There are about 94 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Gambia. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
Clinical pneumonia is a leading cause of pediatric hospitalization. The etiology is generally bacterial or viral. Prompt and optimal treatment of pneumonia is critical to reduce mortality. However, adequate pneumonia management is hampered by: a) the lack of a diagnostic tool that can be used at point-of-care (POC) and promptly and accurately allow the diagnosis of bacterial disease and b) lack of a prognostic POC test to help triage children in need of intensive assistance. Antibiotic therapy is frequently overprescribed as a result of suspected bacterial infections resulting in development of antibiotic resistance. Conversely, in malaria-endemic areas, antibiotics may also be "underprescribed" and children with bacterial pneumonia sent home without antibiotic therapy, when the clinical pneumonia is mistakenly attributed to a co-existing malaria infection. The investigators previously identified combinations of protein with 96% sensitivity and 86% specificity for detecting bacterial disease in Mozambican children with clinical pneumonia. The investigators' prior work showed that it is possible to identify biosignatures for diagnosis and prognosis using few proteins. Recently, other authors also identified different accurate biosignatures (e.g., IP-10, TRAIL and CRP). In this study, the investigators propose to validate and improve upon previous biosignatures by testing prior combinations and seeking novel combinations of markers in 900 pediatric inpatients aged 2 months to 5 years with clinical pneumonia in The Gambia. The investigators will also use alternative case criteria and seek diagnostic and prognostic combination of markers. This study will be conducted in Basse, rural Gambia, in two hospitals associated with the Medical Research Council Unity The Gambia (MRCG). Approximately 900 pediatric patients with clinical pneumonia aged 2 months to 5 years of age will be enrolled. Patients will undergo standard of care test and will have blood proteins measured through Luminex®-based immunoassays. Results of this study may ultimately support future development of an accurate point-of-care test for bacterial disease to guide clinicians in choices of treatment and to assist in the prioritization of intensive care in resource-limited settings.
This observer-blind, randomized, active controlled trial will be conducted among 2-29 year olds in two sites (Mali and The Gambia). The objectives of the study are to assess and compare the immunogenicity and safety of NmCV-5 with that of Menactra. A total of 1800 eligible participants (who or their parents/guardians have given written informed consent) will be randomised 2:1 (NmCV-5: Menactra) in each of the three age strata 18-29 years, 11-17 years & 2-10 years (400 NmCV-5 recipients & 200 Menactra recipients in each age strata). Each subject will receive a single dose of study vaccine and will be followed up for 6 months post vaccination during which solicited reactions (for seven days), unsolicited AEs (28 days) and SAEs (until the end of study i.e. 168 days after vaccination) will be collected. A blood sample will be collected at baseline (pre-vaccination) and at day 28 post-vaccination for immunogenicity assessment by a Serum Bactericidal Activity assay using rabbit complement (rSBA).
A partially blinded randomised controlled non-inferiority trial comparing the efficacy, tolerability and safety of Triple ACTs artemether-lumefantrine+amodiaquine (AL+AQ) and artesunate-mefloquine+piperaquine (ASMQ+PPQ) and the ACTs artemether-lumefantrine+placebo (AL+PBO), artesunate-mefloquine+placebo (ASMQ+PBO) (with single-low dose primaquine in some sites) for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria to assess and compare their efficacy, safety, tolerability.
The primary objectives of this study are to evaluate the immunogenicity (antibody response) and safety and tolerability of a 2-dose primary series and booster dose (2+1 schedule) of Pneumosil co-administered with routine pediatric vaccines in healthy infants in The Gambia.
A randomized, observer-blind non-inferiority trial to evaluate alternative human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination schedules in young females in West Africa.
This study will assess the efficacy of Pyramax administered for three-day, two-day or one day, in clearing a P. falciparum infection in asymptomatic carriers. .
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infants receive a single dose of the meningococcal serogroup A-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine, MenAfriVac, when they reach at least 9 months of age. However, this leaves a window of susceptibility in early life when the incidence of invasive serogroup A disease, and the case fatality rate for the condition is at its highest. This study will investigate the potential role of administering the vaccine to expectant mothers at the start of the third trimester of pregnancy in order to protect their subsequent borne infants. Antibody transfer to the newborn and subsequent antibody decay will be measured. The level of protection against neonatal tetanus provided by the tetanus toxoid component of the vaccine, when compared to the routine dose of tetanus administered in pregnancy will also be assessed. As a separate exploratory study, the follow-up of the cohort planned will also be used to investigate the effects that the development of the gastrointestinal microbiome, and any perturbations in the microbiome caused by antibiotic use, have on immune development and vaccine immunogenicity over the first 10 months of life.
Currently, there are two types of vaccines available against pertussis (whooping cough), an infectious disease of the respiratory tract that can be extremely serious in very young children. Both have advantages and disadvantages: The acellular form (aP, mainly used in resource-rich countries) does not appear to offer as long lasting protection, but the whole cell vaccine (wP, mainly used in LMIC) appears to be generally more reactogenic. There is consensus that a "better pertussis vaccine" ought to be designed. The GaPs trial is part of a series of clinical trials performed by the PERtussIS COrrelates of Protection Europe (PERISCOPE) Consortium, an EU-funded group of investigators which aims to generate knowledge on immune responses to pertussis. A better understanding of human biomarkers of protective immune responses to B. pertussis and its waning immunity is needed to accelerate the design and testing of new pertussis vaccines with a longer duration of protection. This proposal describes the design and objectives of the clinical trial to be conducted in the Gambia, which is the only site in Africa involved in the consortium and involves the recruitment of 600 mother/infant pairs. Pregnant women will be randomised to receive either the usually recommended tetanus vaccination or a combination vaccine against whooping cough, diptheria, tetanus and polio. Their infants will receive either aP or wP as part of their EPI vaccines, and resulting immune responses will be characterized in detail up to the age of 9 months. The investigators will use immunological assays to investigate the functional humoral and cellular responses to pertussis in infants born to mothers who are randomized to receiving pertussis vaccine in pregnancy or not, and their infants who will receive either aP or wP vaccine. Our research questions are: Does vaccination against pertussis in pregnancy have impact on subsequent immune responses to pertussis vaccine and other EPI vaccines in the infants Does vaccination of infants with wP vaccine induce different levels and functionality of antibody and/or T cell responses than vaccination with aP vaccine What is the difference in innate and acquired immunity- as measured with novel systems vaccinology tools- between being vaccinated with wP versus aP?
This is a community-based cluster-randomized trial in which a novel approach to interrupt residual malaria transmission by mass drug administration (MDA) with ivermectin (IVM) combined with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) will be tested. This cluster-randomized trial will involve 32 villages in the Upper River Region of The Gambia that will be randomized to MDA with IVM and DP or to standard of care in a ratio 1:1. This trial aims at establishing whether MDA with IVM and DP can reduce or interrupt malaria transmission in medium to low transmission settings by reducing vector survival and the human reservoir of infection. MDA with IVM and DP will be implemented in the intervention villages and all human settlements in the buffer zone, with the aim of minimizing spillover effects. Control clusters will receive standard malaria control interventions as implemented by the National Malaria Control Program. The primary outcomes will be the prevalence of malaria infection determined by molecular methods in all age groups at the peak of the second transmission season (November-December 2019) and the vector's parous rate 7-14 days after MDA.
The mortality effect of kangaroo mother care in stable newborns <2000g is well established but mortality effect in unstable newborns is not conclusively known. This pragmatic clinical trial aims to investigate the mortality and clinical effects of early continuous Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) compared to standard care in mild-moderately unstable neonates <2000g in a resource limited hospital setting.