Educational site for diseases
discontools.eu This site gives an overview over certain diseases (not all parasitic though) and identifies knowledge gaps and current diagnostic tools. Click here for more information
Sustaining the drive to overcome the global impact of neglected tropical diseases
The second WHO report builds on the growing sense of optimism generated by the 2012 publication of the WHO Roadmap. Commitments on the part of ministries of health in endemic countries, global health initiatives, funding agencies and philanthropists have escalated since 2010, as have donations of medicines from pharmaceutical companies and the engagement of the…
Social media presence for the WFP
The World Federation for Parasitologists, as of last week, now has a presence on social media. The facebook page, created last week by Christopher Weir in Melbourne, has been established as a place to discuss all things parasitology. Any meetings, notices, courses, questions, job listings and interesting journal papers from research labs can now be…
Australia commits $100 million to the fight against malaria in the Asia-Pacific
Ministers and delegates at the Malaria2012: Saving Lives in the Pacific conference held in Sydney Australia have set the ambitious but realistic goal of reducing malaria deaths in the Asia-Pacific region by 75 per cent within three years. The communique commits to the following actions: To strengthen political and technical leadership in the region and establish the…
Onchocerca volvulus infection in Ghana
Prevalence and intensity of Onchocerca volvulus infection and efficacy of ivermectin in endemic communities in Ghana: a two-phase epidemiological study Mike Y Osei-Atweneboana, Jeffrey KL Eng, Daniel A Boakye,John O Gyapong and Roger K Prichard. Interpretation Ivermectin remains a potent microfilaricide. However our results suggest that resistant adult parasite populations, which are not responding as expected to…
WHO marks turning point for 1 billion people
Partners commit to global action against forgotten diseases 19 APRIL 2007 | GENEVA – WHO and key partners are meeting on Thursday and Friday to demonstrate an unprecedented commitment to combat the so-called neglected tropical diseases. This commitment comes from political leaders and ministries of health in affected countries, from development agencies and banks, foundations, scientists,…
Malaria resistance in mosquitoes
The release of mosquitoes that are resistant to infection with malaria is an interesting idea as a potential control strategy. Research workers at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland provide interesting results suggesting that genetic resistance to the malaria parasite gives mosquitoes feeding on infected blood a fitness advantage. They put 250 transgenic and…