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Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical

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2017

Implementation strategies to increase access and demand of long-lasting insecticidal nets: a before-and-after study and scale-up process in Mozambique

The universal coverage bed nets campaign is a proven health intervention promoting increased access, ownership, and use of bed nets to reduce malaria burden. This article describes the intervention and implementation strategies that Mozambique carried out recently in order to improve access and increase demand for long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs).
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Single dose azithromycin for the treatment of Haemophilus ducreyi skin ulcers in Papua New Guinea

Haemophilus ducreyi (HD) and Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue (TP) are major causative agents of cutaneous ulcers (CU) in the tropics. Azithromycin is recommended to treat sexually transmitted HD infections and has good in-vitro activity against HD strains from both genital and skin ulcers. We investigated the efficacy of single oral dose azithromycin on HD-CU.
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Diversity of Pneumocystis jirovecii Across Europe: A Multicentre Observational Study

Pneumocystis jirovecii is an airborne human-specific ascomycetous fungus responsible for Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised patients, affecting >500,000 patients per year (www.gaffi.org). The understanding of its epidemiology is limited by the lack of standardised culture. Recent genotyping data suggests a limited genetic diversity of P. jirovecii. The objective of the study was to assess the diversity of P. jirovecii across European hospitals and analyse P. jirovecii diversity in respect to clinical data obtained from the patients.
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The contribution of eHealth and mHealth to improving the performance of the health workforce: a review

eHealth and mHealth are technologies that allow services to be extended closer to patients, in pursuit of the objectives of Health  2020: a  European policy framework and strategy for the 21st century and of the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: workforce 2030. As Europe faces increased demand for health services due to ageing populations, rising patient mobility, and a  diminishing supply of health workers caused by retirement rates that surpass recruitment rates, this paper illustrates how eHealth and mHealth can improve the delivery of services by the health workforce in response to increasing demands.
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An overview of the open science in times of Big Data and innovation to global health

The last several years have revealed information technology and scientific data to be important allies. However, the most important scientific ally is that which can assist in the complex task of identifying, collecting and treating the exponential amount of data added to the Web every day in the XXI century.
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Solute carriers affect Anopheles stephensi survival and Plasmodium berghei infection in the salivary glands

Malaria is caused by mosquito-borne Plasmodium spp. parasites that must infect and survive within mosquito salivary glands (SGs) prior to host transmission. Recent advances in transcriptomics and the complete genome sequencing of mosquito vectors have increased our knowledge of the SG genes and proteins involved in pathogen infection and transmission.
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Reduction of Mosquito Survival in Mice Vaccinated with Anopheles stephensi Glucose Transporter

Despite the fact that recent efforts to control/eradicate malaria have contributed to a significant decrease in the number of cases and deaths, the disease remains a global health challenge. Vaccines based on mosquito salivary gland antigens are a potential approach for reducing vector populations and malaria parasites.
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High prevalence of Pneumocystis jirovecii dihydropteroate synthase gene mutations in patients with a first episode of Pneumocystis pneumonia in Santiago, Chile, and clinical response to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy

Mutations in the Dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) gene of Pneumocystis jirovecii associate with failure of sulfa prophylaxis. They can develop by selection in patients receiving sulfa drugs, or be acquired via person-to-person transmission. DHPS mutations raise concern about decreasing efficacy of sulfa drugs, the main available therapeutic tool for Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP).
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Respiratory microbiota and lower respiratory tract disease

The respiratory airways harbor a complex succession of ecological niches with distinct but related bacterial communities. Particular challenges of respiratory microbiome research have led to limited scientific output compared to other human microbiomes.
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What Makes Your Dog Itch? Maybe It Is the Kennel Tick!

Once upon a time, in a backyard not very far from you, lived a dog named Rex with long fluffy and shiny hair. Rex really loved to play outside, especially with his best friend and owner Jack, a nine-year-old boy. On a perfect spring day, when it was not too cold or too hot, Jack and Rex went for a walk in a green park close by, and when they returned home Jack noticed that his loyal friend was very itchy and was scratching his ear a lot.
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