Publications

Thin-Layer-Agar-Based Direct Phenotypic Drug Susceptibility Testing on Sputum in Eswatini Rapidly Detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis Growth and Rifampicin Resistance Otherwise Missed by WHO-Endorsed Diagnostic Tests.

Abstract

Xpert MTB/RIF rapidly detects resistance to rifampicin (RR); however, this test misses I491F-RR conferring mutation, common in southern Africa. In addition, Xpert MTB/RIF does not distinguish between viable and dead (MTB).

Ardizzoni E Ariza E Mulengwa D Mpala Q de La Tour R Maphalala G Varaine F Kerschberger B Graulus P Page AL Niemann S Dreyer V Van Deun A Decroo T Rigouts L de Jong BC
Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 2021 05 18; 65(6); . doi: 10.1128/AAC.02263-20. Epub 2021 05 18
MDR TLA XDR Xpert MTB/RIF resistance detection rpoB I491F mutant tuberculosis

Urgently seeking efficiency and sustainability of clinical trials in global health.

Abstract

This paper shows the scale of global health research and the context in which we frame the subsequent papers in the Series.

Park JJH Grais RF Taljaard M Nakimuli-Mpungu E Jehan F Nachega JB Ford N Xavier D Kengne AP Ashorn P Socias ME Bhutta ZA Mills EJ
The Lancet. Global health 2021 May ; 9(5); e681-e690. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30539-8. Epub 2021 04 18
Clinical trial

The role and challenges of cluster randomised trials for global health.

Abstract

Evaluating whether an intervention works when trialled in groups of individuals can pose complex challenges for clinical research.

Dron L Taljaard M Cheung YB Grais R Ford N Thorlund K Jahan F Nakimuli-Mpungu E Xavier D Bhutta ZA Park JJH Mills EJ
The Lancet. Global health 2021 May ; 9(5); e701-e710. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30541-6. Epub 2021 04 18
Clinical trial

Randomised trials at the level of the individual.

Abstract

In global health research, short-term, small-scale clinical trials with fixed, two-arm trial designs that generally do not allow for major changes throughout the trial are the most common study design.

Park JJH Ford N Xavier D Ashorn P Grais RF Bhutta ZA Goossens H Thorlund K Socias ME Mills EJ
The Lancet. Global health 2021 May ; 9(5); e691-e700. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30540-4. Epub 2021 04 18
Clinical trial

AMR in low-resource settings: Médecins Sans Frontières bridges surveillance gaps by developing a turnkey solution, the Mini-Lab.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC), data related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are often inconsistently collected.

Ronat JB Natale A Kesteman T Andremont A Elamin W Hardy L Kanapathipillai R Michel J Langendorf C Vandenberg O Naas T Kouassi F
Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2021 Apr 28; . doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2021.04.015. Epub 2021 04 28
Antimicrobial resistance Clinical bacteriology laboratory Low-and middle-income countries Mini-lab Médecins Sans Frontières Surveillance

Epidemiological, clinical, and public health response characteristics of a large outbreak of diphtheria among the Rohingya population in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, 2017 to 2019: A retrospective study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Unrest in Myanmar in August 2017 resulted in the movement of over 700,000 Rohingya refugees to overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. A large outbreak of diphtheria subsequently began in this population.

Polonsky JA Ivey M Mazhar KA Rahman Z le Polain de Waroux O Karo B Jalava K Vong S Baidjoe A Diaz J Finger F Habib ZH Halder CE Haskew C Kaiser L Khan AS Sangal L Shirin T Zaki QA Salam A White K
PLoS medicine 2021 Apr 01; 18(4); e1003587. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003587. Epub 2021 04 01