Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium applauds Tanzania's progress in rolling back malaria
[RBM Partnership Press Release] — (English)
Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Astrid of Belgium applauded Tanzania for the considerable gains made in the fight against malaria. Speaking at a meeting of Roll Back Malaria (RBM) partners on the last day of her visit to Tanzania as RBM Special Representative, HRH Princess Astrid said she was struck by the extraordinary commitment shown by healthworkers and partners working in malaria control....
Mwakyusa: Govt set to build malaria drugs factory [IPPmedia Tanzania, United Republic Of ] — (English)
The government has revealed plans to establish a factory for the production of artemether and lumefentrine (ALU) combination of drugs in a bid to minimize costs of treating malaria...
Temeke Municipal Hospital has serious shortage of facilities [IPPmedia Tanzania, United Republic Of] — (English)
Temeke municipal hospital lacks essential medical facilities hindering it to provide better health services to people seeking treatment of various diseases, it has been revealed. Temeke hospital Director, Dr. Suleiman Muttani said this on Wednesday in a short briefing to Princess Astrid of Belgium when she paid a visit to the hospital...
Roll Back Malaria Special Representative Princess Astrid of Belgium delivers insecticide-treated nets to primary school children [RBM Partnership Press Release] — (English)
Roll Back Malaria's first Royal Special Representative (HRH) Princess Astrid of Belgium handed out a thousand insecticide treated nets to school children today...
Astrid la Tanzanienne: La fille du Roi au chevet des victimes de la malaria [SUDPRESSE - Belgium (subscription required)] — (Français)
Comme le chanteur YoussouN’Dour, laprincesseAstrid s’estengagéepourdeuxans en tant que représentante d’un programme international de lutte contre la malaria, Roll Back Malaria (composé entre autres de l’Unicef et l’Organisation mondiale pour la santé). Aussi a-t-elle emmené dans son sillage en Afrique, cette semaine, une délégation presse afin de médiatiser les ravages de cette terrible maladie...
Tanzania: Roll Back Malaria Executive Director and HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium Visit to Encourage More Action Against Malaria [Roll Back Malaria Partnership PRESS RELEASE] — (English)
The Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership, Dr Awa Coll-Seck, and Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Astrid of Belgium, in her new capacity as Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Special Representative, arrived in the United Republic of Tanzania today to increase global support for the fight against malaria...
La princesse Astrid, ambassadrice contre la malaria [ La Libre - Belgium ] — (Français)
Détendu et radieux depuis son arrivée, dimanche soir, à Dar Es Salaam en Tanzanie, le visage de la nouvelle ambassadrice de "Roll back malaria" (RBM), la princesse Astrid, s'est quelque peu assombri au fur et à mesure que se déroulait la visite de l'hôpital du district de Temeke...
Princess Astrid on humanitarian mission to Tanzania [hellomagazin.com] — (English)
The Belgian royal offers support to a Tanzanian woman during her four day trip to the country to oversee Roll Back Malaria - an organisation set up to help reduce the infectious disease...
News on RTBF.be [rtbf.be] — (English)
News...
Prinses Astrid vervult humanitaire rol in Tanzania [Gazet van Antverpen] — (Flemish)
Op de tweede dag van haar humanitaire missie in Tanzania heeft prinses Astrid dinsdag veel veldwerk verricht. Een bezoek aan een ziekenhuis in een van de armste wijken van Dar es Salaam en een uitgelaten ontvangst in een plaatselijke basisschool lieten een diepe indruk na op de prinses, die als speciaal vertegenwoordiger van het partnerschap Roll Back Malaria (RBM) toch vooral een positieve boodschap wil brengen...
La princesse Astrid se rend en Tanzanie [ Le Soir - Belgium ] — (Français)
La princesse Astrid partira dimanche pour un voyage en Tanzanie, en Afrique centrale, en tant que représentante spéciale du partenariat Roll Back Malaria (RBM), qui a pour objet la lutte contre le paludisme. La mission de la princesse, qui durera jusqu’au 4 octobre, sera de renforcer la lutte contre cette maladie. Le programme officiel de la princesse, qui sera accompagnée par plusieurs représentants de RBM et d’une délégation de journalistes, débutera lundi. Il prévoit des visites d’écoles, d’hôpitaux, de centres médicaux et d’une entreprise de fabrication de moustiquaires...
Prinses Astrid trekt als speciaal gezante naar Tanzania [De Morgen] — (Flemish)
Prinses Astrid gaat van 30 september tot 4 oktober als speciaal vertegenwoordigster van het partnerschap Roll Back Malaria (RBM) naar Tanzania. Het partnerschap werd in 1998 opgericht door de Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie, het VN-kinderfonds Unicef, het ontwikkelingsfonds van de VN en de Wereldbank. In 2002 werd het uitgebreid met landen en instellingen die betrokken zijn bij de strijd tegen malaria...
La princesse Astrid, ambassadrice contre la malaria [La Libre Belgique] — (English)
La fille du Roi distribue des moustiquaires imprégnées d'insecticide en Tanzanie...
La princesa Astrid viaja a Tanzania para luchar contra la malaria [hola.com] — (Español)
La princesa Astrid se encuentra estos días en Tanzania como representante de la asociación Roll Back Malaria (RBM), organización creada en 1998 por la Organización Mundial de la Salud, la UNICEF, el Fondo para el Desarrollo de la ONU, y el Banco Mundial con el objetivo de luchar de una forma global y organizada contra la malaria. El programa de la visita, que terminará el día 4, incluye visitas a escuelas, hospitales, ambulatorios y a una fábrica que produce mosquiteras, vitales para impedir el contagio de la malaria. La Princesa también se entrevistará con el Ministro de Salud del país centroafricano...
Princess Astrid of Belgium listens to women during a visit to the Reproductive and Child Health clinic in Dar es Salaam [MSN] — (English)
Princess Astrid of Belgium (C), the Roll Back Malaria Special Representative, listens to women during a visit to the Reproductive and Child Health clinic in Dar es Salaam October 1, 2007. REUTERS/Emmanuel Kwitema (TANZANIA)...
TANZANIA PRINCESS ASTRID ROLL BACK MALARIA SPECIAL [BelgaPicture] — (English)
Photo coverage of HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium vist to Tanzania...
5.10.2007
Cheaper malaria drugs next year [TSN Daily News] — (English)
MANY Tanzanians will next year be able to buy modern and highly effective malaria drugs at affordable prices, as a result of a programme under which manufacturers will be heavily subsidised...
Malaria remains formidable challenge in the Americas [PAHO Press Release] — (English)
Malaria remains a formidable challenge for the countries of the Americas and more action is needed to improve national control programs to reduce the burden of the disease, health ministers from the Americas heard today. Although recent data show a decrease in cases in 15 of the 21 Pan American Health Organization Member States where the disease is endemic, with eight of these countries achieving a target of at least 50 percent case reduction and seven registering decreases below 50 percent, increases in malaria cases were reported in six other countries where the disease is endemic. The number of malaria cases reported in the Americas in 2006 was 902,373, representing a 22 percent reduction in malaria morbidity from the year 2000...
Malaria Diagnosis and Hospitalization Trends, Brazil [EID Journal,Volume 13, Number 10–October 2007] — (English)
We focused on rates of malaria in the state of Amazonas and city of Manaus, Brazil. Plasmodium vivax accounted for an increased number and rate of hospital admissions, while P. falciparum cases decreased. Our observations on malaria epidemiology suggest that the increased hospitalization rate could be due to increased severity of P. vivax infections...
Advice for the last minute traveller from The Travel Clinic Ltd, Cambridge [CambridgeNetwork - UK] — (English)
Ideally, travellers should consult their healthcare professionals at least six weeks before departure to obtain advice on how to reduce travel-related health risks which may include anti-malarial drugs and vaccines...
4.10.2007
Malaria Research Booming, But Scientific And Technical Gaps Apparent, Report Shows [Science Daily - United States ] — (English)
Malaria drug and vaccine research is booming. According to a new report launched in the UK by Australian researchers at The George Institute for International Health, 16 new malaria vaccine candidates are now in clinical trials; six new malaria drugs are about to reach the market; and by 2011 we will have up to 12 new anti-malarial drug product registered...
Malaria prevention focus of campaign [ The Spectator - United States ] — (English)
Gates Foundation plans to fight worldwide killer...
LCM fights Malaria [ ZNBC - Zambia ] — (English)
Luanshya Copper Mines plc (LCM) has set aside K63 million for the roll back malaria program in the district...
Children Might Not Get Sufficient Medicine - New Swedish Malaria Study In Thailand [ScandAsia.com - Thailand] — (English)
Many malaria patients are given the medicament piperakin. But children are often are given the medicament in too small amounts. Knowledge about how piperakin is transformed in the body has so far been very limited. A study from Sahlgrenska Accademy in Sweden based on 100 malaria patients in Northern Thailand shows that children transform the medicament in a different way than adult...
Lucia Akorio, "We now sleep under mosquito net and use the pit latrine" [IRINNEWS] — (English)
KOTIDO, With help from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), Ugandan health officials in northeastern Kotido District, Karamoja region, have embarked on an ambitious hygiene and sanitation programme, aimed at increasing pit latrine coverage and use of mosquito nets across the region. Both aspects of the programme are bearing fruit, with malaria control efforts reaching more people than ever. About 270 pit latrines have been dug in the district since the beginning of the year and at least 20,000 impregnated bed nets were distributed to households in the district. Lucia Akorio, 31, was one of the beneficiaries...
Zimbabwe: Ministry in Drive to Fight Malaria [The Herald (Harare) via AllAfrica.com] — (English)
Zimbabwe is almost ready to control mosquitoes with a new insecticide, Bio-Larvicidn, with clinical trials in malaria-prone areas now complete. The insecticide, which kills larvae, is already in use in Latin America, Cuba, Tanzania and Angola...
3.10.2007
The Fight Against Malaria: A Q&A With Bill Gates [ RedOrbit - United States ] — (English)
Bill Gates and his foundation have spent more than $1 billion to fight malaria, putting a little-known disease back in the public consciousness. Now the man who revolutionized computing hopes his next big launch will be the world's first malaria vaccine...
Salesmanship joins science in struggle against disease [Santa Barbara News - United States ] — (English)
At the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., a malaria-prevention group funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation hosted lunch recently for 35 African ambassadors and a special guest, South African pop singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka...
Kenyan experts warn malaria drug stockpiles depleted [ SOS Children United Kingdom ] — (English)
Kenya is facing a chronic shortage of the new life-saving anti-malaria drug Artemisinin, according to an alliance of locally-based NGOs...
Novel Approaches to the Study, Surveillance and Control of Infectious Diseases [ Genetic Engineering - United States ] — (English)
"Encyclopaedia of Infectious Diseases: Modern Methodologies" was developed out of the understanding that advances in infectious disease research are dependent upon the development of novel multidisciplinary, integrative approaches. It bridges the fields of molecular epidemiology, genetics and evolution, and infectious diseases through its presentation of exciting novel approaches to the study, surveillance and control of infectious diseases. It highlights the state-of-the-art, enabled by powerful technologies such as molecular biology, bioinformatics, and satellite detection. Chapters represent a wide range of approaches, reviewing current knowledge, gaps, and challenges ahead. It focuses on practical information, offering a thorough overview of the latest hot topics with strong emphasis on medical applications...
Debt conversion to finance health programmes [ IPP Media - Tanzania, United Republic Of ] — (English)
'Mosquito nets are not used nearly enough across Africa. The Global Fund and Roll Back Malaria (RBM) have demonstrated that we can work strategically together towards scaling up efforts to control malaria....
Ghana spends US$77m on malaria annually - Health Minister [Afrique en ligne - Angers,France] — (English)
Ghana spends a whopping US$77 million annually to treat malarial cases, with their attendant problems such as loss of labour, excuse duties and other related productivity issues, according to Health Minister Courage Quashigah...
Farmers deny employees malaria spray [UPI-USA] — (English)
Some farm owners in Pandamatenga are reportedly said to be denying their workers permission to go home and attend to their houses for spraying against Malaria. Addressing the Chobe full council meeting, Council Chairman Mr Mwanota Kachana said the "behaviour was disturbing and unacceptable."...
2.10.2007
BU scientists to study drug-resistant malaria [ Binghampton University - United States ] — (English)
Binghamton University is one of the few places in the world to house research of large samples of drug-resistant malaria parasites after being awarded a $1.5 million grant this summer from the National Institute of Health...
Grant will aid malaria battle [South Bend Tribune - South Bend,IN,USA] — (English)
Malaria may not be something that most Americans typically think about, let alone worry about. But more than 1 million people worldwide die of this disease each year, the majority of them infants and very young children. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with its commitment to global health, is quite concerned about malaria: controlling it, preventing its transmission, accelerating access to new drugs and vaccines and increasing awareness. The foundation has put considerable resources into this commitment: Since its inception, it has given out nearly $8 billion worth of global health grants...
Malaria still plagues Yemen, says study [Yemen Observer - Sana'a,Yemen] — (English)
A new study conducted by researchers at Sana’a University has revealed that malaria remains a significant problem in Yemen. The study monitored 473 patients who sought treatment for high fevers in the four main hospitals of Sana’a, in order to determine the rate of malarial infection among feverish patients...
Malaria Conference Reports Progress Against Malaria, Developments On The Horizon [ MediLexicon - United Kingdom ] — (English)
The Malaria Research Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The New York Academy of Sciences present "Progress Against Malaria: Developments on the Horizon," a half-day symposium to highlight the latest research developments in the fight to combat malaria. This meeting will include discussions of new diagnostic tests, treatment and prevention strategies, and malaria-resistant mosquitoes. The symposium will also feature work from Macha, Zambia, where malaria research is conducted in a unique rural setting...
New Evidence Links Breast Cancer to Pesticide DDT [ Ascribe - United States ] — (English)
At a time when the pesticide DDT is once again being promoted to combat malaria, researchers have found new evidence linking DDT to breast cancer, according to a study to be published in the scientific journal "Environmental Health Perspectives." ...
Tanzania for indoor DDT spraying next year in fight against malaria [IPP media - Tanzania, United Republic of] — (English)
Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof David Mwakyusa said yesterday that the country starts indoor spraying of DDT insecticides against mosquitoes early next year in the drive to control malaria...
Chloroquin imports to stop in December [New Vision - Kampala] — (English)
The Government is banning the importation of chloroquin, an anti-malaria drug, after research showed that it failed to cure 40% of the malaria patients...
1.10.2007
PCR-based karyotyping of Anopheles gambiae inversion 2Rj identifies the BAMAKO chromosomal form [Malaria Journal 2007, 6:133 (1 October 2007)] — (English)
A PCR assay for molecular karyotyping was developed based on sequences at the breakpoint junctions. This rapid tool for identifying the BAMAKO form across developmental stages and sexes and opens new perspectives for the study of mosquito ecology and behaviour...
29.09.2007
When medical disaster strikes [CNN - USA] — (English)
Take the businessman who traveled to sub-Saharan Africa, who was bitten my a mosquito, left the region blissfully unaware that he had contracted malaria and traveled to an island on the Mediterranean. Here the symptoms struck, he was rushed to hospital and diagnosed. Unfortunately, the hospital couldn't offer the necessary medication to treat the illness and he was placed in a life-threatening situation...
Pledges to Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria fall short of goal [International Herald Tribune - France] — (English)
"Today's pledges are welcome, but more needs to be mobilized," said ActionAid, a coalition of groups pushing for more health care for poor countries. It applauded the size of gifts from Spain ($600 million), Norway ($205 million), Sweden ($281 million) and the Netherlands ($326 million), while saying the largest donors, including Germany ($849 million), France ($1.3 billion) and Britain ($729 million), could have done more, given the strength of their economies...
Over 30,000 cases of malaria recorded in Sambizanga [RElefWeb - Switzerland] — (English)
At least 33,508 cases of malaria were recorded from January to August this year in Luanda`s Sambizanga District, states a report issued by the local health authorities, without mentioning deaths...
Kenya's war on Malaria threatened by lack of drugs [Africa Science News Service - Nairobi,Kenya] — (English)
Failure on the part of the Government to budget for this vital drug and to adequately account for Global Fund resources now puts life of thousands of Kenyans at risk...
Plasmodium falciparum Uses gC1qR/HABP1/p32 as a Receptor to Bind to Vascular Endothelium and for Platelet-Mediated Clumping [PLOS Pathogens - United States ] — (English)
The ability of Plasmodium falciparum–infected red blood cells (IRBCs) to bind to vascular endothelium, thus enabling sequestration in vital host organs, is an important pathogenic mechanism in malaria. Adhesion of P. falciparum IRBCs to platelets, which results in the formation of IRBC clumps, is another cytoadherence phenomenon that is associated with severe disease. Here, we have used in vitro cytoadherence assays to demonstrate, to our knowledge for the first time, that P. falciparum IRBCs use the 32-kDa human protein gC1qR/HABP1/p32 as a receptor to bind to human brain microvascular endothelial cells. In addition, we show that P. falciparum IRBCs can also bind to gC1qR/HABP1/p32 on platelets to form clumps. Our study has thus identified a novel host receptor that is used for both adhesion to vascular endothelium and platelet-mediated clumping. Given the association of adhesion to vascular endothelium and platelet-mediated clumping with severe disease, adhesion to gC1qR/HABP1/p32 by P. falciparum IRBCs may play an important role in malaria pathogenesis...
New anti-malaria drug to save lives in Malawi [SOS Children United Kingdom ] — (English)
A shipment of a new life-saving malaria drug known as Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT) has been delivered to the east African nation of Malawi...
Malaria is first cause of consultation in Rwanda [Afrique en ligne - Angers,France] — (English)
Hospitals in Rwanda diagnosed nearly 1,357,170 persons suffering from Malaria in 2006, according to compiled indicators on the population of Rwanda, published here Thursday...
Articles requiring subscription
WHO responds to criticism over release of data in Kenyan malaria study [The Lancet, Volume 370, Issue 9594, 6 October 2007-12 October 2007] — (English)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has responded to recent criticism in a Lancet Editorial concerning the release of data about a Kenyan study on the use of insecticide bednets to reduce malaria and under-five child mortality. According to WHO, 'the editorial implies that a race to news headlines and hubris, rather than evidence, is the driving force for global health policymaking.' We disagree...
Financing the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria [The Lancet, Volume 370, Issue 9594, 6 October 2007-12 October 2007, Page 1190 ] — (English)
Last week saw some positive announcements in global health financing. At a meeting in Berlin, Germany, donor countries pledged US$9·7 million over the next 3 years to replenish the coffers of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. (PRODUCT) RED announced that it had raised US$45 million for the fund since its launch in 2006. And, Germany and Indonesia became the first countries to take part in the Global Fund's new debt-conversion initiative, Debt2Health. Germany has agreed to cancel €50 million of Indonesia's debt if it spends half of this money on domestic Global Fund programmes...
TheABO blood group system and Plasmodium falciparum malaria [BLOOD, 1 OCTOBER 2007 VOLUME 110, NUMBER 7] — (English)
Taken together, a broad range of available evidence suggests that the origin, distribu-tion, and relative proportion of ABO blood groups in humans may have been directly in-fluenced by selective genetic pressure from P. falciparum infection...
A new polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism protocol for Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite protein genotype (VK210, VK247, and P. vivax-like) determination [Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 4 October 2007] — (English)
For the molecular diagnosis of Plasmodium vivax variants (VK210, VK247, and P. vivax-like) using DNA amplification procedures in the laboratory, the choice of rapid and inexpensive identification products of the 3 different genotypes is an important prerequisite. We report here the standardization of a new polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism technique to identify the 3 described P. vivax circumsporozoite protein (CSP) variants using amplification of the central immunodominant region of the CSP gene of this protozoan. The simplicity, specificity, and sensitivity of the system described here is important to determine the prevalence and the distribution of infection with these P. vivax genotypes in endemic and nonendemic malaria areas, enabling a better understanding of their phylogeny...
Malaria diagnosis under field conditions in the Venezuelan Amazon [Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 4 October 2007 ] — (English)
To improve practical, accurate diagnosis of malaria in the Amazon rainforest of Venezuela, two rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) (OptiMAL-IT® and FalciVax®) and a laboratory light microscope, used in the field with a battery-operated head lamp as an external light source, were evaluated against the standard laboratory microscope procedure for malaria detection...
Structure-based discovery of a family of synthetic cyclophilin inhibitors showing a cyclosporin-A phenotype in C. elegans [Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, In Press, Uncorrected Proof, Available online 1 October 2007 ] — (English)
Cyclophilins, which are found in all cellular compartments and with diverse biological roles, are now drug targets for a number of diseases including HIV infection, malaria, ischaemia, and immunosuppression. We used the database-mining program LIDAEUS and in silico screening to discover the dimedone family of inhibitors which show a conserved ‘ball and socket’ binding mode with a dimethyl group in the hydrophobic binding pocket of human cylophilin A (CypA) mimicking a key interaction of the natural inhibitor cyclosporin A (CsA). The most potent derivative binds CypA with a Kd of 11.2 ± 9.2 μM and an IC50 for activity against C. elegans of 190 μM compared to 28 μM for CsA. These dimedone analogues provide a new scaffold for the synthesis of families of peptidomimetic molecules with potential activity against HIV, malaria, and helminth parasite infection..
Prepared in cooperation with OMS ANGOLA INFO.
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