathematical models of diseases, designed to take into account the complex constellation of interactions between pathogens, humans, diseases, the environment and entire healthcare systems.
Julian is the Program Manager for the Global Disease Modelling team at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Epke is a veterinarian that specializes in infectious disease control, and holds a PhD in human neglected tropical disease (NTD) control and elimination.
The rising burden of mosquito-borne diseases in Europe extends beyond urban areas, encompassing rural and semi-urban regions near managed and natural wetlands evidenced by recent outbreaks of Usutu and West Nile viruses. While wetland management policies focus on biodiversity and ecosystem services, few studies explore the impact on mosquito vectors.
Immunomodulatory proteins in human milk (HM) can shape infant immune development. However, strategies to modulate their levels are currently unknown. This study investigated whether maternal prebiotic supplementation alters the levels of immunomodulatory proteins in HM.
When models are used to inform decision-making, both their strengths and limitations must be considered. Using malaria as an example, we explain how and why models are limited and offer guidance for ensuring a model is well-suited for its intended purpose.
In 2022, the World Health Organization extended their guidelines for perennial malaria chemoprevention (PMC) from infants to children up to 24 months old. However, evidence for PMC's public health impact is primarily limited to children under 15 months. Further research is needed to assess the public health impact and cost-effectiveness of PMC, and the added benefit of further age-expansion. We integrated an individual-based model of malaria with pharmacological models of drug action to address these questions for PMC and a proposed age-expanded schedule (referred as PMC+, for children 03-36 months).
Malaria is a leading cause of death in school-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa, and non-fatal chronic malaria infections are associated with anaemia, school absence and decreased learning, preventing children from reaching their full potential. Malaria chemoprevention has led to substantial reductions in malaria in younger children in sub-Saharan Africa.