The feasibility of global polio eradication is being questioned as a result of continued transmission in a few localities that act as sources for outbreaks elsewhere. Perhaps the greatest challenge is in India, where transmission has persisted in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar despite high coverage with multiple doses of vaccine. We estimate key parameters governing the seasonal epidemics in these are...

Vector-borne diseases are responsible for significant health problems in humans, as well as in companion and farm animals. Killing the vectors with ectoparasitic drugs before they have the opportunity to pass on their pathogens could be the ideal way to prevent vector borne diseases. Blocking of transmission might work when transmission is delayed during blood meal, as often happens in ticks. T...

Analysis of the varied developmental pathways exploited by malarial parasites as they pass through their differing life stages can be challenging [1–3], the parasites often adopting mechanisms that differ from the conventional norms of their eukaryotic hosts. It is, however, these unexpected differences that provide fascination and drive to the basic research scientist and simultaneously expose...

INTRODUCTION The RTS,S/AS01 pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccine is in phase III clinical trials. It is critical to anticipate where and how it should be implemented if trials are successful. Such planning may be complicated by changing levels of malaria transmission. METHODS/RESULTS Computer simulations were used to examine RTS,S/AS01 impact, using a vaccine profile based on phase II trial resul...

We have developed transmission-blocking monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against Plasmodium yoelii 21-kDa (Pys21) and 28-kDa (Pys25) ookinete surface proteins. These MAbs block infectivity of P. yoelii to Anopheles stephensi. One MAb, 14, cross-reacted by Western blotting with a 28-kDa surface protein (Pbs25) of P. berghei ookinetes and blocked oocyst development, as assayed by direct mosquito feed...

Flows traversing a buffer-limited network can suffer rapid throughput deterioration with increasing path length. This paper introduces a distributed transmission scheduling scheme that supports strong bandwidth guarantees for flows routed over a large number of hops, without compromising network utilization. The scheme is defined within a reservation-based transmission control framework. Throug...

Chemical conjugation of polysaccharide to carrier proteins has been a successful strategy to generate potent vaccines against bacterial pathogens. We developed a similar approach for poorly immunogenic malaria protein antigens. Our lead candidates in clinical trials are the malaria transmission blocking vaccine antigens, Pfs25 and Pfs230D1, individually conjugated to the carrier protein Exoprot...

BACKGROUND Schistosomiasis japonica is a zoonotic parasitic disease; developing transmission blocking veterinary vaccines are urgently needed for the prevention and control of schistosomiasis in China. Heterologous prime-boost strategy, a novel vaccination approach, is more effective in enhancing vaccine efficacy against multiple pathogens. In the present study, we established a novel heterolog...

Vaccines are the cornerstone of influenza control policy, but can suffer from several drawbacks. Seasonal influenza vaccines are prone to production problems and low efficacies, while pandemic vaccines are unlikely to be available in time to slow a rapidly spreading global outbreak. Antiviral therapy was found to be beneficial during the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic even with limited use; ho...