Pedro Berzosa, principal investigator of the project – CARLOS III HEALTH INSTITUTE
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MADRID, Feb. 10 (EUROPE PRESS) –
Researchers from the National Center of Tropical Medicine of the Carlos III Health Institute (CNMT-ISCIII) have traveled to Equatorial Guinea to present on the spot the results of a therapeutic efficacy study of the 1st and 2nd intention antimalarial treatments for non-malaria cases serious.
The project, funded by the World Health Organization
(WHO), is led by the CNMT / ISCIII and has Pedro Berzosa as principal investigator. After the study, researchers have observed 95 percent efficacy of such treatments.
The research, which has been in operation since 2017 with the objective of evaluating the use of antimalarials in the African country, ended at the end of 2018, at which time the data analysis began.
Berzosa explains that this data was collected by working with children under five years of age in hospitals and health centers in two cities in the continental region of Guinea: Bata and Ebebiyín, and one from Bioko Island, Malabo.
After the field work, the CNMT analyzed a battery of genes for
determine the mutational profile of parasites, which is related to
antimalarial resistance. In addition, the Pfmsp1 genes were studied
and Pfmp2 to differentiate cases of reinfection from those of recrudescence. For its part, WHO was responsible for analyzing the resistance of another specific gene, Pfk13.
The report with the results of the aforementioned study has just been submitted
a few days ago in Guinea by CNMT / ISCIII researchers,
together with the results obtained by the WHO itself in the investigation. In
specifically, the presentation of the conclusions of the project was made
at the headquarters the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Guinea
Equatorial, in the presence of the Minister of Health, health authorities
Guinean, WHO representatives.
Thus, the results obtained in this project have served to update the national therapeutic guide of Guinea for the treatment of malaria.
This activity is part of the function of the National Center of Tropical Medicine to carry out intervention and cooperation programs with Laboratories or Extramural Centers dependent on Centers specialized in tropical diseases in third countries. The objective of these programs is to improve the health and development of the most vulnerable populations through knowledge generation, training and research.
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