Publicaties
Risk of malaria in young children after periconceptional iron supplementation Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
This study in Burkina Faso investigated whether offspring of young mothers who had received weekly periconceptional iron supplementation in a randomised controlled trial were at increased risk of malaria. A child safety survey was undertaken in the peak month of malaria transmission towards the end of the trial to assess child iron biomarkers, nutritional status, anaemia and malaria outcomes. Antenatal iron biomarkers, preterm birth, fetal ...
Mass drug administration with high-dose ivermectin and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for malaria elimination in an erea of low transmission with high coverage of malaria control interventions: protocol for the MASSIV cluster randomized clinical trial Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Background: With a decline in malaria burden, innovative interventions and tools are required to reduce malaria transmission further. Mass drug administration (MDA) of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been identified as a potential tool to further reduce malaria transmission, where coverage of vector control interventions is already high. However, the impact is limited in time. Combining an ACT with an endectocide treatment ...
Catalase compromises the development of the insect and mammalian stages of Trypanosoma brucei Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Catalase is a widespread heme-containing enzyme, which converts hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to water and molecular oxygen, thereby protecting cells from the toxic effects of H2O2. Trypanosoma brucei is an aerobic protist, which conspicuously lacks this potent enzyme, present in virtually all organisms exposed to oxidative stress. To uncover the reasons for its absence in T. brucei, we overexpressed different catalases in procyclic and ...
Modulation of innate immune responses at birth by prenatal malaria exposure and association with malaria risk during the first year of life Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde Universiteit Antwerpen
BackgroundFactors driving inter-individual differences in immune responses upon different types of prenatal malaria exposure (PME) and subsequent risk of malaria in infancy remain poorly understood. In this study, we examined the impact of four types of PME (i.e., maternal peripheral infection and placental acute, chronic, and past infections) on both spontaneous and toll-like receptors (TLRs)-mediated cytokine production in cord blood and ...
Reactive community-based self-administered treatment against residual malaria transmission: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Background: Systematic treatment of all individuals living in the same compound of a clinical malaria case may clear asymptomatic infections and possibly reduce malaria transmission, where this is focal. High and sustained coverage is extremely important and requires active community engagement. This study explores a community-based approach to treating malaria case contacts.
Methods/design: This is a cluster-randomized trial to ...
Haemoglobin changes and risk of anaemia following treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in sub-Saharan Africa Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Background: Anaemia is common in malaria. It is important to quantitate the risk of anaemia and to distinguish factors related to the natural history of disease from potential drug toxicity.
Methods: Individual-patient data analysis based on nine randomized controlled trials of treatments of uncomplicated falciparum malaria from 13 sub-Saharan African countries. Risk factors for reduced haemoglobin (Hb) concentrations and anaemia on ...
Increase in imported malaria in the Netherlands in asylum seekers and VFR travellers Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Background: Malaria is a notifiable disease in the Netherlands, a non-endemic country. Imported malaria infections occur regularly among travellers, migrants and visitors. Surveillance data were analysed from 2008 to 2015. Trends in amounts of notifications among risk groups were analysed using Poisson regression. For asylum seekers, yearly incidence was calculated per region of origin, using national asylum request statistics as denominator ...
Artemisinin-based combination therapy in pregnant women in Zambia: efficacy, safety and risk of recurrent malaria Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde Universiteit Antwerpen
Background: In Zambia, malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, especially among under five children and pregnant women. For the latter, the World Health Organization recommends the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) in the second and third trimester of pregnancy. In a context of limited information on ACT, the safety and efficacy of three combinations, namely artemether-lumefantrine (AL), ...
The influence of pregnancy on the pharmacokinetic properties of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Background: Pregnancy has been reported to alter the pharmacokinetic properties of anti-malarial drugs, including the different components of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). However, small sample sizes make it difficult to draw strong conclusions based on individual pharmacokinetic studies. The aim of this review is to summarize the evidence of the influence of pregnancy on the pharmacokinetic properties of different ...