There are about 34 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Papua New Guinea. 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.
This study specifically seeks to quantify the contribution of relapes to the burden of P. vivax infections and disease by determining on the effect of radical pre-erythrocytic and erythrocytic clearance on subsequent rates of Plasmodium spp. infection and disease in children aged 5-10 years in a treatment to re-infection study design. In order the clear liver-stage/blood-stages G6PD-normal children were randomised to receive Chloroquine (3 days, standard dose) and Coartem (3 days, standard dose) plus either i) primaquine (20 days, 0.5mg/kg) or ii) placebo (20days). These drugs were administered over a period of 4 weeks. In addition to this epidemiological data, the study will assess the natural acquisition of cellular and humoral immune responses to P. falciparum and P. vivax, thus assisting in the determination of correlates of clinical immunity to P. falciparum and P. vivax in PNG children aged 5-10 years. These data will not only be essential for development of future vaccines against P. vivax and P falciparum but provide invaluable insight into the contribution of long-lasting liver-stages to the force of infection with P. vivax that will contribute towards designing more rational approaches to the treatment of P. vivax both in the context of case management and future attempts at elimination.
This study will determine if a combination of 3 drugs used to treat the infection that cause lymphatic filariasis (LF) due to Wuchereria bancrofti infection are more effective in killing or sterilizing the adult worms compared to just 2 of the 3 drugs that usually given to treat this infection. The three drugs used together are called albendazole (ALB), ivermectin (IVM) and diethylcarbamazine (DEC). The usual treatment in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for lymphatic filariasis are DEC and ALB. A combination of these 3 drugs has not been previously used to treat LF.
The trial that the investigators are proposing is a pilot study to determine the effect of the new WHO-yaws eradication strategy in Lihir Island (population 18,000), Papua New Guinea. New treatment policies were developed by WHO in 2012 to replace those of the 1950s. The recommended practice is to offer an initial MDA with azithromycin to the entire population, followed by resurveys every 6 months to detect and treat remaining cases.We will use serology surveys, clinical surveys and ulcer aetiology studies to measure the effect of mass azithromycin treatment on the community burden of yaws infection.
A dual POC immunoassay simultaneously detecting non-treponemal and treponemal antibodies was developed for the diagnosis of infections with T. pallidum. The assay is designed for use in resource-limited settings where challenging conditions (such as lack of electricity, running water, or laboratory equipment) commonly exist. We sought to compare performance of the dual-POC assay for diagnosis of yaws infection with that of the RPR and TPHA as reference standards.
This randomized clinical trial will address a complication related to recurrent episodes of malaria in endemic areas - hyper-reactive malarial splenomegaly. We aim to assess the efficacy of chloroquine after prednisone-induction therapy compared to standard treatment of chloroquine alone in the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed hyper-reactive malarial splenomegaly.
The study aims to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the 10-valent and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines when administered in an accelerated schedule in Papua New Guinean children, who experience early dense upper respiratory tract colonisation with a broad range of pneumococcal serotypes, and to compare antibody titres following a booster dose of polysaccharide vaccine at 9 months with those children who received no booster at the same age.
In 2009, Papua New Guinea officially adopted artemether-lumefantrine (AL) as new national first-line drug for uncomplicated malaria. The principal purpose of this study is to measure the absolute effectiveness of AL when used under real-life clinical conditions, as compared to optimized in-vivo trial conditions. This question was raised by the National Department of Health in preparation for the country-wide roll-out of AL. The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial comparing two study arms. Patients in the "effectiveness arm" receive the first dose of AL under full supervision in the clinic; the following doses will be taken at home, as in real-life clinical practice and according to the new national treatment guidelines. Patients in the "efficacy arm" will receive all doses of AL as directly observed treatment in the clinic in order to establish the efficacy of the drug when used under ideal conditions. The study will enroll outpatients aged 6 months to 10 years with a history of fever and a positive rapid test for malaria. Patients meeting all enrollment criteria and providing full written informed consent by a parent/caretaker will be randomized into either of the two study arms. Patients in both arms will be followed up actively for 42 days. Patients in the efficacy arm will be scheduled for visits on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 42; patients in the effectiveness arm on days 0, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 42.
Recently, controversy has emerged regarding the role of the 23vPPV in infants due to potential immunological hypo-responsiveness (i.e. a poorer immune response to repeat vaccination). Although previous experience of 23vPPV in children in PNG has demonstrated protective efficacy against acute lower respiratory tract infection, the investigators feel it is a matter of urgency to determine if 23vPPV administration provides elevated antibody concentrations at 3 to 5 years of age, and to ensure the immunological safety of the 23vPPV in infants. Following consent and eligibility assessment, a baseline blood sample and nose swab will be taken, a 0.1ml dose of 23vPPV will be administered and a follow up blood sample and nose swab will be collected 28 days later. The investigators will also collect data on incidence of ALRI in all study participants by medical record review.
Yaws, an endemic treponematosis and as such a neglected tropical disease (NTD), is currently making a comeback in children in rural areas. Injectable long acting penicillin remains the drug of choice for the treatment of yaws. However, on the basis of successful experience with venereal syphilis in large-scale studies, oral azithromycin has emerged as a potential alternative that overcomes the major medical and logistic disadvantages of the current regimen. In this non-inferiority randomized clinical trial the investigators propose a comparable scheme for the treatment of yaws, to test the efficacy of a single, oral dose of azithromycin versus a single, i.m. dose of benzathine penicillin G.Sample size has been calculated to detect a non-inferiority margin of 10%. Children < 15 years of age with a confirmed diagnosis of yaws will be randomly assigned to receive 30mg/Kg (maximum 2g) of azithromycin orally or 50.000units/Kg (maximum 2.4MU) of penicillin-G-benzathine intramuscularly. The primary outcome is treatment efficacy, with cure defined serologically (a decline in the VDRL titer of at least two dilutions by six months after treatment) and, in primary yaws, also by epithelialization of ulcers within two weeks.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether repeated courses of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) in combination with azithromycin given at Antenatal Clinic, leads to lower rates of low birth weight deliveries (<2.5 kg) among Papua New Guinean women, than the current standard treatment of SP and chloroquine.