The MEI's top publications of 2018

2018 was a busy year for the Malaria Elimination Initiative. We've compiled a list of some of our most read publications, research, and learnings from the last twelve months, which include topics ranging from malaria eradication, machine learning, indoor residual spraying, drug-based strategies, and more. To access a publication, please click the title.

• Preventing onward transmission of Plasmodium falciparum with additional treatment options
  Evidence shows that adding primaquine or methlyene blue to standard treatment regimens was well tolerated and highly efficacious for preventing P. falciparum transmission from humans to mosquitoes.
• Expanding the vector control toolbox for malaria elimination
  A systematic review of the evidence for malaria vector control tools points to several underutilized options that could be promising supplements to insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying.
• Reasons behind low indoor residual spraying coverage in western Zambezi region, Namibia
  Though indoor residual spraying is a cornerstone of malaria vector control, its effectiveness is being impeded in western Zambezi region due to poor community engagement and awareness.
• Newly discovered Plasmodium knowlesi poses a unique threat in malaria-eliminating settings
  Adding to the challenges of prompt and accurate malaria diagnosis and surveillance, current detection methods are falling short for identifying life-threatening P. knowlesi at both the point-of-care and in reference laboratories.
• Malaria eradication by 2040 requires a refocused strategy targeting all species
  Researchers make the case for a global strategy that targets all species of Plasmodium in parallel to overcome barriers to elimination and decrease the time, resources, and energy required to achieve global malaria eradication.
• Using machine learning to predict building type for indoor residual spraying
  Information about building type, whether residential, commercial, or other, is often missing from open source mapping data, but results of a study in Botswana and Swaziland show that an ensemble machine learning approach can fill in the gaps to correctly identify structures as sprayable or not-sprayable.
• Confronting programmatic challenges to reach sub-national malaria elimination goals in Lao PDR
  In the Northern provinces of Lao PDR, accelerating progress toward sub-national elimination may depend on strategies such as improving targeting of high-risk populations, implementing reactive case detection, and addressing gaps in early diagnosis and treatment.
• Study addresses evidence gaps identified by WHO for primaquine safety and dosing
  Higher doses of primaquine than the current World Health Organization recommendation were found to be well tolerated in G6PD deficient adults and children, bolstering the safety data for primaquine roll out in malaria-eliminating settings and facilitating age-based dosing of single low dose primaquine in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Assessing the potential of two new targeted strategies in malaria-eliminating settings
  In response to plateaus in transmission reduction in Namibia, a country approaching malaria elimination, researchers are investigating the effectiveness and feasibility of two new targeted strategies, reactive focal mass drug administration and reactive focal vector control.
• The Lancet Commission on Malaria Eradication
  The Lancet and the MEI have convened The Lancet Commission on Malaria Eradication to elaborate the scientific, financial, and operational requirements to achieve eradication, with a report to be published in 2019.
• Investing in malaria elimination in the Asia Pacific region
  Malaria elimination in the Asia Pacific region offers a 6:1 return on investment, generating potential economic savings of US$ 90 billion. Eliminating malaria is a “best buy” in public health, whose returns are comparable to other public health investments, such as childhood immunization.