Join PATH at the 2025 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting

Poster Session A: Hall E Level 8, Monday November 10, 12:30–2:15pm

• Poster #6415: Effectiveness of perennial malaria chemoprevention on severe malaria in children under two: a case control study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Poster #6449: A Phase 1a clinical trial of the safety and immunogenicity of RH5.2-VLP with Matrix-M® in UK adults – a novel blood-stage P. falciparum malaria vaccine candidate
• Poster #6418: Co-Creation of Community-Driven Strategies to Enhance Uptake of the Four-Dose Malaria Vaccine in Kongo Central, DRC: A Participatory Approach Informed by KAP Survey Findings

Poster Session B: Hall E Level 8, Tuesday November 11, 12:00–1:45pm

• Poster #6972: Perennial malaria chemoprevention in the Democratic Republic of Congo: coverage level and drivers of uptake
• Poster #7009:Evaluating the efficacy of malaria vaccines using the test-negative case-control design with an example from a trial of seasonal malaria vaccination with RTS,S/AS01Ein Burkina Faso and Mali
• Poster #7011: Superior functional humoral immunogenicity of blood-stage malaria vaccines when given in a delayed third-dose (as compared to monthly) regimen and when targeting three proteins in the Plasmodium falciparum RH5-CyRPA-RIPR invasion complex as compared to RH5 alone
• Poster #6985: Using a Deep Dive Approach to Strengthen the Quality and Coverage of Malaria Vaccination in Seven Health Zones of Kongo-Central Province, DRC
• Poster #LB-9223: Evaluating malaria rapid diagnostic test performance and quantitative antigen levels for Plasmodium vivax in the Brazilian Amazon

Poster Session C: Hall E Level 8, Wednesday November 12, 11:00am–12:45pm

• Poster #7353: Strengthening the Public Health Emergency Operations Center’s capacity for real-time decision-making for mpox epidemic management in the DRC through a data integration and visualization tool
• Poster #7573: Integration of Malaria Vaccine Data into Routine DHIS2 System in DRC
• Poster #7603: Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of stakeholders, healthcare professionals and caregivers about malaria vaccine introduction in the DRC
• Poster #7486: Clinical performance of a new point-of-care test for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in Brazil
• Poster #7623: Paying for Progress: Exploring incentives to augment antimicrobial stewardship in Senegal and Tanzania

Monday, November 10

Scaling In-country Genomic Surveillance of Malaria Across Sub-Saharan Africa: Progress, Challenges, and Insights from Local NOMADS Nanopore Sequencing in Five Countries

2:15-4:00pm, Convention Center - Room 715

• Counteracting the spread of drug- and diagnostic-resistant P. falciparum malaria in sub-Saharan Africa will require a massive scale-up of genomic surveillance. Data from this surveillance will more rapidly and effectively inform public health decision-making if sequencing is conducted and led by local teams. Yet in-country sequencing across sub-Saharan Africa is often challenged by resource constraints. Nanopore sequencing from Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) has dramatically reduced barriers to access, and a growing number of countries are looking to harness it to establish local malaria genomic surveillance. Since 2020, the NOMADS project has sought to accelerate this process through the development of cost-effective nanopore sequencing protocols for malaria and its vectors, coupled with sustained training and support. To date, thousands of malaria samples have been sequenced across more than five countries, generating important data including on kelch13-mediated antimalarial drug resistance. This symposium aims to explore the application and experiences of in-country sequencing in a range of countries across Africa.

Evidence to Guide the Implementation of Effective P. vivax Radical Cure

4:30-6:15pm, Convention Center - Room 718B

• Eliminating Plasmodium vivax malaria remains one of the most complex challenges in malaria control due to the parasite’s ability to form dormant liver-stage hypnozoites. These can reactivate weeks or months after the initial infection, causing relapses and sustaining transmission. Radical cure —treatment targeting both blood and liver-stage parasites— is essential to break this cycle. However, the only available hypnozoiticidal drugs, primaquine (PQ) and tafenoquine (TQ), can cause severe hemolysis in individuals with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, making G6PD testing a critical prerequisite for treatment. In 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its malaria guidelines. TQ was included for the first time in South America, with controlled deployment and further research recommended in other regions. WHO also recommended a short-course, high-dose PQ regimen (7 mg/kg over 7 days, known as PQ7) to improve adherence and effectiveness. TQ and PQ7 are only recommended for patients with normal G6PD activity, therefore requiring point-of-care quantitative G6PD testing. WHO also prequalified TQ formulations for adults and children, along with the SD Biosensor STANDARD G6PD test. These approvals enable National Malaria Programs to consider broader deployment. In March 2024 Brazil became the first endemic country to introduce TQ with G6PD testing into its national health system. The first presentation will share lessons learned from this ‘first adopter’ country to help prepare other countries considering TQ deployment. Three presentations on feasibility studies will then be made, one on TQ and two on PQ. Results from the TQ feasibility study based in Peru will be shared along with insights on acceptability, knowledge retention and cost-effectiveness. Despite TQ’s promise, it is currently only licensed for use with chloroquine. In countries like Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Indonesia, where artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the recommended schizonticidal treatment for P. vivax, radical cure relies on PQ. Most countries use a low-dose 14-day regimen to improve tolerability, but this prolonged course often results in poor adherence. The symposium will present key results and implications for PQ7 scale-up from the SCOPE study, implementation research exploring the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of a novel P. vivax case management package codesigned with the Papua New Guinean and Indonesian Ministries of Health. The final presentation will present pooled data on G6PD threshold accuracy, exploring how adjusted thresholds may expand access to radical cure. The session will conclude with a moderated discussion to engage stakeholders in shaping future implementation strategies.

Tuesday, November 11

Elimination at Scale: India’s Integrated Model to Beat Vector Borne Diseases, with a focus on Lymphatic Filariasis and Visceral Leishmaniasis

7:00-8:45am, Convention Center - Room 602

• The session 'Elimination at Scale: India’s Integrated Model to Beat Vector Borne Diseases, with a focus on Lymphatic Filariasis and Visceral Leishmaniasis’ will highlight how India is rapidly transforming the landscape of vector-borne disease control through strategic integration and innovation. Bringing together leading experts, the session will delve into India’s indigenous elimination strategies, which unites digital surveillance platforms like KAMIS and IHIP, the active involvement of academic and technology partners, and strong engagement with communities on the ground. Panellists will share practical lessons from large-scale implementation: from mobilizing youth networks and strengthening medical college collaborations to restoring patient dignity through improved morbidity management. By examining real-world successes and challenges, this symposium will provide unique insights into how multidisciplinary collaboration and technology are enabling sustainable disease elimination, offering valuable models and ideas for the global health community.Primary Sponsor - William J. Clinton Foundation (WJCF) is a not-for-profit, registered under Section 8 of Indian Companies Act 2013, and has an affiliation agreement with Clinton Health Access Initiative. Since 2007, WJCF has partnered with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and state governments to strengthen and sustain quality health systems. We provide technical and operational support across diverse areas including HIV, TB, hepatitis, vector-borne and non-communicable diseases, maternal-newborn and reproductive health, digital health, oxygen and climate-health.

Next Generation Malaria Diagnostics - Harnessing New Biomarkers for Parasite Detection

10:15am-12:00pm, Convention Center - Room 718A

• Inadequate performance of available diagnostics like microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) threatens clinical management and elimination of malaria. Detection of Plasmodium infection presents challenges: a complex life cycle and host interactions, dormant and sequestered forms, and genetic changes such as Pfhrp2/3 deletions. This symposium will focus on innovative approaches to malaria diagnosis, new biomarkers with the potential to enable detection of a greater number of clinical, asymptomatic, and cryptic infections, clinical differentiation, and insights into the biology of Plasmodium infection and host interactions. A brief landscape of malaria biomarkers will be presented in the context of product development pathways. Next-generation RDTs with anticipated higher sensitivity and commercially available near-term will also be highlighted. Current RDTs rely on detection of a limited repertoire of protein antigens, but the Plasmodium genome codes for thousands of proteins. Multi-omics methods enable detection of proteins that may be better suited as target analytes for detection of blood stage malaria. A reannotation of the hypothetical genes in Plasmodium genomes will be presented, which, integrated with sensitive multi-omics datasets, identifies better biomarkers in infected plasma. Corresponding protein binders can be designed using advanced protein language models and AI. Analysis of the host’s volatile organic compounds suggests Plasmodium infection leads to a distinct odor profile, offering great potential for non-invasive diagnostics. Developments in “whole body” and “on-skin” volatilomics will describe airborne chemicals emitted from human skin and breath. These high-resolution approaches also enable chemical discernment of inter-individual human attractiveness to malaria vectors. Ongoing studies to identify and validate breath biomarkers of asymptomatic infection and to support development of a “breathalyzer” suitable for large-scale screening will be presented. Volatile compound analysis can be used for diagnostics but also leveraged for vector control. Blood stage detection has been a gold standard, but hidden infections from sequestered parasites or in asymptomatic infections have proven to be a challenge. Novel extracellular vesicle (EV)-derived biomarkers in Plasmodium vivax infections have been identified in cryptic and asymptomatic infections. The implementation of new EV isolation and characterization techniques will be presented for the detection of asymptomatic cases and hidden reservoirs. Diagnostics which provide alert to case severity can be vital to timely intervention. Novel microRNAs are associated with severe malaria and are particularly promising biomarkers for early diagnosis and monitoring of cerebral malaria

Wednesday, November 12

Delayed (post-intervention) Malaria - Should This be a Concern?

3:00-4:45pm, Convention Center - Room 718A

• Employing a combination of effective interventions, it is now possible to provide a high level of protection against malaria to young children. Because children resident in endemic areas gradually acquire immunity to malaria in the absence of effective protection, there is a risk that if a high level of protection in the first few years of life is not sustained, and the risk of infection remains high, these children may be at a high risk. A trial of the combination of an ITN, SMC and seasonal vaccination with the RTS,S/AS01E vaccine conducted in Burkina Faso and Mali showed a high level of protection against uncomplicated and severe malaria in children who received all three interventions during their first five years of life (Dicko et al. Lancet Infect Did 2024;24:75-86) Thus, a study has been undertaken to determine the risk of malaria in children in this trial during the first three years after the interventions were no longer given. The incidence of clinical episodes of malaria and hospital admissions with malaria during the post-intervention period has been measured in through passive case detection and a case control study to determine whether children who received all three interventions had a higher risk of post-intervention malaria than children who received either intervention given alone as a consequence of having lower naturally acquired immunity. A serological study of antibodies to blood stage antigens has been undertaken to investigate this possibility.

Monday, November 10

Session 50 - Malaria: Clinical and Population Epidemiology

4:30–6:00pm Convention Center - Room 701B

• 4:50pm, #6618 Evaluating the Impact of Malaria Community Case Management in Malawi | Ellen Ferriss, PATH

Wednesday, November 12

Session 117 - Malaria: Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics

9:15–11:00am Convention Center - Room 715

• 10:05am, #7252 Strategies to Improve Uptake of Four-Dose Malaria Vaccine