Background: Failure to demonstrate the presence of malaria parasites prior to treatment with anti-malarial drugs remains a challenge in Uganda, often resulting into over-prescription of anti-malarial drugs to febrile ...Background: Failure to demonstrate the presence of malaria parasites prior to treatment with anti-malarial drugs remains a challenge in Uganda, often resulting into over-prescription of anti-malarial drugs to febrile patients suspected of malaria. The aim of this study was to describe the role of utilization of malaria diagnostic tests and associated factors in the receipt of anti-malarial drugs among febrile patients suspected of malaria. Methods: In a cross-sectional study design, client-exit interviews with febrile patients and key-informant interviews with purposively selected health workers were conducted at outpatient clinics of health centre IV facilities in Mukono district. Data entry and analysis were done using EpiData 3.2 and STATA 10 respectively. Data were described using frequency distributions and proportions. Chi square was used in two by two tables, odds ratios as the measure of association and an alpha level of 0.05 was used in all significance tests. Results: Out of 408 respondents, the majority were female (252, 61.8%) and a third of the samples were aged five years and below. The mean age in years was 3.3 with a standard deviation of 2.1. More than half of the respondents (359, 88%) utilized malaria diagnostic tests and about half (241, 59%) received anti-malarial drugs. There were no statistically significant differences between utilizers and non-utilizers in most characteristics except age, history of indoor residual spraying and perceived satisfaction with services at outpatient clinics. Utilizers were 75% less likely to receive anti-malarial drugs than non-utilizers after controlling for age, sex and residence (OR: 0.25, 95%CI: 0.09, 0.66). Frequent power cut-offs as well as limited knowledge on malaria treatment guidelines amongst laboratory personnel were some of the major limitations to microscopic diagnosis of malaria. Conclusion: Utilizers were 75% less likely to receive anti-malarial drugs as opposed to non-utilizers. This implies that increasing utilization of malaria diagnostic tests can reduce the problem of over-prescription of anti-malarial drugs by 75% among those tested for malaria, since anti-malarial drugs would be received by only those with a parasi- tologically-confirmed diagnosis of malaria. Policy implications: To overcome the problem of over-prescription of anti-malarial drugs, there must be a policy that ensures a consistent power supply in all public health laboratories. Training of health workers should encompass all cadres and work-shifts for laboratory personnel should be established to enhance utilization of malaria diagnostic tests especially at night.展开更多
Malaria is one of the major diseases threatening the lives of people in Africa.Over the past decade,China has provided anti-malaria assistance to Africa.In November 2007,fast control malaria team of Guangzhou Universi...Malaria is one of the major diseases threatening the lives of people in Africa.Over the past decade,China has provided anti-malaria assistance to Africa.In November 2007,fast control malaria team of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine cooperated with the Comoros health authority.In Moheli Island of the Comoros,the anti-malaria team adopted a new strategy of Mass Drug Administration(MDA)and active intervention.They established an e ective anti-malaria system and reporting system,as well as a local anti-malaria team.Furthermore,they treated patients with malaria in Moheli Island and implemended health education in local people.In a very short time,they have achieved remarkable results.This paper summarized the experiences of the project in order to provide useful reference for China to better carry out anti-malaria action in Africa and expand foreign health assistance.展开更多
Objective:To determine the free radical scavenging potentials pytochemical constituents of ethanol leaves extracts of Allamanda cathartica(A.cathartica)and Bixa orellann(B.orellana)and thus their effects in antimalari...Objective:To determine the free radical scavenging potentials pytochemical constituents of ethanol leaves extracts of Allamanda cathartica(A.cathartica)and Bixa orellann(B.orellana)and thus their effects in antimalarial activities.Methods:Both ethanol extracted plant samples were administered at 50 mg/mL,100 mg/mL and 200 mg/mL to Albino rats and then administered with CCl_4 at 1 mL/kg body weight,in liquid paraffin(1:1,v/v)for 2 days(negative control)and compared with 5%Tween 80(placebo)and vitamin E(positive control)pretreatments.Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances(TBARS),glutathione(GSH)and calalase(CAT)activities in blood and liver tissues were assessed.Results:In CCl,treated rats,TBARS levels significantly increased,while decreased GSH and CAT levels were recorded for both plant extracts.Generally,higher TBARS and GSH values were recorded for blood than for liver homogenates;with reverse trend observed for CAT level.Increased concentrations of A.cathartica extract recorded significant antioxidant levels similar to tocopherol(vitamin E).Reducing sugars,saponins,flavonoids were recorded for both species;alkaloids in A.cathartica and terpenoids in B.orellana.Conclusions:A.cathartica,possess phytochemicals that recorded significant antioxidative defense activities for blood and liver tissues with increasing concentration.However B.orellana did not record similar results.展开更多
A study was conducted to determine the comprehension of pregnant women on malaria risk factors during pregnancy. Comprehension of Malaria risks is important to ensure compliance to prevention methods and treatment by ...A study was conducted to determine the comprehension of pregnant women on malaria risk factors during pregnancy. Comprehension of Malaria risks is important to ensure compliance to prevention methods and treatment by the pregnant women and hence optimizes the pregnancy outcomes. The study was conducted in 2012 at three health facilities, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Ndirande health Centre and St. Joseph Mission Hospital in Malawi. The study design was descriptive and utilized quantitative data collection and analysis methods on a random sample of 316 antenatal mothers. The study targeted antenatal mothers who were aged between 15 and 49 years, in the gestation period of 28 to 36 weeks and able to converse in English or vernacular language. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data which were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Most of the participants (79.4%, n = 251) knew the risk factors of malaria during pregnancy but very few (18.4%, n = 58) knew about intermittent prevention treatment despite taking SP as prescribed. The motivation factors for taking SP were husband support and the desire to protect their babies and themselves from Malaria. Although the comprehension of the intermittent prevention treatment among the women was low, the women were motivated to adhere to the treatment when instructed by the healthcare workers due to the desire for good health for themselves and their unborn babies. Husbands were the most significant other that motivated the pregnant women to adhere to treatment. Results show that there is a need for healthcare workers to facilitate comprehension of intermittent prevention treatment among pregnant mothers.展开更多
Artemisinin and its derivatives represent the most important and influential class of drugs in the fight against malaria. Since the discovery of artemisinin in the early 1970s, the global community has made great stri...Artemisinin and its derivatives represent the most important and influential class of drugs in the fight against malaria. Since the discovery of artemisinin in the early 1970s, the global community has made great strides in characterizing and understanding this remarkable phytochemical and its unique chemical and pharmacological properties. Today, even as artemisinin continues to serve as the foundation for antimalarial therapy, numerous challenges have surfaced in the continued application and development of this family of drugs. These challenges include the emergence of delayed treatment responses to artemisinins in malaria and efforts to apply artemisinins for non-malarial indications. Here, we provide an overview of the story of artemisinin in terms of its past, present, and future. In particular, we comment on the current understanding of the mechanism of action (MOA) of artemisinins, and emphasize the importance of relating mechanistic studies to therapeutic outcomes, both in malarial and non-malarial contexts.展开更多
文摘Background: Failure to demonstrate the presence of malaria parasites prior to treatment with anti-malarial drugs remains a challenge in Uganda, often resulting into over-prescription of anti-malarial drugs to febrile patients suspected of malaria. The aim of this study was to describe the role of utilization of malaria diagnostic tests and associated factors in the receipt of anti-malarial drugs among febrile patients suspected of malaria. Methods: In a cross-sectional study design, client-exit interviews with febrile patients and key-informant interviews with purposively selected health workers were conducted at outpatient clinics of health centre IV facilities in Mukono district. Data entry and analysis were done using EpiData 3.2 and STATA 10 respectively. Data were described using frequency distributions and proportions. Chi square was used in two by two tables, odds ratios as the measure of association and an alpha level of 0.05 was used in all significance tests. Results: Out of 408 respondents, the majority were female (252, 61.8%) and a third of the samples were aged five years and below. The mean age in years was 3.3 with a standard deviation of 2.1. More than half of the respondents (359, 88%) utilized malaria diagnostic tests and about half (241, 59%) received anti-malarial drugs. There were no statistically significant differences between utilizers and non-utilizers in most characteristics except age, history of indoor residual spraying and perceived satisfaction with services at outpatient clinics. Utilizers were 75% less likely to receive anti-malarial drugs than non-utilizers after controlling for age, sex and residence (OR: 0.25, 95%CI: 0.09, 0.66). Frequent power cut-offs as well as limited knowledge on malaria treatment guidelines amongst laboratory personnel were some of the major limitations to microscopic diagnosis of malaria. Conclusion: Utilizers were 75% less likely to receive anti-malarial drugs as opposed to non-utilizers. This implies that increasing utilization of malaria diagnostic tests can reduce the problem of over-prescription of anti-malarial drugs by 75% among those tested for malaria, since anti-malarial drugs would be received by only those with a parasi- tologically-confirmed diagnosis of malaria. Policy implications: To overcome the problem of over-prescription of anti-malarial drugs, there must be a policy that ensures a consistent power supply in all public health laboratories. Training of health workers should encompass all cadres and work-shifts for laboratory personnel should be established to enhance utilization of malaria diagnostic tests especially at night.
文摘Malaria is one of the major diseases threatening the lives of people in Africa.Over the past decade,China has provided anti-malaria assistance to Africa.In November 2007,fast control malaria team of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine cooperated with the Comoros health authority.In Moheli Island of the Comoros,the anti-malaria team adopted a new strategy of Mass Drug Administration(MDA)and active intervention.They established an e ective anti-malaria system and reporting system,as well as a local anti-malaria team.Furthermore,they treated patients with malaria in Moheli Island and implemended health education in local people.In a very short time,they have achieved remarkable results.This paper summarized the experiences of the project in order to provide useful reference for China to better carry out anti-malaria action in Africa and expand foreign health assistance.
基金Supported by Centre for Research & Development (CUCERD),Covenant University(Grant No.CUCERD-0012-34/09)
文摘Objective:To determine the free radical scavenging potentials pytochemical constituents of ethanol leaves extracts of Allamanda cathartica(A.cathartica)and Bixa orellann(B.orellana)and thus their effects in antimalarial activities.Methods:Both ethanol extracted plant samples were administered at 50 mg/mL,100 mg/mL and 200 mg/mL to Albino rats and then administered with CCl_4 at 1 mL/kg body weight,in liquid paraffin(1:1,v/v)for 2 days(negative control)and compared with 5%Tween 80(placebo)and vitamin E(positive control)pretreatments.Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances(TBARS),glutathione(GSH)and calalase(CAT)activities in blood and liver tissues were assessed.Results:In CCl,treated rats,TBARS levels significantly increased,while decreased GSH and CAT levels were recorded for both plant extracts.Generally,higher TBARS and GSH values were recorded for blood than for liver homogenates;with reverse trend observed for CAT level.Increased concentrations of A.cathartica extract recorded significant antioxidant levels similar to tocopherol(vitamin E).Reducing sugars,saponins,flavonoids were recorded for both species;alkaloids in A.cathartica and terpenoids in B.orellana.Conclusions:A.cathartica,possess phytochemicals that recorded significant antioxidative defense activities for blood and liver tissues with increasing concentration.However B.orellana did not record similar results.
文摘A study was conducted to determine the comprehension of pregnant women on malaria risk factors during pregnancy. Comprehension of Malaria risks is important to ensure compliance to prevention methods and treatment by the pregnant women and hence optimizes the pregnancy outcomes. The study was conducted in 2012 at three health facilities, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Ndirande health Centre and St. Joseph Mission Hospital in Malawi. The study design was descriptive and utilized quantitative data collection and analysis methods on a random sample of 316 antenatal mothers. The study targeted antenatal mothers who were aged between 15 and 49 years, in the gestation period of 28 to 36 weeks and able to converse in English or vernacular language. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data which were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Most of the participants (79.4%, n = 251) knew the risk factors of malaria during pregnancy but very few (18.4%, n = 58) knew about intermittent prevention treatment despite taking SP as prescribed. The motivation factors for taking SP were husband support and the desire to protect their babies and themselves from Malaria. Although the comprehension of the intermittent prevention treatment among the women was low, the women were motivated to adhere to the treatment when instructed by the healthcare workers due to the desire for good health for themselves and their unborn babies. Husbands were the most significant other that motivated the pregnant women to adhere to treatment. Results show that there is a need for healthcare workers to facilitate comprehension of intermittent prevention treatment among pregnant mothers.
基金the projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81641002 and 81473548)Major National Science and Technology Program of China for Innovative Drug (2017ZX09101002-001-001-05 and 36 J. Wang et al./ Engineering 5 (2019) 32–39 2017ZX09101002-001-001-3)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Public Welfare Research Institutes (ZZ10-024 and ZXKT18003).
文摘Artemisinin and its derivatives represent the most important and influential class of drugs in the fight against malaria. Since the discovery of artemisinin in the early 1970s, the global community has made great strides in characterizing and understanding this remarkable phytochemical and its unique chemical and pharmacological properties. Today, even as artemisinin continues to serve as the foundation for antimalarial therapy, numerous challenges have surfaced in the continued application and development of this family of drugs. These challenges include the emergence of delayed treatment responses to artemisinins in malaria and efforts to apply artemisinins for non-malarial indications. Here, we provide an overview of the story of artemisinin in terms of its past, present, and future. In particular, we comment on the current understanding of the mechanism of action (MOA) of artemisinins, and emphasize the importance of relating mechanistic studies to therapeutic outcomes, both in malarial and non-malarial contexts.
