Targeting High Risk Populations With Enhanced Reactive Case Detection in Southern Lao Peoples Democratic Republic — COMBAT  

Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria Clinical Trial

Official title: Targeting High-risk Populations With Enhanced Reactive Case Detection: a Study to Assess the Effectiveness and Feasibility for Reducing Plasmodium Falciparum and P. Vivax Malaria in Southern Lao Peoples Democratic Republic

Status Recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

This study assesses the effectiveness and feasibility of enhanced reactive case detection (RACD) targeting high-risk villages and forest workers for reducing Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax transmission in southern Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. The authors hypothesize that enhanced community-based RACD will be more effective than standard of care case management and RACD at reducing P. falciparum and P. vivax confirmed case incidence and parasite prevalence over an 18-month period in Lao Peoples Democratic Republic.

Clinical Trial Description

In the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), the risk of malaria infection is often due not to village-based transmission but rather to occupational and behavioral risk factors leading to exposure in forest settings. Additionally, a substantial portion of infections are asymptomatic and/or submicroscopic, limiting the scope of current diagnostics and surveillance approaches. The proposed research will evaluate the effectiveness of reactive case detection (RACD) using highly-sensitive rapid diagnostic tests (HS-RDTs), targeting both village and forest working populations, compared to control for reducing the health center catchment-level incidence and prevalence of P. falciparum and P. vivax within two provinces in Lao People's Democratic Republic.

To test this hypothesis, this study will employ a cluster randomized controlled trial design with two comparison arms: (1) Control: standard of care - passive case management provided through community-based Village Malaria Workers (VMWs) and existing health facilities; includes village-based RACD with conventional rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) conducted by district surveillance teams and (2) enhanced community-based RACD: RACD conducted by community-based VMWs using both HS-RDTs and conventional RDTs within villages and among forest workers.

The primary outcome measures to assess effectiveness include P. falciparum and P. vivax confirmed case incidence over the study period; PCR-based P. falciparum and P. vivax prevalence at end line; and HS-RDT test positivity rate in village and forest worker RACD. Secondary outcomes measures will examine the operational feasibility, safety, and acceptability of VMW-led reactive approaches and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) testing, referral to district or provincial-level facilities, safety and treatment adherence for P. vivax cases. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Malaria
• Malaria, Falciparum
• Malaria, Vivax
• Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria
• Plasmodium Vivax Malaria

• NCT number: NCT04416945
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: University of California, San Francisco
• Contact: Adam Bennett, MA, PhD
• Phone: 1-415-476-5590
• Email: adam.bennett@ucsf.edu
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 20, 2020
• Completion date: November 1, 2021