Isaac Haggai Namango (PhD) 🇰🇪🇨🇭

I am deeply grateful following my Young Investigator Award Honorable Mention of the #TropMed21. Many thanks to all my colleagues, the @SwissTPH @ifakarahealth and the @UniBasel_en

Late morning biting behaviour of Anopheles funestus is a risk factor for transmission in schools in Siaya, western Kenya | Malaria Journal | Full Text malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

Now Confirmed; MasterClass is scheduled for December 14th 2023, starting 5.00pm EAT, 9am EST, 3pm CET. Confirmed Experts: Profs. Erin Mordecai (Stanford), Leah Johnson (Virginia Tech), Abdisalan Noor (Harvard), Kimberly Fornace (Glasgow). ~ Additional details coming soon

⁦@SkyNews⁩ believe one shouldn’t apologise for a wrong done if they also done some good things. You know, like a philanthropist shouldn’t be condemned too hard just for a simple murder here another there once in a while. Right? youtube.com/watch?v=Oem4-j…

Hongera sana chief @Fredros_Inc! Godspeed with your new role @UofGlasgow.

One weekend in August, 2023, Seline Omondi led our team to find out how late malaria transmitting mosquitoes were actively biting in school. We see peak biting between 6-7am when kids are just getting to school and biting continuing until 11am. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

🦟MALARIA: Spike among schoolchildren raises concerns despite progress in elimination Scientists @Ifakarahealth and @muhimbiliuniver have raised concerns over increasing shifts in malaria cases among school-age children in Tanzania🇹🇿, despite significant progress in #malariacontrol efforts in the country. In their study, published in the @MalariaJournal, they identify several factors that seem to increase children's risk of contracting #malaria, stressing the importance of understanding and addressing these risks to protect children's health.🧒 They also emphasize the need for further research 🔬to quantify the risk associated with the factors contributing to increased #malariainfection among the age group and their impact on malaria strategies to control infection. >> ihi.or.tz/blog/news/mala… >> #IFAKARAnews #MalariaResearch

🦟MALARIA CONTROL: Targeting breeding sites to prevent mosquito growth Scientists at @ifakarahealth are now targeting breeding sites to prevent #malaria mosquitoes from growing up and spreading the disease, which claims an estimated 600,000 lives globally🌍– with Africa carrying a disproportionately high share (over 96%) of the burden. The scientists – led by @HamisiKunambi, the lead author, under the supervision of @Fredros_Inc and @DLwetoijera – apply a technique known as “autodissemination” that takes advantage of the female mosquito's habit of laying eggs to transfer #pyriproxyfen – which mimics a natural hormone in a mosquito and disrupts growth to the breeding sites and thereby prevent young mosquitoes from growing up and spreading #malaria📈 >> ihi.or.tz/blog/news/mala… >>#IFAKARAnews #IFAKARAresearch #IFAKARAscience

@ifakarahealth @Fredros_Inc @AllyOlotu @HonoratiM @ummymwalimu @wizara_afyatz Hongera sana kaka!

LEADERSHIP: Dr. Olotu is the new Ifakara Director of Science 🔬🧪 Ifakara Health Institute has announced Dr. Ally Olotu its new Director of Science, taking over from @Fredros_Inc , who held the post since 2016. Before this new appointment, Dr. Olotu served in the same position in the acting capacity. The Chief Executive Director @ifakarahealth, @HonoratiM , made the announcement at a staff meeting from Dar es Salaam. He won the post after a highly competitive selection process that involved applicants from outside the organization. Just before the two immediate positions, Dr. Olotu served for many years as Head of the Interventions and Clinical Trials Department based at the Ifakara Health Institute Clinical Trials Facility in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. 🏥 >> ihi.or.tz/our-events/266… >> #IFAKARAevents #IFAKARAscience

@lipangalala @HaggaiIsaac @UniBasel_en @ifakarahealth Congratulations @HaggaiIsaac for your successful PhD!

Hongera sana Dr. @HaggaiIsaac 🇰🇪 Congratulations on passing your PhD defense this afternoon! Now, let’s celebrate! 🥂 @UniBasel_en @SwissTPH @ifakarahealth

@Fredros_Inc One thing, taking antimalarials on an empty stomach (if you can even get the antimalarial) can be pretty traumatic. Poverty alleviation and food security will need to be a key component to interrupt malaria deaths.

Compared to diseases such as Tuberculosis, there are actually very good medicines available for malaria. For uncomplicated malaria, artemisinin combination treatments like generally have cure rates >95%; and can be taken in just 3 days for a full dose. And even for severe malaria, options like artesunate injections are in many ways magical. ~ What is my point ~ Well, we may not be able to eliminate malaria today or tomorrow, but one thing we can do is to completely stop malaria deaths. This we can do, if we pay a little more attention. Deaths can be and should be stopped long before the elimination rays even appears in the horizon

Heritability of biting time behaviours in the major African malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis | Malaria Journal | Full Text malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

A spider that feeds on human blood by choosing female [blood-fed] mosquitoes as prey. ~ Here is some very interesting research from 20 years ago, when the jolly good Prof. Robert Jackson arrived in western Kenya to study spiders. Prof. Jackson and I (a fresh high school graduate) briefly shared space in Dr. @KnolsMosquito team at @icipe Mbita campus (long story); and I can still say confidently that few people write simpler science than the Professor. Here is their PNAS story of the vampire spider, Evarcha culicivora. ~ A small jumping spider in East Africa called Evarcha culicivora has a unique way of indirectly feeding on vertebrate blood. Instead of biting and sucking blood directly, it chooses female mosquitoes that have recently fed on blood as its preferred prey. Surprisingly, experiments have shown that this spider can identify these blood-fed mosquitoes just by looking at them or smelling them. When given a choice between different types of motionless prey, the spider consistently selects blood-fed female mosquitoes over other options like male mosquitoes or female mosquitoes that haven't fed on blood. Interestingly, the spider's preference for blood is more important than the size of the prey. Young spiders tend to choose smaller prey, while adults and larger juveniles prefer larger prey. However, to get a blood meal, even the smaller spiders go after larger prey, and the larger spiders sometimes choose smaller prey. Additionally, when given the scent of different prey types, the spider is more likely to approach the odor of blood-fed female mosquitoes compared to prey that don't have blood ~ Sub-note: Those who study malaria mosquitoes know that they sit on walls at 45 degree angles, with their blood-fed abdomen elevated. I remember Prof. Jackson saying then that the vampire spiders would creep under this elevation and basically bisect the mosquito, throwing off the head and thorax then devouring the bloody abdomen. ~ Jackson et al: pnas.org/doi/full/10.10… (image from National Geographic)

At the annual general meeting, our members elected Manuel Hetzel from the @SwissTPH as new president. We warmly welcome Manuel to his role and look forward to working with him. Read the full announcement on our website: swissmalariagroup.ch/assets/uploads…

Interesting 🤔

Zero Malaria Now: Join us at @SwissTPH on #WorldMalariaDay2023 as we chart possible ways to stage a tougher fight against malaria going into the future ✋🏾🛑🦟

In my final analysis of the global health ecosystem, I conclude that unfortunately [and sadly], there is currently no room, or if you like, no real interest in making meaningful progress towards zero malaria. Everything is private interests. Interests and nothing more. We're all just seeking jobs, cash and kudos. I wish I were wrong. Hopefully I am.

📢A guide to mosquitoes in the Pacific is finally online! Thanks to everyone in our amazing vector community that provided input and insight. Also big shout out to the Pacific Community @spc_cps for providing open access publishing. 🦟🦟🦟👇 purl.org/spc/digilib/do… @tomburkot

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships (ESKAS) offer foreign students an excellent opportunity to do a PhD in 🇨🇭. But is a #scholarship of CHF 1920/month enough? Not always easy for hosts to find top-up funds to allow students a decent life & studies in Switzerland @SBFI_CH

Here is a mobile app that my colleagues at @ifakarahealth & @pamcafrica have created for identification of Afro-tropical Anopheles mosquitoes. We named it Coetzees, in honor of the legendary African medical entomologist, Prof. Maureen Coetzee (now retired but not tired), whose taxonomic keys form the basis of the app. Try it out and let us know what you think. ~ The app, created for the @DEntomologist program, is available for downloads from on Google Playstore. And of course, just like Maureen's 2020 publication (tinyurl.com/2btxv4zk), the Coetzees app also includes Anopheles stephensi, An. amharicus etc. Key contact is @dixonmsaki ~ Msaky et al: play.google.com/store/apps/det… by @DEntomologist @dixonmsaki @Betweljohn @Rukymohammad @WITS_Malaria @LLKoekemoer