Active clinical trials for "Malaria"

The aim of this study is to assess the clinical performance (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values) of the STANDARD™ Q Malaria/CRP Duo Test when used by health care workers (HW) in a point of care (POC) setting in malaria endemic areas in India. Performance will be assessed in comparison with expert microscopy as the reference test for malaria, and with a high quality, commercially available C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test kit run on a laboratory machine as a reference test for CRP.

This is a phase IV open label study assessing the safety and effectiveness of artemisinin derivatives-based combination therapy (ACT) when used on a large scale and under "real life" conditions.

The purpose of this study is to determine if Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy, ACT,(artemether-lumefantrine) used as intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) alone or in combination with praziquantel, will have any effects on anemia, malaria, schistosomiasis and school sustained attention and concentration.

Background: In some countries, such as South Africa, the pesticide DDT is an important chemical for control of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. However, there is little evidence about the effects that it might have on human health. DDT has been associated with miscarriage and fetal loss in areas with high levels of exposure, but more research is needed to determine what levels of exposure are associated with loss of pregnancies. Objectives: To examine the relationship between pre-pregnancy levels of DDT in the blood and the loss of clinically recognized pregnancies. To conduct a pilot study to evaluate data collection procedures for future research. Eligibility: Women between 20 and 30 years of age who are not currently pregnant and who reside in villages in the Vhembe District in the northeastern part of South Africa. Design: Evaluation of eligibility: Short physical examination, with questionnaire about medical history, current living conditions, and daily life. Several blood samples will be taken for study and to test for anemia, elevated lead levels, malaria, syphilis, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Half of the women will come from villages that are currently being sprayed with DDT, and half will come from villages that are not being sprayed. Evaluation before and during pregnancy for subjects who become pregnant: Blood and urine test, including urine pregnancy test. Questions about recent menstrual history and sexual activity. Questions about medical history, including treatment for malaria. Pregnancy follow-up study, including blood draws, will be conducted regardless of whether the pregnancy is carried to term. Researchers will assess and adjust study parameters as needed.

In the EHMI-8 study (CMO 2006/207) the investigators induced sterile protection against P. falciparum challenge in healthy Dutch volunteers by repeated exposure to infected mosquitoes whilst under chloroquine prophylaxis. The surprisingly efficient induction of protection in this study strongly supports the development of whole parasite vaccines and is therefore an important finding to malaria vaccine development. In this study (EHMI8B) the investigators would like to explore the longevity of the protective immune response and simultaneously further characterise immune mechanisms responsible for protection by re-exposing EHMI-8 volunteers to infected mosquito bites.

Studies have shown that Intermittent preventive treatment in infants (IPTi) with Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP)reduced the incidence of clinical malaria and anemia without modifying infants' serological response to EPI vaccines. Thus IPTi was seen as a potential public health tool of great benefit to the children of Africa and a logical addition to the Immunization Plus package. The objectives of this operational researcher were to develop an implementation model for IPTi in the health care system in Mali to assess its impact on the EPI vaccines and other health interventions coverage and on molecular makers of resistance to SP

This study will attempt to find out what effect mosquito insecticides have on the transmission of malaria in The Gambia. Eight hundred healthy men and women, aged 18 to 40 years, living in selected villages east of Farafenni town in The Gambia, West Africa will be screened for parasites. About 552 of these people are expected to be free of malaria and will form the study group. These people will participate in the study for 7 months and will be checked for the malaria-causing parasite every two weeks by finger prick blood sample.

Malaria remains a disease that causes much death and sickness, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. An accurate, simple, and inexpensive method of diagnosing malaria is urgently needed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a different diagnostic method compared to those most frequently used. The study may also identify the factors causing false positive and false negative results using the alternative method. Participants will be 600 Ugandan children aged 1-10 years who are enrolled in protocol 04-068. Those who develop a fever over the 12 month duration of the study will be tested for malaria by both the standard and the new methods. These tests will require a few drops of blood to be collected by finger prick. Subjects will be treated on the basis of standard diagnostic testing (i.e. expert microscopy).

This study will examine the immune response to the malaria parasite at the cellular level to better understand why people achieve natural immunity to the parasite only after multiple infections and why immunity diminishes rapidly in the absence of ongoing infection. The results of this study may provide insight into whether and how natural immunity can be improved upon by vaccination. Healthy people 2-4 and 18-25 years of age who live in the village of Kambila, Mali, may be eligible for this 1-year study. Participants have a small blood sample collected from a vein in the arm and also from two finger pricks at the beginning of the study, then every 2 months for 6 months and at the end of the study (for a total of five samples). People who become ill with malaria are evaluated and treated by a physician. Those recovering from their first episode of malaria during the study period have another blood sample collection and two finger pricks (bringing to six the total number of samples collected).

The study aims to show that the candidate malaria vaccine GMZ2 is as safe as the already publicly used vaccine against rabies. 30 Gabonese children aged 1-5 years will be enrolled and randomly allocated to receive either malaria vaccine or rabies vaccine without the investigator or the participants knowing what they received. They will receive 3 doses each at one month intervals, and will be followed up for one year to evaluate safety parameters. 30 and 100µg doses for the candidate malaria vaccine GMZ 2 will be evaluated for safety. This is the second time that candidate malaria vaccine GMZ 2 is being tested in Africa, the first time being in Gabonese adults where the product was found to be safe.