Year: 2023
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Global interest in malaria elimination has prompted research on active test and treat (TaT) strategies. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to assess the effectiveness of TaT strategies to reduce malaria transmission. RESULTS: A total of 72 empirical research and 24 modelling studies were identified, mainly focused on proactive mass TaT (MTaT) and reactive case detection (RACD) in higher and lower transmission settings, respectively. Ten intervention studies compared MTaT to no MTaT and the evidence for impact on malaria incidence was weak. No intervention studies compared RACD to no RACD. Compared to passive case detection (PCD) alone, PCD + RACD using standard diagnostics increased infection detection 52.7% and 11.3% in low and very low transmission settings, respectively. Using molecular methods increased this detection of infections by 1.4- and 1.1-fold, respectively. CONCLUSION: Results suggest MTaT is not effective for reducing transmission. By increasing case detection, surveillance data provided by RACD may indirectly reduce transmission by informing coordinated responses of intervention targeting.
Source: Malaria Journal
Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences, Uppsala University, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. President's Malaria Initiative, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, University of South Florida, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Language: English
Topic: Malaria Research and Control
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $997
OpenAlex ID: W4386402293