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Bart G.J. Knols's blog

Last week at MalariaWorld: Job, World Malaria Report, Vector control info, and Kidnapping

May 23, 2013 - 21:30 -- Bart G.J. Knols

Last week we saw a lot of action in the press with regard to the trial that was conducted in Uganda with the so-called miracle drug MMS. Read more on this story in a blog from Pepijn van Erp (here) and comments below. This is truly amazing, that such a thing can happen in 2013.

It is even more amazing that whilst on a tour through the Central African Republic two staff from Drive Against Malaria were taken hostage by rebels and escaped being murdered. This shows how difficult the battle against malaria can get. Read the full story here.

The 'Fake Drugs Kill' campaign is gaining momentum, slowly but surely. This week the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene distributed information about the petition to all its members, which we are truly grateful for. If you are a member of an organisation, please consider doing the same. Read more here.

This week the world malaria report 2012 came out as  hard copy and can be purchased. Find out more here.

CropLife International released a compendium of vector control resources. Read all about it (and download) it here.

Finally, an interesting post-doc position at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. If you have a PhD in Biomedical sciences and have experience with in vivo and in vitro experimental models for drug discovery/development, this may be just what you were looking for. Read the details here.

Enjoy this week's MalariaWorld - the MW team

Eliminating malaria in a world in turmoil

May 23, 2013 - 20:52 -- Bart G.J. Knols

Many of us work in laboratories where we study the intricacies of malaria. Where we study parasites and mosquitoes and where we develop new approaches that hopefully one day will help to reduce the malaria burden. Few of us, however, have worked in the trenches to combat malaria in the real world out there. Even fewer of us have dared to venture into places that are torn apart by civil unrest or war and do something about malaria there. We know of organisations like Doctors without Frontiers (MSF) but there are also people out there that risk their lives to accomplish nothing more exciting than to distribute bednets and anti-malarial drugs in remote parts of Africa that are at best unsafe.

Just recently, former TV icon Julia Samuel (Netherlands) and David Robertson (UK), who have been working for the Drive Against Malaria Foundation for years, were taken hostage in the Central African Republic by Seleka rebels. For days they were threatened at gunpoint and told that they would be killed. Miraculously, they managed to escape and make it back safely to Cameroon. Julia's story is remarkable. Whilst havng a great career with Dutch TV she developed breast cancer, survived it, and then decided to devote her life to doing good. She chose malaria as her target. What does the above tell us and what are the lessons to be learned from this recent kidnapping?

CropLife International Vector Control Resources

May 23, 2013 - 16:16 -- Bart G.J. Knols
Member companies of CropLife International, together with other specialised manufacturers, are working to develop products to control vectors of insect-borne diseases. Together we are working with international stakeholders to maximise our contributions with existing, proven interventions and are continuously seeking to advance innovative vector control tools.
 
CropLife International would like to share some valuable resources related to vector control and public health.
 
- Please visit the CropLife International website which has a dedicated section for Public Health and Vector Control. You can find information about industry activities, product stewardship and new investment and innovation.
 
- CropLife International has compiled A compendium of guidelines and other documents supporting stewardship of Vector Control products.  This is a compilation of documents which have originally been published by leading authorities and specialised agencies.
 
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to croplife@croplife.org.
 
The compendium is also added as an attachment to this message.

World Malaria Day: Sign the petition against counterfeit malaria drugs

April 24, 2013 - 21:43 -- Bart G.J. Knols

Today is World Malaria Day, and we are proud to announce the start of the campaign 'Fake Drugs Kill', an initiative of the Dutch Malaria Foundation that also manages the MalariaWorld online platform.

As a malaria professional, you are probably aware of the unfolding tragedy with counterfeit drugs. Either completely fake (drugs containing nothing more than chalk, washing powder, or even brake fluid) or substandard (not containing enough active ingredient) or outdated drugs are flooding the African market on an ever-increasing scale.

Experts like Professors Paul Newton and Nick White have been ringing the alarm bells for years, but in spite of their efforts the problem is getting worse by the day. Read 'Phake', the excellent book on the subject by Roger Bate, and you will appreciate how serious the situation has become...

Guest Editorial: Progress toward malaria elimination: highlighting the need for new strategies

April 24, 2013 - 14:22 -- Bart G.J. Knols

This Guest Editorial was written by Sir Richard Feachem. Dr. Feachem, PhD, DSc(Med) is Director of the Global Health Group at the University of California, San Francisco. From 2002 to 2007, Sir Richard served as founding Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Under Secretary General of the United Nations.

Harvard's Jessica Cohen: 'Zanzibar gains could be erased in months'

April 10, 2013 - 20:50 -- Bart G.J. Knols
Tags: 
Zanzibar

Harvard University organised a mini-symposium on malaria on 5 April titled 'Defeating malaria, from the genes to the globe'. It was the first in a series examining global public health problems like malaria. Noteworthy in that regard are the views that were expressed during this symposium regarding the malaria situation on Zanzibar. Assistant Professor Jessica Cohen, who reportedly advised the government of Zanzibar on how to move forward with its fight against malaria made some pretty remarkable statements.

Cohen's predictions showed that malaria on Zanzibar could be eliminated in just 5 years if everyone on the island (more than a million people) would sleep under bednets. Moreover, she noted that if 'only' 65% of the population would use nets, it would take 22 years. The bad news followed: If usage rates drop to 50% she predicted an increase in prevalence to 5% in just 3 months, up from the 2% prevalence now. Worse, if it dropped to just 35%, malaria would strike back and prevalence would rise to 18% in just 3 months.

She concluded that 'these gains can be erased in months'...

NEW! Anonymous commenting...

April 5, 2013 - 07:54 -- Bart G.J. Knols

With many thousands of visitors to MalariaWorld each week, we wondered why only few of you ever comment on articles, blogs, forums, etc. After all, we hope that MalariaWorld becomes a '2-way' platform, where we not only provide you with professional information on malaria, but also like to have your input, thoughts, dreams, worries, etc.

1950s strategy to control malaria on Zanzibar fails once more

March 29, 2013 - 09:55 -- Bart G.J. Knols

Four years ago, in 2009, I wrote an article for a Dutch newspaper (Bionieuws) with the title 'It is not yet time for a party on Zanzibar'. My article was a response to Tachi Yamada's blog on CNN 'Where have all the malaria patients gone?'. Yamada at that time was touring the spice island together with Ray Chambers and Margret Chan, and for sure their trip must have been pleasant and satisfying. After all, the renewed impetus (largely through the US Presidential Malaria Initiative) in malaria control was starting to pay off. Indoor residual spraying and massive distribution of LLINs yielded a spectacular decline in malaria prevalence. Yamada ends his commentary with a pretty strong statement...

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