Status:

SMRU was established in 1986 in Shoklo. It is a field station of the faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, and is part of the Mahidol-Oxford Research Unit (MORU) supported by the Wellcome Trust (UK).
Mahidol University
Wellcome

Location:

The S.M.R.U is now based in Mae Sot and the activities extend to the populations living along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Beneficiaries:

Population living along the border, including refugees and other migrants.

Objectives:

  1. To treat and care for patients with malaria.
  2. To define the epidemiology, entomology, and clinical features of malaria in this area of low (unstable) transmission, and to determine the best methods of prevention and treatment.
  3. To advise the Thai Medical Institutions and the Non Governmental Organisations involved in the treatment and the control of malaria in the South East Asia region.
Mae sot location, and karen refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border
Project Objectives:

The projects are designed to be of direct benefit to the local community, and also to provide information useful to other populations living in malaria endemic areas elsewhere in the world through publications in mainstream international scientific journals.
SMRU MaeLa Unit
Project Areas:
  • I     Malaria in Pregnancy and Infancy
  • II    Malaria treatment studies
  • III   Entomology
  • IV  HIV/Aids awareness and prevention of vertical transmission
  • V   Nutrition and Anaemia
  • VI  Laboratory studies
  • VII Control of malaria and detection of epidemics along the border
ARMA

Projects:

Current projects include: optimising the treatment of multi drug resistant malaria, investigating new antimalarial drugs, ante-natal care, epidemiological and malariometric surveys, studies on entomology and genetics of drug resistance, studies on vitamin B1 deficiency and studies on the neurological development of young infants. SMRU also collaborate in a campaign of Education on HIV/AIDS.
Staff:

More than 200 local staff (Nurses, Midwives, Medics, Lab-technicians, Data entry clerks, Administrator, Accounting officer, Home-visitors, Drivers, Cleaners) and 7 expatriates (5 Doctors, 1 laboratory scientist, 1 Laboratory technician).

Funding Bodies:

The Wellcome Trust of Great Britain, through the Wellcome-Mahidol University-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Programme. In the past 14 years the SMRU has secured funding from various sources such as research grants, the pharmaceutical industry, the World Health Organisation, the European Union, VIHPAL (French Gvt). In 2000 SMRU (via Oxford University) was awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to extend the control of malaria to the entire Tak Province in collaboration with the Thai Ministry of Health.

Long-Term Plans:

To continue to provide malaria clinics and conduct community based research to elucidate the best methods of malaria control, against a backdrop of ever increasing drug resistance. Recently, the Unit has initiated a programme of AIDS awareness. Although the situation seems under control in the refugee populations, there is a great concern that further disruptions or population movements could lead to devastating epidemics and spread of resistant malaria to neighbouring populations. The recently funded Tak Malaria Initiative provides an opportunity to strengthen the results obtained in the refugee population and extend it to all surrounding areas.