Malaria elimination and mass drug administration

Although malaria has greatly declined in Southeast Asia this century, treating clinical cases won’t be sufficient to eliminate it from the region. Mass drug administration allows to eliminate parasites from asymptomatic carriers, and careful engagement with whole communities is key.

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I am an epidemiologist working at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, in the Malaria Group led by Professor Arjen Dondorp. I work in rural areas to study malaria epidemiology and conduct clinical trials to evaluate malaria treatment and elimination strategies in Southeast Asia. The studies I work on cover mass drug administration, new artemisinin combination therapies, screening and treatment approaches, and novel diagnostics to address the hidden reservoir of asymptomatic malaria infections. I am also interested in the prevention and control of chronic viral hepatitis. I am the study coordinator for the Triple Artemisinin Combination Therapy Cambodia-Vietnam (TACT-CV) clinical trial.