Achievements

To date the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit has....

  • Provided the first detailed description of the effects of malaria in pregnancy in South East Asia.

  • Developed a system of antenatal care that has eliminated maternal malaria related mortality.

  • Established the safety of the artemisinin derivatives in pregnancy.

  • Identified vitamin B1 deficiency in infants as the main cause of death in the first year of life.

  • Defined the development of mefloquine drug resistance in this area and produced extensive information (in over 10,000 patients) on its adverse effects and on predictors of treatment response.

  • Assessed the benefit of high dose halofantrine and discovered its cardio toxicity.

  • Treated over 20 000 patients with artemisinin derivatives (the largest single centre study in the world) and pionnered the ACTs.

  • Conducted the first studies to look at a possible cumulative toxicity of this family of drugs in humans.

  • Documented for the first time the impact of artesunate on transmission of malaria and on the spread of resistance and pioneered the use of artemisinin based combination therapy.

  • Documented the emergence of chloroquine resistance in P. vivax.

  • Evaluated the US manufactured malaria vaccine SPf66 in the most detailed and carefully conducted trial with this vaccine.

  • Documented for the first time the effects of P. vivax in pregnancy.

  • Provided the most detailed ultrasonographic studies on the impact of malaria on fetal growth.

  • Became the reference for malaria control programs supported by international NGO working along the border.

  • Documented the emergence of artemisinin resistance on the Thai-Myanmar border.

  • Initiated the first Family Planing and HIV awareness programme in the Karen camps, as well as the mother-to-child transmission prevention programme.

  • Provided the first detailed description of the epidemiology and the biology of S. pneumoniae in the infant population.

  • Reduced by half the infant mortality by introducing specialized care units in the main clinics.

  • Initiated a tuberculosis program for the migrant population and treated over 1000 cases of tuberculosis.

  • Established collaborations with scientific institutions in USA, Europe and Australia.

  • Published over 500 papers in international journals and presented results in several international scientific meetings.