C Wongsrichanalai

..High sensitivity to artemisinin compounds was observed in this geographical region. The data suggest that highly mefloquine-resistant P. falciparum is concentrated in a part of the Thai-Myanmar border region...

..Further research is needed into the determination and validation of the most suitable antimalarial regimens for each epidemiologically distinct area and each operationally different circumstance...

..This review describes the various features of drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum, including its determinants, current status in diverse geographical areas, molecular markers, and their implications...

..This paper discusses the potential roles of these devices, and obstacles to their use, in supporting malaria control strategies...

..Other control measures and inter-governmental co-operation must continue to be strengthened in order to limit the spread of drug resistance malaria in the Southeast Asian region...

..002) higher than that of isolates from Bangladesh (60.3 nM). The high prevalence of in vitro mefloquine resistance in Bangladesh suggests that close surveillance is necessary to delay widespread multidrug resistant problems in the area...

..A search for more suitable partner drugs to these compounds and careful regulation of their use are necessary in the interest of ensuring their long therapeutic life span...

..PCR-MPH also detected additional Pf and Pv cases as well as Pm and Po...

..felis specimens; and a new Bartonella genotype in one Nosopsylla fasciatus specimen. Rickettsia and Bartonella may be frequently detected in fleas infesting peridomestic animals from the western border of Thailand...

..For instance, in the present study, use of this conventional approach would have overestimated average asexual parasite densities in the P. falciparum-infected patients in Thailand by nearly one-third...

..Increased pfmdr1 gene copy number was significantly associated with recrudescence (relative risk 2.30, 95% CI 1.27-4.15). pfmdr1 gene copy number may be a useful surveillance tool for mefloquine-resistant falciparum malaria in Thailand...

..Thailand is the country with the most experience in the use of this drug in a malaria control program. We present here a review of mefloquine's pharmacology and usage in Thailand...

..Real-time PCR methods for the detection of parasite single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and gene amplification could be useful survellance tools...

..We discuss the implications of this analysis for field studies and clinical trials...

..falciparum (PE =71%, 95% C =-14-94%). We conclude that daily azithromycin was safe, well-tolerated, and had a high efficacy for the prevention of P. vivax malaria...

..To monitor the efficacy of anti-malarial treatments in Thailand...

..Three- and five-day azithromycin-quinine combination therapy appears safe, well tolerated, and effective in curing drug-resistant P. falciparum malaria. Further evaluation, especially in pediatric and obstetric populations, is warranted...

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..falciparum patients with gametocytemia had similar platelet counts but lower red blood cell counts, hemoglobin levels, hematocrit levels, and higher lymphocyte counts than patients without gametocytemia...

..040). pfmdr1 copy number should be evaluated further as a surveillance tool for artesunate-mefloquine resistance in Cambodia...

..g., in Africa? Enforcement of rational drug use and improved diagnostic capacity are among the measures needed to avoid and contain ACT resistance...

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..This study supplements previous literature on the hematologic effects of malaria and helps define those alterations for a semi-immune population. Thrombocytopenia is identified as a key indicator of malaria in these febrile patients...

..5%) contained the D1246 mutation reported to confer MQ resistance in vitro. However, neither this mutation nor a double mutation (S1034, D1246; n = 16) was predictive of MQ treatment outcome...

..This review examines the various new approaches to the in vitro assessment of malaria drug sensitivity and their limitations...

..vivax were 0.8907 and 0.8522, respectively. These findings indicate that assays for rapid diagnosis have the potential to enhance diagnostic capabilities in those instances in which skilled microscopy is not readily available...

..Treatment focusing on malaria mono-infections instead of dual infections could result in a delay of specific therapy for leptospirosis and possible consequences of serious complications...

..HRP2 therefore allows for a very accurate estimation of parasite development and its inhibition and may therefore be ideally suited for use in drug sensitivity or bioassays...

..Standard operating procedures, updated information, and analytical software are available from http://malaria.farch.net...

..001). Thus, measurement of pfmdr1 mutations and gene copy number may be useful for surveillance of mefloquine-resistant malaria in Southeast Asia...

..malariae; thus, specificity for non-falciparum Plasmodium was 100%. These results suggest improved performance over NOW ICT predecessors...

..falciparum and non-falciparum parasites increased with parasite density. Several explanations for these results are explored. Our results raise particular concern over batch quality variations of malaria rapid diagnostic devices (MRDDs)...

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..Sets of Giemsa-stained, blood smear slides with systematically verified composite diagnoses would contribute substantially to development of externally validated quality assurance systems for the microscopic diagnosis of malaria...

..Rattus norvegicus had the highest number of X. cheopis collected (407 X. cheopis from 181 R. norvegicus) but R. tanezumi had the highest flea index, 3.5. During both surveys, X. cheopis was the species of flea collected...

..Such a network would facilitate the rapid detection of strains with novel antimalarial resistance profiles and investigate suitable alternative treatments with retained efficacy...

..These results illustrate that the microscopic appearance of human P. malariae parasites may be more varied than previously assumed and suggest the value of molecular tools in the evaluation of malaria morphological variants...

..Clinical symptoms of mixed-species malaria infections have been variously reported as both less severe and more severe than those of single-species infections...

..The sensitivity of P. vivax was 98.8% (88/89), and the specificity was 96.6% (86/89) in Korean samples. Pv30 appears to be a good and reliable recombinant antigen for serodiagonosis of malaria in a nonendemic area...

..It has proved to be a valuable tool for a wide range of applications, from epidemiological field studies to the screening of new drugs, and may therefore have the potential to replace traditional in-vitro drug-sensitivity techniques...

..Timely administration of empiric treatment in highly suspicious cases can deter potential morbidity from these arthropod-borne infections...

..This study is a proof of concept that HTA is a sensitive allelic discrimination method able to determine genetic diversity in P. falciparum and warrants its use in studies of antimalarial drug efficacy...

..Four patients had murine typhus, three patients had scrub typhus, and eight patients had spotted fever group rickettsioses, including the first case of Rickettsia felis infection reported in Asia...

..Finally, two bacteria named Eubacterium sp. strain Hw124 and Eubacterium sp. strain Hw191 were identified in Haemaphysalis wellingtoni ticks collected from chicken in Thailand; these strains could belong to a new group of bacteria...

..As previous analyses have shown, there appears to be little geographic or host consistency with phylogenetic placement. The public health significance of these findings remains to be determined...

..7% of the samples. The likelihood of parasite detection and correct diagnosis at the clinic varied in accordance with the reference-standard estimates of parasite density...