With quinidine discontinued and no longer available in the US, artesunate is now the first-line treatment for severe malaria in the US, according to the CDC. …

The last stocks of the only FDA-approved injectable drug for severe malaria expired in April, compassionate access to the only alternative is at least 8 hours away, and hospitals need emergency plans. …

ProMED Mail

Dengue -- Sri LankaResearchers in the USA have genetically modified mosquitoes to make humans less attractive to them, a discovery that could dramatically reduce the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, and Zika fever.Female mosquitoes have been long known to use an array of sensory information to find people to bite. They can sense exhaled carbon dioxide from as far as 10 m [32.8 ft] away and are also able to detect body odour, heat, and moisture.But new research, published in the…

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Malaria -- BurundiA serious outbreak of malaria in Burundi has reached epidemic proportions, killing almost as many people as the Ebola crisis in the nearby Democratic Republic of the Congo.The outbreak in the tiny Great Lakes country has infected almost half the total population, killing about 1800 people since the beginning of the year [2019].According to figures gathered by the World Health Organisation, almost 6 million cases have been recorded since the 1st week of January to the end of July…

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Malaria -- VenezuelaMore than 10 cases of malaria have been reported in the Boyaca III sector of Barcelona (Anzoategui, Venezuela) in the past 2 weeks. Of these cases, 2 are young children aged 1 and 2 years old, infected after the bite of the _Aedes aegypti_ mosquito.Maria Febres, a nurse and resident of the community, states that the malaria outbreak is due to the lack of weeding and cleaning in the channel that crosses the Boyaca III sector, where more than 500 families reside."We have 12 cases of…

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Malaria -- ThailandMénard D and Fidock DA. Accelerated evolution and spread of multidrug-resistant _Plasmodium falciparum_ takes down the latest first-line antimalarial drug in southeast Asia. Lancet Infectious Diseases. July 22, 2019. DOI:. The global fight against malaria has, over the decades, repeatedly been compromised by multidrug-resistant _Plasmodium falciparum_ strains that 1st emerged in southeast Asia [1]. Successively, these parasites have acquired resistance to chloroquine,…

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Malaria -- United KingdomNoisy and cheeky, they used to be a regular sight in people's gardens as one of Britain's most common birds. But the number of house sparrows has more than halved since the [1970s], and a new study suggests 'avian malaria' may be to blame.Avian malaria, spread by mosquito, can make sparrows lethargic and unable to eat, killing many through starvation.Researchers who tracked sparrows in 11 suburbs of London have now discovered almost 3/4 carry the infectious disease.As warming…

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Malaria -- VenezuelaCriminals are not immune to the effects of Venezuela's current economic, political, and social crisis.Many criminals, primarily pranes and leaders of megabandas, have been forced to abandon their former strongholds and change the pattern of their criminal activities, according to investigations conducted by InSight Crime.Criminals are trading robbery, petty theft, and kidnappings for drug trafficking and illegal mining. Additionally, they are migrating to states where these illicit…

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Malaria -- Trinidad & TobagoThere have been 17 malaria cases thus far in Trinidad and Tobago in 2019, and 13 are Venezuelans. One case is a Trinbagonian, one is from Uganda, one is from Ghana, and one is from Guyana.This was disclosed by health minister Terrence Deyalsingh as he responded to a question from Oropouche West MP Vidia Gayadeen-Gopeesingh on whether there was truth to social media reports that many Venezuelan nationals seeking medical attention at Port of Spain and San Fernando general hospitals have…

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Malaria -- IndiaOver 80 cases of malaria have been reported in Delhi this year [2019] so far, and about 39 of them have been recorded in July [2019]. Of the 83 cases of malaria, 35 were recorded in June, 8 in May, and one in April [2019].Doctors have advised people to take precautions and urged them to wear [long] sleeves and use mosquito nets. Water coolers should be dried up when not in use, as mosquitoes that carry the [malaria parasite and transmit malaria between people] usually breed there, a doctor…

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Malaria -- MalaysiaHealth officials in Malaysia are investigating a malaria cluster in Kuala Lipis, Pahang state. On [Thu 11 Jul 2019], 4 confirmed cases of malaria were reported to Kuala Lipis District Health Office (PKD) from Betau Health Clinic. All cases involve Orang Asli children aged 4-10 from 2 villages, 2 cases [each] from Kampung Pagar and Kampung Serdang. All cases have been taken to the Kuala Lipis Hospital ward and given treatment.Kuala Lipis has not reported a malaria case for the past 8 years;…

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Malaria -- ColombiaHealth officials are reporting a malaria outbreak in Cauca department in southwestern Colombia, according to a RCN Radio report (computer translated).The outbreak has affected 322 people in the rural areas of Guapi and Timbiqui: (the towns of Calle larga, Belen, San Agustin, Pascualero, and Cascajero (in Guapi) and in the mining area of Santa Maria, Chacon Playa, and Coteje (in Timbiqui).The strain of malaria was identified as _Plasmodium falciparum_. The report notes it was indicated…

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Malaria -- Worldwide/UnknownMalaria control efforts require implementation of new technologies that manage insecticide resistance. _Metarhizium pingshaense_ provides an effective, mosquito-specific delivery system for potent insect-selective toxins. A semifield trial in a MosquitoSphere (a contained, near-natural environment) in Soumousso, a region of Burkina Faso where malaria is endemic, confirmed that the expression of an insect-specific toxin (Hybrid) increased fungal lethality and the likelihood that…

Patient with severe malaria? Call the CDC, rather than the pharmacy, to obtain artesunate. …