Stratifying malaria receptivity in Bangladesh using archived rapid diagnostic tests

Abstract

Background Surveillance of low-density infections and of exposure to vectors is crucial to understand where malaria elimination might be feasible, and where the risk of outbreaks is high. Archived rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), used by national malaria control and elimination programs for clinical diagnosis, present a valuable, yet rarely used resource for in-depth studies on malaria epidemiology. Methods 1022 RDTs from two sub-Districts in Bangladesh (Alikadam and Kamalganj) were screened by qPCR for low-density Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections, and by ELISA for Anopheles salivary gland antibodies as a marker for exposure to vectors. Results Concordance between RDT and qPCR was moderate. qPCR detected 31/1022 infections compared to 36/1022 diagnosed by RDT. Exposure to Anopheles was significantly higher in Kamalganj despite low transmission, which could be explained by low bed net use. Conclusions Archived RDTs present a valuable source of antibodies for serological studies on exposure to vectors. In contrast, the benefit of screening archived RDTs to obtain a better estimate of clinical case numbers is moderate. Kamalganj could be prone to outbreaks.

How radical is radical cure? Site-specific biases in clinical trials underestimate the effect of radical cure on Plasmodium vivax hypnozoites

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A Global Health Reciprocal Innovation grant programme: 5-year review with lessons learnt

“…No investigators opted for the phone survey, but we received surveys from nine I-CTSI grantees and four LMIC cograntees, a response rate of 100% and 66%, respectively. As shown in table 2, 69% of survey participants stated the funding led to publications including abstracts, posters and manuscripts, with a total of 18 manuscripts published or submitted at the time of the survey 7–21. In addition, 69% of the respondents stated the funding led to further grant applications, with 38% of those applications resulting in successful funding.…”

“…As shown in table 2, 69% of survey participants stated the funding led to publications including abstracts, posters and manuscripts, with a total of 18 manuscripts published or submitted at the time of the survey. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] In addition, 69% of the respondents stated the funding led to further grant applications, with 38% of those applications resulting in successful funding. Most notably, 92% of all participants felt the funding mechanism helped All the respondents provided positive statements regarding RI potential to highlight mutual learning, building partnerships and collaborations, and shared innovation between contexts.…”

Bridging the Gap from Molecular Surveillance to Programmatic Decisions for Malaria Control and Elimination

“…The gSG6-P1 peptide was identified as a marker to Anopheles bites 115 and was used to stratify exposure in multiple settings. 116,117 Antibodies for this assay were successfully extracted from archived RDTs collected by the National Malaria Elimination Program in Bangladesh, 118 thus minimizing the efforts for field collection of specimens. Highly multiplexed assays have also been developed allowing assessment of hundreds or thousands of antibodies at the same time and helping to identify new markers for parasite or mosquito exposure.…”