CDC at ASTMH

Welcome to CDC’s ASTMH presentation web page. Please visit our presenters at some of their upcoming presentations (listed below). To learn more about ASTMH conference schedule, visit the ASTMH Annual Meeting App.

“Risk Communications – Strategies to Communicate Public Health Information During Outbreaks” in pre-meeting course “Effectively Communicating in Global Health: The Science of Public Engagement and Lessons from the Field”

Presenter: Jessica Anderson
Date: 10/18/23
Focus: This presentation will cover CDC’s guiding principles on risk communications along with lessons learned from global health emergencies.

“Monitoring impact of three rounds of mass drug administration in eight high-risk villages using a three-drug regimen on lymphatic filariasis in American Samoa”

Presenter: Tara Brant
Date: 10/20/2023
Focus: This presentation will discuss the impact of the new WHO-recommended three drug strategy of ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, and albendazole on lymphatic filariasis elimination in eight high-risk villages in American Samoa from 2018-2022. High drug coverage during mass drug administration and a low proportion of people who have never been treated have led to a decline in microfilaria prevalence in the defined villages.

**“Development of an ELISA to detect antibody to Onchocerca volvulus infection using a mammalian expressed recombinant antigen Ov16”**

Presenter: Sylvia Ossai
Date: 10/20/23
Focus: This presentation will discuss the development of an improved version of a current Ov16 AP ELISA with improved assay performances. It has been developed to a more user friendly, easy to use assay, reduced the amount of time to run the assay from start to finish and improved reproducibility”.

“Laboratory Evaluation of Onchocerciasis Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs)”

Presenter: Eric (Scott) Elder
Date: 10/20/23
Focus: This presentation will discuss an independent laboratory analysis of novel onchocerciasis rapid diagnostic tests.

“Antenatal care services in Benin and Tanzania, 2021-2022: an equity analysis study” (Scientific session 102)

Presenter: Anna Munsey
Date: 10/21/23
Focus: We assessed ANC inequalities under two distinct government financing structures: fee-per-visit (Atlantique, Benin), and user-fee exempt (Geita, Tanzania). In both locations, wealthier, more educated women completed more ANC visits and had shorter waiting times. In Geita, women in higher SES categories were more likely to receive recommended services at ANC.

“The Uganda Housing Modification Study – a cluster randomized trial evaluating the impact of two types of housing modification on malaria burden in Uganda” (oral presentation)

Presenter: Nelli Hrisceva Westercamp
Date: 10/22/23
Focus: This presentation discusses the impact of house modifications on malaria incidence, prevalence, and vector density. The study will provide evidence about potentially valuable long term malaria interventions that could be important additions to the malaria prevention toolkit.

“Assessment of the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria using artemether-lumefantrine in Niger: treatment efficacy and molecular markers of resistance, 2022”

Presenter: Irene Cavros
Date: TBD
Focus: This presentation covers an evaluation of antimalarial drug efficacy and surveillance for molecular markers of resistance in Niger.

**“Development of an ELISA to detect antibody to Schistosoma japonicum using a bacterial expressed recombinant antigen”**

Presenter: Maurice Royal
Date: 10/19/23, 10/20/23, and 10/21/23
Focus: This presentation discusses how the availability of a high performance of S. japonicum assay will help to support the control of schistosomiasis in several endemic countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and implement the monitoring and evaluation of the S. japonicum program.

“Evaluation of higher serologic threshold for stopping mass drug administration in Onchocerciasis elimination in the Tukuyu focus, Tanzania” (Poster Session A)

Presenter: Rebecca Chancey
Dates: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation will discuss year 1 and 2 results from a multi-year study to evaluate a serologic threshold of ≤2% for stopping mass drug administration for Onchocerciasis in the Tukuyu focus of Tanzania. The current WHO seroprevalence criteria of <0.1% is challenging to achieve and may be lower than necessary.

“Estimating the Temporal Changes of Plasmodium falciparum Strains in High Transmission Area of Asembo, Western Kenya (1996-2017) via 24-SNP Barcodes” (late breaker abstract) (Poster Session A)

Presenter: Ya Ping Shi
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation will discuss the usefulness and importance of next generation sequencing (NGS) based strain identification tools of Plasmodium falciparum parasites in accurately measuring malaria transmission intensity and dynamics for malaria surveillance and impact evaluation of malaria control and prevention programs.

**“Considerations for medication safety for mass drug administration for Plasmodium falciparum malaria elimination” (Poster Session A)**

Presenter: Michelle Chang
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation discusses the factors that can improve the safety of MDA campaigns from the planning to stage to post campaign monitoring.

“Assessing vector competence for Plasmodium falciparum and O’nyong-nyong virus in a male-biased Anopheles coluzzii transgenic strain” (Poster Session A)

Presenter: Keri Harp
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation discusses the impact of a PMB1 male-biasing transgene, formerly introgressed into an Anopheles coluzzii strain from Burkina Faso on vector competence for Plasmodium falciparum and O’nyong’nyong (ONNV). Our data suggest the transgene nor genetic background has any effect on P. falciparum infection rates, in terms of oocyst and sporozoite intensity or prevalence, nor on ONNV infection, dissemination, or transmission rates.

“Molecular and bioinformatic characterization of the introgression of a male-biased transgene into a Ugandan local wild-type strain” (Poster Session A)

Presenter: Priscila Bascunan
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation presents a phenotypic and molecular characterization of the introgression process of the PMB1 male-bias transgene into the genetic background of a Ugandan local WT strain after six backcrosses. We also show that this introgressed strain can be maintained in the laboratory under standard rearing conditions.

“Assessing insecticide resistance in two male-biased Anopheles gambiae s.l. transgenic strains” (Poster Session A)

Presenter: Ellen Dotson
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation showed that a male-bias transgene has no effect on insecticide resistance when comparing TG mosquitoes to their wild-type (WT) counterparts on two transgenic strains introgressed in two different genetic backgrounds, an Anopheles coluzzii strain, BF_Ac(PMB)1, and an Anopheles gambiae, Ug_Ag(PMB)1 strain.

**“Low prevalence of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 deletions and non-falciparum malaria infections in outpatients sampled during the 2021 Benin Health Facility Survey” (Poster Session A)**

Presentation: Jessica McCaffery
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation describes low prevalence of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 deletions and non-falciparum malaria infections were observed in outpatients sampled during the 2021 Benin Health Facility Survey. These data provide evidence for the continued use of HRP2-based RDTs in Benin for malaria case management as these tests are expected to detect the vast majority of malaria infections.

“Baseline Evaluation of Onchocerciasis Transmission in Four Districts of Northern Ghana” (poster)

Presenter: Andrew Abbott
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation will discuss a baseline evaluation of onchocerciasis transmission in four districts of Northern Ghana as part of a study to evaluate a higher serologic threshold for stopping mass drug administration of ivermectin for onchocerciasis.

“Community Health Volunteer Contribution to Malaria Surveillance in Siaya County, Western Kenya” (Poster Session A)

Presenter: Wycliffe Odongo
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation discusses how digitized line-listed malaria surveillance data collected by community health volunteers (CHV) and health facilities in Siaya, western Kenya can be used to understand the contribution of CHVs to malaria surveillance and evaluate community case management (CCM) strategies. CHVs account for modest proportion of malaria cases but have significantly higher test positivity rates compared to health facilities.

“Is cutaneous leishmaniasis autochthonous in the United States?” (Poster Session A) (late breaker poster)

Presenter: Vitaliano A. Cama and Mary Kamb
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation describes how cutaneous leishmaniasis among U.S. people with no international travel history appears to be caused by a unique genotype of Leishmania Mexicana.

“Malaria parasitemia estimates based on HRP2 and pLDH antigen concentrations from a large household survey in Nigeria: how much difference does RDT performance make?” (Poster w/ lightning talk) (Poster Session A)

Presenter: Laura Steinhardt
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation discusses how the estimated malaria prevalence can vary widely depending on the performance of the RDT used, especially in an asymptomatic population with lower parasite densities.
Lightning talk: Scientific Session 5: Malaria – Diagnosis: Challenges and Innovations
- Date: 10/19/23

“Efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine and artesunate-pyronaridine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria among children under five in Guinea, 2021-2022” (Poster Session B)

Presenter: Irene Cavros
Date: 10/20/23
Focus: This presentation covers an evaluation of antimalarial drug efficacy and surveillance for molecular markers of resistance in Guinea.

“Efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine and artesunate-amodiaquine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria among children under five years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2020-2021” (Poster Session B)

Presenter: Irene Cavros
Date: 10/20/23
Focus: This presentation covers an evaluation of antimalarial drug efficacy and surveillance for molecular markers of resistance in DRC.

“Cross-sectional assessment of factors driving partial versus full uptake of RTS,SAS01 malaria vaccine among children in Rarieda Sub-County, western Kenya, 2021 to 2022” (Poster Session B)

Presenter: Victoria Seffren
Date: 10/20/23
Focus: This presentation discusses results from a cross-sectional assessment of RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine uptake 2 years post-introduction of the vaccine in western Kenya. We found high uptake and moderate dropout for the primary series, yet RTS,S4 may face similar uptake barriers as other second-year of life vaccines, therefore understanding populations at greater risk for dropout can guide vaccination roll-out strategy to ensure optimal coverage.

“Feasibility evaluation of RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine pilot introduction in western Kenya: coverage survey results 30 months post-introduction” (poster)

Presenter: Nelli Hrisceva Westercamp
Date: 10/20/23
Focus: This presentation discussed the uptake of RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine 30 months post-introduction. Our study found that coverage of the first 3 RTS,S doses and the dropout rates improved over time, while low uptake of the fourth dose remains a challenge.

“Stability of IgG antibodies against 17 antigens in six specimen types at six temperatures: an interim analysis” (Poster Session B (Late breaker poster)

Presenter: Gretchen Cooley
Date: 10/20/23
Focus: This poster will discuss the effect of commonly encountered temperatures on stability of IgG in six different blood sample types used in serological surveillance using 17 different antigens. It will inform best practices for sample storage both field and laboratory settings.

“Assessing the impact of group ANC on IPTp uptake in Atlantique Department, Benin: a cluster randomized controlled trial” (Poster Session B)

Presenter: Julie Gutman
Date: 10/20/23
Focus: This presentation discusses how group antenatal care (GANC) is a promising strategy for improving ANC quality, but has yet to be scaled up in sub-Saharan Africa. A cluster randomized trial in Benin failed to detect an overall increase in either ANC4 or IPTp3 uptake at facilities where GANC was offered, likely due to limited participation.

**“Therapeutic efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Mali, 2020-2021″ (Poster Session C)**

Presenter: Irene Cavros
Date: 10/21/23
Focus: This presentation covers an evaluation of antimalarial drug efficacy and surveillance for molecular markers of resistance in Mali.

“Efficacy of Artemether-Lumefantrine, artesunate-amodiaquine and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria among children in the Center and North Regions of Cameroon, 2021–2022” (Poster Session C)

Presenter: Irene Cavros
Date: 10/21/23
Focus: This presentation covers an evaluation of antimalarial drug efficacy and surveillance for molecular markers of resistance in Cameroon.

“United States of America domestic malaria drug resistance surveillance using targeted amplicon deep sequencing (TADS), 2018-2021” (Poster Session C)

Presenter: Edwin Pierre Louis
Date: 10/21/23
Focus: This presentation will discuss drug resistance mutation profiles of imported cases in the United States utilizing two molecular methods: the Targeted Amplicon Deep Sequencing (TADS) technique, along with the associated bioinformatics pipeline Malaria Resistance Surveillance (MaRS). The work focuses on genotyping molecular markers of drug resistance within six full-length Plasmodium falciparum genes (crt, k13, dhps, dhfr and cyt-b).

**“Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Toxoplasma gondii in Women of Reproductive Age (15-44 Years) — Nigeria, 2018″ (Poster Session C)**

Presenter: Dawn Blackburn
Date: 10/21/23
Focus: This presentation will discuss that almost 75% of women of reproductive age in Nigeria in 2018 were at risk of congenital transmission of T. gondii if infected during a future pregnancy and that unimproved toilet facilities and drinking water sources were associated with increased odds of seropositivity.

**“Sequence polymorphisms in the Pfs47 6-cysteine protein in Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Angola, 2019” (Poster Session C)**

Presenter: Marko Bajic
Date: 10/21/2023
Focus: This presentation will discuss the ability of using sequence polymorphisms in the P. falciparum 6-cysteine gene to identify sample origin from three districts of Angola. Additionally, the ability to identify country of origin or continent of origin was also evaluated.

“Introduction to locally acquired mosquito-transmitted malaria in the U.S., May–Oct. 2023”

Peter McElroy
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation introduces the audience to the current epidemiology of malaria in the US prior to the locally acquired cases reported from four states. Important context regarding history of malaria in the US will also be presented.

“The start of a busy summer: onset of locally acquired malaria in the U.S., 2023” in Symposium “Update on Locally Acquired Mosquito-Transmitted Malaria in the United States: May—August, 2023”

Alison Ridpath
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation describes the characteristics of the locally transmitted malaria cases reported during May-August 2023.

“L9LS Antimalaria Monoclonal Antibody in Kenyan Children: Interim Results” in Symposium “Clinical Development of Monoclonal Antibodies that Target Malaria Sporozoites”

Titus Kwambai
Date: 10/19/23
Focus:

“Strategies for Anopheles surveillance and analyses to guide domestic outbreak response” in Symposium “Update on Locally Acquired Mosquito-Transmitted Malaria in the United States: May—August, 2023”

Audrey Lenhart
Date: 10/19/23
Focus:

“Malaria diagnostics and parasite genotyping approaches to inform domestic malaria outbreak” in Symposium “Update on Locally Acquired Mosquito-Transmitted Malaria in the United States: May—August, 2023”

Brian Raphael
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation will highlight the availably of diagnostic support for malaria outbreak investigations and demonstrate the utility of genotyping methods for Plasmodium vivax. Parasite genotyping of clinical specimens from cases in Florida indicated that the cases were likely the result of a single introduction event.

“Integrated surveillance approaches and diagnostics for lymphatic filariasis (LF) and onchocerciasis” in symposium “Overcoming the Lymphatic Filariasis and Onchocerciasis Cliff to Accelerate the Elimination of Two Filarial Diseases”

Kimberly Won
Date: 10/19/23
Focus: This presentation will provide an overview of existing LF and oncho diagnostic tests potential approaches for integrated surveillance in co-endemic areas.

“Malaria Review and Update” in Symposium “CDC Yellow Book Travel Medicine Update”

Alison Ridpath
Date: 10/20/23
Focus: This presentation describes various updates and resources available from CDC related to malaria prevention and treatment.

“High community health worker usage with appropriate malaria management in a moderate P. falciparum burden region of Chadiza District, Zambia, April-May, 2021” in Scientific Session 100: “Malaria – Epidemiology: Intervention Impact on Infection, Disease and Mortality” (With lightning talk)

Erika Wallender
Date: 10/20/2023
Focus: This presentation will discuss how three years after implementation of a PMI funded: malaria community case management program in Chadiza District, Zambia, community health workers provided healthcare services to over three quarters of individuals who reported a fever and sought healthcare in the prior 2 weeks. When community health workers were involved in a caring for persons with fever, there were high rates of appropriate testing and treatment for malaria.

“Country Perspectives on the new WHO recommendation for Post-discharge malaria chemoprevention in patients with severe anemia” in Symposium “Reimaging the Continuum of care for severe malaria patients”

Titus Kwambai
Date: 10/20/23
Focus:

“Review of Malaria among Travelers in the U.S.: Surveillance and Treatment (Part 1)” in Symposium “Update on Malaria Management in Travelers 2023”

Kimberly Mace
Date: 10/21/23
Focus: This presentation will discuss national malaria surveillance data in the U.S. and review key CDC malaria treatment recommendations.

“Review of Malaria among Travelers in the U.S.: Surveillance and Treatment (Part 2)” in Symposium “Update on Malaria Management in Travelers 2023”

Alison Ridpath
Date: 10/21/23
Focus: This presentation will discuss national malaria surveillance data in the U.S. and review key CDC malaria treatment recommendations.

“Using ScanForm, a novel system harnessing optical character recognition to collect high quality data from health facilities in western Kenya” in “Symposium 163: Making Surveillance as an Intervention Work – Innovations to Improve Data Collection and Utilization”

Victoria Seffren
Date: 10/22/23
Focus: This presentation discusses the use of ScanForm registers in the malaria endemic Siaya County, western Kenya, where we demonstrate utility of routine data from health facilities’ outpatient departments (OPD) and antenatal clinics (ANC) for malaria surveillance (case burden & case management). While a form of paper register, the ScanForm data collection tool allows for near real-time data, automatic generation of monthly summary reports in KHIS reporting formats, and preserves line level records allowing for client-specific analyses, including malaria care cascades and link to village of residence.