Analysis of contamination in cluster randomized trials of malaria interventions (Publications)
BACKGROUND: In cluster randomized trials (CRTs) of interventions against malaria, mosquito movement between households ultimately leads to contamination between intervention and control arms, unless they [...] which contamination measurably biases the estimate of effectiveness. A sigmoid function is fitted to malaria prevalence or incidence data as a function of the distance of households to the intervention boundary
Evaluation of different deployment strategies for larviciding to control malaria: a simulation study (Publications)
METHODS: A malaria transmission model, OpenMalaria, was used to simulate varying larviciding strategies and their impact on host-seeking mosquito densities, entomological inoculation rate (EIR) and malaria prevalence [...] BACKGROUND: Larviciding against malaria vectors in Africa has been limited to indoor residual spraying and insecticide-treated nets, but is increasingly being considered by some countries as a complementary [...] g were simulated for three transmission intensities and four...
Incidence of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> malaria infection in 6-month to 45-year-olds on selected areas of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea (Publications)
were 58 malaria infection episodes observed during the follow up period, including 47 first and 11 repeat infections. The incidence of malaria was 0.25 [95% CI (0.19, 0.32)] and of first malaria was 0.23 [...] study area, gender, malaria positivity at screening, and household socioeconomic status independently predicted the observed incidence of malaria. CONCLUSION: Despite intensive malaria control efforts on [...] BACKGROUND: Extensive malaria control measures have been implemented on Bioko...
Estimating intervention effectiveness in trials of malaria interventions with contamination (Publications)
Background In cluster randomized trials (CRTs) or stepped wedge cluster randomized trials (SWCRTs) of malaria interventions, mosquito movement leads to contamination between trial arms unless buffer zones separate [...] s are provided as a function of intervention coverage. The methods are applied to two SWCRTs of malaria interventions, the SolarMal trial on the impact of mass trapping of mosquitoes with odor-baited traps [...] effectiveness as a function of coverage. Conclusions The...
Unlocking the human factor to increase effectiveness and sustainability of malaria vector control (Publications)
decade in the fight against malaria there is a critical opportunity to elevate the role of social and behaviour change to increase the impact and sustainability of malaria control and elimination efforts [...] BACKGROUND: Progress in the fight against malaria has stalled in recent years, highlighting the importance of new interventions and tailored approaches. A critical factor that must be considered across [...] research with entomological and epidemiological evaluations will provide a more...
Early life adversity, biological adaptation, and human capital: evidence from an interrupted malaria control program in Zambia (Publications)
adaptation - immunity formation - for human capital accumulation. Using variation in early life malaria risk generated by an interrupted disease control program in Zambia, we show that exposure to infectious [...] infectious diseases during the first two years of life can reduce the harmful effects of malaria exposure on cognitive development during the preschool years. These findings suggest a non-linear and traj
Nonrandom selection and multiple blood feeding of human hosts by <em>Anopheles </em>vectors: implications for malaria transmission in Papua New Guinea (Publications)
feeding of human hosts by Anopheles mosquitoes may exacerbate malaria transmission. Both patterns of blood feeding and their relationship to malaria epidemiology were investigated in Anopheles vectors in Papua [...] mosquito was determined by matching the blood-meal genetic profile to the villagers' genetic profiles. Malaria infection in humans was determined by PCR test of blood samples. The results show nonrandom distribution [...] infection was higher in this age group, suggesting males in...
Investigating differences in village-level heterogeneity of malaria infection and household risk factors in Papua New Guinea (Publications)
Malaria risk is highly heterogeneous. Understanding village and household-level spatial heterogeneity of malaria risk can support a transition to spatially targeted interventions for malaria elimination [...] spatial heterogeneity of malaria risk and investigate the contribution of individual, household and environmental-level risk factors. Following a period of declining malaria prevalence, the prevalence [...] useful indicators of transmission hotspots and inform the development of tailored...
