Malaria at the mother-child interface

孕妇和儿童是最容易感染疟疾的群体，疟疾每年直接导致100万儿童死亡。在流行地区，妊娠期疟疾在出生体重不足分娩中占很大比例，因此间接造成数不清的额外婴儿死亡。我们的总体目标是在坦桑尼亚建立一个卓越中心，重点关注孕妇和儿童的疟疾，重点是研究和干预。该提案是与全球网络研究单位奖申请一起提交的，该奖项将支持在母婴界面研究疟疾。我们在这项提案中的具体目标是：1)在坦桑尼亚境内建立技术基础，以支持孕产妇和幼儿生物医学研究；2)提供热带卫生和妇幼卫生方面的医学技术人员、硕士、博士和博士后培训；3)每年为来自东非地区的学生、科学家和临床医生举办一次研讨会，重点关注孕妇和儿童的疟疾问题，重点是药物治疗、研究伦理和最近的科学进展。我们打算在坦桑尼亚中心内发展设施和科学专门知识，以便将来就区域和国际妇幼保健问题进行合作研究。我们预计，该中心将成为建立科学网络、制定有关妇女和儿童预防和治疗的公共卫生政策的重要区域资产，并成为干入性研究地点，包括研究行为措施（例如母乳喂养）和疫苗，这些措施可能降低这些弱势群体的疟疾发病率和死亡率。

Pregnant women and children are the groups most susceptible to malaria, which directly kills 1 million children each year. Pregnancy malaria accounts for a large proportion of low birth-weight deliveries in endemic areas, and therefore indirectly contributes to an untold number of additional deaths during infancy. Our broad objective is to establish a center of excellence in Tanzania to focus on malaria of pregnant women and children, with an emphasis on research and intervention. This proposal is submitted in conjunction with an application for a Global Network Research Unit Award that will support studies of malaria at the mother-child interface. Our specific aims in this proposal will be: 1) establish the technical basis within Tanzania to support maternal and early childhood biomedical research; 2) provide training at the medical technologist, MSc, PhD, and postdoctoral levels in tropical health and maternal/child health; 3) institute a yearly workshop for students, scientists and clinicians from the East African region that will focus on malaria in pregnant women and children, with an emphasis on drug treatment, research ethics, and recent scientific advances. We intend to develop facilities and scientific expertise within the Tanzanian center that will allow future collaborative research on maternal and child health issues, both regional and international. We anticipate that this center will become an important regional asset for scientific networking, formulation of public health policy regarding prophylaxis and treatment of women and children, and a site of interventional studies, including research into behavioral measures (e.g., breastfeeding) and vaccines that may reduce malaria morbidity and mortality in these vulnerable populations.