Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Scientists warn of urban malaria in Africa and South East Asia

Scientists at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine are alerting the world to what they see as a new emerging tropical disease - that of urban malaria in Africa and South East Asia.

29 Nov 2004

Moldova making progress in fight against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis

Moldova’s early actions to fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are slowing the rise of the country’s dual tuberculosis and AIDS epidemics, the World Bank reports.

29 Nov 2004

Drug combination of amodiaquine and sulfadoxinepyrimethamine might offer the optimal treatment for malaria

Results of a randomised trial from Uganda in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that the drug combination of amodiaquine and sulfadoxinepyrimethamine might offer the optimal treatment for malaria in terms of efficacy and cost-effectiveness in this region.

29 Nov 2004

4 million extra health workers needed worldwide

Authors of a public-health article in this week’s issue of THE LANCET are calling for urgent international action to address the chronic lack of investment in human resources which is limiting the chance of tackling diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB.

29 Nov 2004

Shortages of health workers threaten health initiatives

A new study has for the first time quantified the dangerous scarcity of health care workers around the globe, ensuring future failures of most developing country health initiatives without the effective addition of 4 million health workers to stave off catastrophic health, economic and political consequences.

24 Nov 2004

Research opens up new avenues to diagnosis and treat Lyme disease

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified a Lyme disease receptor called TROSPA that is used by disease agents to invade ticks.

14 Nov 2004

Better co-ordination crucial to help reduce maternal and child illness and death

The first of a series of articles looking at public health in complex emergencies (such as famine, population movement arising from civil conflicts and associated health problems) is published in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.

14 Nov 2004

HIV drugs known as protease inhibitors also protect against Malaria

Scientists from The Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have found that a group of HIV drugs known as protease inhibitors may also be effective for treating or preventing malaria.

11 Nov 2004

Effective research could prevent half of the world's deaths

Health systems research has the potential to produce dramatic improvements in health worldwide and to meet some of the major development challenges in the new millennium.

11 Nov 2004

All patients in study clear parasite that causes African sleeping sickness

Immtech International has announced that all 30 patients participating in the concluded Phase IIb extended dose regimen arm of its clinical trial of DB289 for treating African sleeping sickness cleared the parasite that causes African sleeping sickness within the treatment period, with no significant adverse results reported.

11 Nov 2004

Sharply increased demand for artemether-lumefantrine, used to treat malaria, is likely to result in a shortage

Sharply increased demand for artemether-lumefantrine, an artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) used to treat malaria, is likely to result in a shortage from now until at least March 2005. ACTs are currently the most effective medicines available to treat falciparum malaria -- the deadliest form of the disease.

9 Nov 2004

Protease inhibitors used to treat HIV-1 infection may also be effective for treatment or prevention of malaria

The study found protease inhibitors inhibited the growth of P. falciparum, the malaria parasite that causes most disease. These findings may also expose a previously unexplored vulnerability in the parasite that could lead to a new class of anti-malarial drug.

8 Nov 2004

Vaccine contributions to health highlighted at PAHO meeting

Vaccine programs in the Americas have made major contributions to improving health in the Americas and new vaccines could go even further, said Dr. D.A. Henderson, a global expert who chairs a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) technical group here today.

4 Nov 2004

Research suggests that children with severe malaria may not be as badly dehydrated as was previously thought

Every year around a million people, mainly small children, die of malaria. Dehydration is thought to contribute to fatal cases of the disease and, hence, doctors often give fluids to treat very ill children.

4 Nov 2004

Insects implicated in the evolution of new human infectious diseases

Insects and other invertebrates are the arena for the evolution of new infectious diseases in humans, new research shows.

25 Oct 2004

A new general medical journal launched this week with a non-traditional publishing model

A new general medical journal launched this week with a non-traditional publishing model is the latest top-tier venue for publishing important, peer-reviewed biomedical research, and is being called the first major, international journal to be introduced in more than 70 years.

22 Oct 2004

Malaria vaccine candidate looks extremely promising

In a proof-of-concept study published this week in The Lancet, researchers report that GlaxoSmithKline's RTS,S/AS02A malaria vaccine candidate protected a significant percentage of children against uncomplicated malaria, infection, and even severe forms of the disease for at least six months.

16 Oct 2004

Global under-five death rate far below targets agreed to by world leaders

New country-by-country data reveals alarmingly slow progress on reducing child deaths despite the availability of proven, low-cost interventions, a UNICEF survey revealed today.

8 Oct 2004

Most malaria deaths among U.S. travelers between 1963 and 2001 were preventable

A new study finds that most malaria deaths among U.S. travelers between 1963 and 2001 were preventable. The study is published in the Oct. 5, 2004, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, a peer-reviewed medical journal published in Philadelphia by the American College of Physicians.

4 Oct 2004

PAHO outlines health challenges ahead

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Mirta Roses today presented a report summarizing PAHO's work over the past year in the Americas, during a special session of a meeting of the region's ministers of health taking place at PAHO headquarters this week.

28 Sep 2004