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Malaria Epidemiology and Control: Current Situation and Perspectives

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2017) | Viewed by 29999

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Christos Hadjichristodoulou

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Guest Editor

Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41222 Larissa, Greece
Interests: infectious diseases; epidemiology; surveillance; infection prevention and control; environmental health and hygiene; points of entry; cross-border health threats; maritime health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue on the “Current Situation and Perspectives of Malaria Epidemiology and Control” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The venue is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes articles and communications in the interdisciplinary area of environmental health sciences and public health. For detailed information on the journal, we refer you to https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph.

The targets of the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030 (GTS) are, by 2030: To reduce malaria incidence and mortality rates globally by at least 90% compared with 2015 levels; to eliminate malaria from at least 35 countries in which malaria was transmitted in 2015; and to prevent re-establishment of malaria in all countries that are malaria free. To achieve these targets, common efforts and sustained investments in malaria programs and research is needed. This Special Issue will act as an open platform to share among public health officials and scientist: Epidemiological data, best control and preventive activities, diagnosis and treatment practices and perspectives, best practices in mosquito control, data on insecticide’s resistance and experience on new preventive tools. The overall aim is to increase the knowledge on malaria control to contribute in achieving the GTS targets of the World Health Organization.

This Special Issue is open to any subject area related to the malaria epidemiology and control. The listed keywords suggest just a few of the many possibilities.

Prof. Dr. Christos Hadjichristodoulou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Malaria
control
epidemiology
diagnosis
treatment
elimination
Anopheles
insecticides

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2000 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Meta-Regression Analysis of the Effectiveness of Mosquito Nets for Malaria Control: The Value of Long-Lasting Insecticide Nets

by Gi-geun Yang, Dohyeong Kim, Anh Pham and Christopher John Paul

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(3), 546; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030546 - 19 Mar 2018

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 8528

Abstract

Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) have been widely used as an effective alternative to conventional insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) for over a decade. Due to the growing number of field trials and interventions reporting the effectiveness of LLINs in controlling malaria, there is a need to systematically review the literature on LLINs and ITNs to examine the relative effectiveness and characteristics of both insecticide nettings. A systematic review of over 2000 scholarly articles published since the year 2000 was conducted. The odds ratios (ORs) of insecticidal net effectiveness in reducing malaria were recorded. The final dataset included 26 articles for meta-regression analysis, with a sample size of 154 subgroup observations. While there is substantial heterogeneity in study characteristics and effect size, we found that the overall OR for reducing malaria by LLIN use was 0.44 (95% CI = 0.41–0.48, p < 0.01) indicating a risk reduction of 56%, while ITNs were slightly less effective with an OR of 0.59 (95% CI = 0.57–0.61, p <0.01). A meta-regression model confirms that LLINs are significantly more effective than ITNs in the prevention of malaria, when controlling for other covariates. For both types of nets, protective efficacy was greater in high transmission areas when nets were used for an extended period. However, cross-sectional studies may overestimate the effect of the nets. The results surprisingly suggest that nets are less effective in protecting children under the age of five, which may be due to differences in child behavior or inadequate coverage. Compared to a previous meta-analysis, insecticide-treated nets appear to have improved their efficacy despite the risks of insecticide resistance. These findings have practical implications for policymakers seeking effective malaria control strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Malaria Epidemiology and Control: Current Situation and Perspectives)

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27 pages, 5861 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wetlands and Malaria in the Amazon: Guidelines for the Use of Synthetic Aperture Radar Remote-Sensing

by Thibault Catry, Zhichao Li, Emmanuel Roux, Vincent Herbreteau, Helen Gurgel, Morgan Mangeas, Frédérique Seyler and Nadine Dessay

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(3), 468; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030468 - 07 Mar 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6421

Abstract

The prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, are important health issues in tropical areas. Malaria transmission is a multi-scale process strongly controlled by environmental factors, and the use of remote-sensing data is suitable for the characterization of its spatial and temporal dynamics. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is well-adapted to tropical areas, since it is capable of imaging independent of light and weather conditions. In this study, we highlight the contribution of SAR sensors in the assessment of the relationship between vectors, malaria and the environment in the Amazon region. More specifically, we focus on the SAR-based characterization of potential breeding sites of mosquito larvae, such as man-made water collections and natural wetlands, providing guidelines for the use of SAR capabilities and techniques in order to optimize vector control and malaria surveillance. In light of these guidelines, we propose a framework for the production of spatialized indicators and malaria risk maps based on the combination of SAR, entomological and epidemiological data to support malaria risk prevention and control actions in the field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Malaria Epidemiology and Control: Current Situation and Perspectives)

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Figure 1

4281 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Malaria Simulations Driven by Meteorological Observations and Reanalysis Products in Senegal

by Ibrahima Diouf, Belen Rodriguez-Fonseca, Abdoulaye Deme, Cyril Caminade, Andrew P. Morse, Moustapha Cisse, Ibrahima Sy, Ibrahima Dia, Volker Ermert, Jacques-André Ndione and Amadou Thierno Gaye

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(10), 1119; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101119 - 25 Sep 2017

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 6643

Abstract

The analysis of the spatial and temporal variability of climate parameters is crucial to study the impact of climate-sensitive vector-borne diseases such as malaria. The use of malaria models is an alternative way of producing potential malaria historical data for Senegal due to the lack of reliable observations for malaria outbreaks over a long time period. Consequently, here we use the Liverpool Malaria Model (LMM), driven by different climatic datasets, in order to study and validate simulated malaria parameters over Senegal. The findings confirm that the risk of malaria transmission is mainly linked to climate variables such as rainfall and temperature as well as specific landscape characteristics. For the whole of Senegal, a lag of two months is generally observed between the peak of rainfall in August and the maximum number of reported malaria cases in October. The malaria transmission season usually takes place from September to November, corresponding to the second peak of temperature occurring in October. Observed malaria data from the Programme National de Lutte contre le Paludisme (PNLP, National Malaria control Programme in Senegal) and outputs from the meteorological data used in this study were compared. The malaria model outputs present some consistencies with observed malaria dynamics over Senegal, and further allow the exploration of simulations performed with reanalysis data sets over a longer time period. The simulated malaria risk significantly decreased during the 1970s and 1980s over Senegal. This result is consistent with the observed decrease of malaria vectors and malaria cases reported by field entomologists and clinicians in the literature. The main differences between model outputs and observations regard amplitude, but can be related not only to reanalysis deficiencies but also to other environmental and socio-economic factors that are not included in this mechanistic malaria model framework. The present study can be considered as a validation of the reliability of reanalysis to be used as inputs for the calculation of malaria parameters in the Sahel using dynamical malaria models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Malaria Epidemiology and Control: Current Situation and Perspectives)

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Graphical abstract

Review

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26 pages, 1698 KiB

Open AccessReview

Converging Human and Malaria Vector Diagnostics with Data Management towards an Integrated Holistic One Health Approach

by Konstantinos Mitsakakis, Sebastian Hin, Pie Müller, Nadja Wipf, Edward Thomsen, Michael Coleman, Roland Zengerle, John Vontas and Konstantinos Mavridis

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(2), 259; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15020259 - 03 Feb 2018

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7559

Abstract

Monitoring malaria prevalence in humans, as well as vector populations, for the presence of Plasmodium, is an integral component of effective malaria control, and eventually, elimination. In the field of human diagnostics, a major challenge is the ability to define, precisely, the causative agent of fever, thereby differentiating among several candidate (also non-malaria) febrile diseases. This requires genetic-based pathogen identification and multiplexed analysis, which, in combination, are hardly provided by the current gold standard diagnostic tools. In the field of vectors, an essential component of control programs is the detection of Plasmodium species within its mosquito vectors, particularly in the salivary glands, where the infective sporozoites reside. In addition, the identification of species composition and insecticide resistance alleles within vector populations is a primary task in routine monitoring activities, aiming to support control efforts. In this context, the use of converging diagnostics is highly desirable for providing comprehensive information, including differential fever diagnosis in humans, and mosquito species composition, infection status, and resistance to insecticides of vectors. Nevertheless, the two fields of human diagnostics and vector control are rarely combined, both at the diagnostic and at the data management end, resulting in fragmented data and mis- or non-communication between various stakeholders. To this direction, molecular technologies, their integration in automated platforms, and the co-assessment of data from multiple diagnostic sources through information and communication technologies are possible pathways towards a unified human vector approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Malaria Epidemiology and Control: Current Situation and Perspectives)

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