Active clinical trials for "Malaria, Falciparum"

In sub-Saharan Africa, non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) are a frequent cause of bloodstream infection, display high levels of antibiotic resistance and have a high case fatality rate (15%). In Kisantu hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), NTS account for 75% of bloodstream infection in children and many children are co-infected with Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria. NTS bloodstream infection presents as a non-specific severe febrile illness, which challenges early diagnosis and, as a consequence, prompt and appropriate antibiotic treatment.Moreover, at the first level of care, frontline health workers have limited expertise and diagnostic skills and, as a consequence, clinical danger signs that indicate serious bacterial infections are often overlooked. Basic handheld diagnostic instruments and point-of-care tests can help to reliably detect danger signs and improve triage, referral and the start of antibiotics, but there is need for field implementation and adoption to low-resource settings. Further, it is known that some clinical signs and symptoms are frequent in NTS bloodstream infections. The integration of these clinical signs and symptoms in a clinical decision support model can facilitate the diagnosis of NTS bloodstream infections and target antibiotic treatment. The investigators aim to develop such a clinical decision support model based on data from children under five years old admitted to Kisantu district referral hospital in the Democratic republic of the Congo. While developing the model, the investigators will focus on the signs and symptoms that can differentiate NTS bloodstream infection from severe Pf malaria and on the clinical danger signs that can be assessed by handheld diagnostic instruments and point-of-care tests. The deliverable will be a clinical decision support model ready to integrate in an electronic decision support system.

The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate the use of (1) 'malaria prevalence', (2) 'malaria incidence' and (3) 'malaria mortality' as a measure of malaria transmission in The Gambia, while mosquito insecticides (larvicides) are used to control malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Two thousand children aged 6 months to 10 years of age will be recruited from villages in the study area. They will be monitored over 7 months for the presence of malaria parasites and signs and symptoms of the disease.

This is a study of 125 healthy male and female Kenyan adults aged 18 years and above, and 300 healthy male and female Kenyan infants enrolled at 1 month of age and followed to 3 years of age. Twenty healthy adults (US residents) who have no self-reported history of Malaria exposure, infection or travel to malaria endemic areas of the world will serve as Malaria Naive Negative Controls. The proposed study represents a continuation of molecular and immunologic studies done in human populations describing mechanisms of protection against malaria infection and disease. Human investigation of those experiencing natural exposure to malaria infections are justified since they will eventually be the target population for testing malaria vaccine safety and efficacy.

A Phase 1, open label clinical study to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity, tolerability and efficacy of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Protein 014 (FMP014) combined with (ALF with QS-21), saponin molecule derived from the bark of Quillaja species (ALFQ)) in healthy adult volunteers at different doses and dosing schedules.

This is a retrospective non randomized cohort to evaluate efficacy of MAS3 on patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria or mixed infection (P. falciparum + a non-falciparum species). The review of patients' records and blood samples will be performed for patients treated at the clinics of Shoklo Malaria Research Unit from the period of January 2003 to December 2013.

Malaria is caused by a parasite and is a health problem for mothers and fetuses (unborn infants). The Cameroonian Ministry of Health recommends that all pregnant women should take the drug sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (also known as SP) every two months during pregnancy to avoid malaria. The purpose of this study is to find out how effective SP is in preventing pregnant Cameroonian women from getting malaria. Additional goals of this study are to see whether: SP prevents malaria parasites from causing changes in the placenta; SP prevents or helps women make a substance that keeps parasites from accumulating in the placenta; and whether SP affects the amount of protection a mother transfers to her baby. Participants will include 1,160 pregnant women, ages 15-50 years, and 216 babies born residing in Ngalii II and Ntouessong. Study procedures will include monthly blood samples from pregnant women and babies. Volunteers may participate in this study for up to 19 months.

Background: Antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria provide the possibility of a parasite-based diagnosis in areas where good quality microscopy can not be achieved. P. falciparum tests targeting the histidine-rich protein (HRP2) antigen are generally more sensitive than tests targeting the Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) antigen. However, as the HRP2 antigen is eliminated from the bloodstream more slowly than the pLDH antigen, HRP2-based tests can give a positive result two weeks or more after the patient has taken an effective treatment, while pLDH tests generally turn negative a few days after. The use of an RDT positive result in a routine patient care is therefore challenged by the interpretation of whether the result is due to a lasting effect of the already treated infection or to a new infection. The interpretation might also be affected by the level of malaria transmission in the area. Objective: The objective of this study is to estimate the proportion of positive tests in patients successfully treated for malaria (smear negative) at different time points in time after treatment, for three rapid diagnostic tests: SD Bioline Malaria Antigen P.f. (catalogue number: 05FK50-02-4), CareStart Malaria HRP2 (Pf) (catalogue number: G0141) and CareStart Malaria pLDH (PAN) (catalogue number: G0111). The study will be carried out in two settings with known low and high malaria transmission levels in order to provide guidance of interpretation of a RDT positive result depending on the intensity of malaria transmission. Secondary objectives will be to measure the sensitivity and specificity of the malaria rapid tests compared to smear microscopy, to estimate the median time to become negative for each of the tests and to estimate the proportion of positive tests and the median time to become negative according to the initial parasitaemia and the presence of gametocytes.

The purpose of this study is to see if children, who develop coma from malaria, are not making enough of a vitamin-like chemical, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), which is required for the brain to function normally. This information may help to identify new ways to treat malaria in the future. Study participants will include 512 children, ages 6 months to 6 years. Participants will be placed into one of 4 groups: well children; children with mild malaria; children without malaria, but with a medical problem involving the brain that requires a lumbar puncture for diagnosis (a procedure in which a needle is placed into an area surrounding the spinal cord and a sample of cerebral spinal fluid is removed); and children with a severe form of malaria affecting the brain called cerebral malaria. Study procedures will include blood samples, urine samples and lumbar puncture, only if necessary for diagnosis as part of standard practice procedures. Participants will be involved in study related procedures for up to 3 weeks.

The purpose of this study is to find out what effect malaria in the mother has on the development of her child's immune system response to malaria and whether being exposed to malaria in the womb makes a child more likely to get malaria. The study will also assess the effect that exposure to malaria in the womb has on the child's growth and development over the first three years of life. Study participants will include 480 healthy pregnant women (greater than or equal to 15 years of age), their healthy offspring, 20 healthy people from the United States with no malaria exposure or disease and 40 adult Kenyans who have previously been exposed to malaria or have malaria with no signs of infection. Study procedures will include an ultrasound (procedure to assess the baby's growth and development in the womb), blood, urine, and stool collections. Newborns will be examined at birth, and at 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months of age.

This is a study of the efficacy and effectiveness of combination therapy for malaria due to P. falciparum in the Loreto Department, Iquitos, Peru. The investigators will enroll subjects ≥ 1 year-old who have a diagnosis of uncomplicated malaria due to P. falciparum. Patients will receive a treatment regimen consisting of mefloquine (25 mg/kg per day for two days) and artesunate (12 mg/kg per day for three days). Patients will be divided into two groups: one will receive drugs under direct supervision and the other will be instructed on how to take the drugs by themselves. Clinical and parasitologic response will be monitored for a follow-up period of 28 days. The findings of this study will be used to guide the Ministry of Health in evaluating its national policy for P. falciparum malaria treatment.