Rapid control of malaria by means of indoor residual spraying of alphacypermethrin in the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.
(41/74)
A nationwide yearly cycle of indoor residual spraying (IRS) with a pyrethroid, alphacypermethrin, at a dosage of 50 mg/m(2) was instituted in 2004 in the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe. Rates of IRS acceptance were high, varying from 82% to 95% for dwellings and outhouses. Epidemiologic surveys of the children < 9 years of age before and after the first IRS cycle revealed a rapid reduction in malaria. Overall prevalence of malaria parasitemia for all districts was lowered from 20.1% to 2.8% at 12 months after the first IRS and reached 0.7% at 8 months after the second IRS. Longer insecticidal persistence was found on wood than on cement with alphacypermethrin. (+info)
Malaria in Sao Tome and principe: on the brink of elimination after three years of effective antimalarial measures.
(42/74)
In 2005, Sao Tome e Principe began an initiative aimed at reducing malaria-related mortality to zero. The program included mass coverage with two antivector intervention methods (indoor residual spraying and long-lasting insecticidal nets), artemisinin-based combination therapy, and intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. At the end of 2007, three years after intensified interventions began, malaria-attributed outpatient consultations, hospitalizations, and deaths decreased by more than 85%, 80%, and 95%, respectively, in all age groups. Mean prevalence of parasitemia and splenomegaly were also significantly reduced to 2.1% (P < 0.0001) and 0.3% (P < 0.0001) after two rounds of spraying from baseline prevalences of 30.5% and 48.8%, respectively. The dramatic reduction in malaria morbidity and mortality now enable serious consideration of new goals and strategies aimed at completely interrupting malaria transmission on these islands. We report evidence of the program's impact and the feasibility of and potential strategies for eliminating malaria from Sao Tome e Principe. (+info)
STD/AIDS prevention in Portuguese-speaking Africa: a review of the recent literature in the social sciences and health.
(43/74)