Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death globally, particularly among children and young adults. The spread of new pathogens and the threat of antimicrobial resistance pose particular challenges in combating these diseases. Major Infectious Diseases identifies feasible, cost-effective packages of interventions and strategies across delivery platforms to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, malaria, adult febrile illness, viral hepatitis, and neglected tropical diseases. The volume emphasizes the need to effectively address emerging antimicrobial resistance, strengthen health systems, and increase access to care. The attainable goals are to reduce incidence, develop innovative approaches, and optimize existing tools in resource-constrained settings.

Malaria is making a dramatic comeback in the world. The disease is the foremost health challenge in Africa south of the Sahara, and people traveling to malarious areas are at increased risk of malaria-related sickness and death. This book examines the prospects for bringing malaria under control, with specific recommendations for U.S. policy, directions for research and program funding, and appropriate roles for federal and international agencies and the medical and public health communities. The volume reports on the current status of malaria research, prevention, and control efforts worldwide. The authors present study results and commentary on the: Nature, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and epidemiology of malaria. Biology of the malaria parasite and its vector. Prospects for developing malaria vaccines and improved treatments. Economic, social, and behavioral factors in malaria control.

For more than 50 years, low-cost antimalarial drugs silently saved millions of lives and cured billions of debilitating infections. Today, however, these drugs no longer work against the deadliest form of malaria that exists throughout the world. Malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africaâ€"currently just over one million per yearâ€"are rising because of increased resistance to the old, inexpensive drugs. Although effective new drugs called "artemisinins" are available, they are unaffordable for the majority of the affected population, even at a cost of one dollar per course. Saving Lives, Buying Time: Economics of Malaria Drugs in an Age of Resistance examines the history of malaria treatments, provides an overview of the current drug crisis, and offers recommendations on maximizing access to and effectiveness of antimalarial drugs. The book finds that most people in endemic countries will not have access to currently effective combination treatments, which should include an artemisinin, without financing from the global community. Without funding for effective treatment, malaria mortality could double over the next 10 to 20 years and transmission will intensify.

Admittedly, the world and the nature of forced migration have changed a great deal over the last two decades. The relevance of data accumulated during that time period can now be called into question. The roundtable and the Program on Forced Migration at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University have commissioned a series of epidemiological reviews on priority public health problems for forced migrants that will update the state of knowledge. Malaria Control During Mass Population Movements and Natural Disasters- the first in the series, provides a basic overview of the state of knowledge of epidemiology of malaria and public health interventions and practices for controlling the disease in situations involving forced migration and conflict.

Five years after Ronald Ross discovered the link between malaria and mosquitos, American entomologist Leland Howard wrote of the "mosquito evil" that occurs when "everybody's business is nobody's business." Howard’s insight was largely ignored, but it captures what social scientists now refer to as the problem of collective action. When this problem persists in the context of malaria, individuals under-provide prevention and suffer from a higher prevalence of malaria. Imagine a group of people trying to drain a pond where mosquitoes breed. Everyone in the group faces an incentive to free ride, which can hinder their drainage efforts. Thus, when people fail to resolve issues related to collective action, they submit to the "mosquito evil" and, potentially, to malaria. This book explores Howard’s logic, the economics of collective action, and the history, epidemiology, and public health of malaria to analyze the conditions under which people privately resolve collective action problems associated with mosquito abatement and malaria prevention. Generally, people are more likely to resolve these problems when the benefits of abatement and prevention outweigh the costs. This logic is developed into a framework and applied to historical and modern-day issues related to malaria, including the lack or abundance of private prevention in the United States and in developing areas; malaria’s resurgence in countries like China, Venezuela, and Bangladesh; and the difficulties of large-scale insecticide-treated bed net campaigns. Given this framework, we should develop a greater appreciation for entrepreneurial responses, civil society, market processes, and private forms of collective action.

Towards Malaria Elimination - A Leap Forward was started to mark the occasion for renewed commitment to end malaria transmission for good (the WHO's call for "Malaria Free World" by 2030). This book is dedicated for the benefit of researchers, scientists, program and policy managers, students and anyone interested in malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases with the goal of sharing recent information on success stories, innovative control approaches and challenges in different regions of the world. Some main issues that emerged included multidrug-resistant malaria and pandemic risk, vaccines, cross-border malaria, asymptomatic parasite reservoir, the threat of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium knowlesi, insecticide resistance in Anopheles vectors and outdoor malaria transmission. This book is one little step forward to bring together in 17 chapters the experiences of malaria-expert researchers from five continents to present updated information on disease epidemiology and control at the national/regional level, highlighting the constraints, challenges, accomplishments and prospects of malaria elimination.