Medical Care Development International (MCDI) is pleased to announce that 26 abstracts will be presented as either oral or poster presentations at the 2018 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual (ASTMH) Meeting. The meeting, which draws tropical medicine and global health professionals from around the world, will be held at the Sheraton New Orleans and New Orleans Marriott from October 28 through November 1 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

MCDI staff will be presenting on a range of topics ranging from the results of recent malaria vaccine trials, cervical cancer screening and treatment programs, vector control initiatives to prevent Zika in Central America, to performance-based financing program in Lesotho. The scientific findings presented represent the work of MCDI's renowned team of experts in their fields. 25 of the abstracts will be presented during poster presentation sessions.

Godwin Fuseini, Medical Entomology Officer for the Bioko Island Malaria Control Project (BIMCP) led by MCDI, will make an oral presentation on "Vector bionomics and transmission intensities of malaria vectors on Bioko Island over 14 years of integrated vector control," during the presentation session titled Malaria: Impact and Adaption in Vector Control on Wednesday, October 31 at 8am. Fuseini will also co-chair the session.

Below are the 26 abstracts to be presented at the meeting either authored or co-authored by MCDI staff:

Malaria Control

• Vector bionomics and transmission intensities of malaria vectors on Bioko Island over 14 years of integrated vector control
• Is Bioko getting the hang of it? Evaluation of a universal long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) door-to-door distribution and hang-up campaign in Equatorial Guinea
• Factors associated with refusal and reluctance to Indoor Residual Spraying on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
• Follow-up of LLIN’s soon after a mass distribution campaign in two urban districts in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
• The use of a Campaign Information Management System for rapid and efficient mass distribution and monitoring of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets in an urban setting of Bioko Island
• Impact of construction of social housing units on malaria vector abundance on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.
• Fine-scale mapping of localities households to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate malaria control campaigns on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
• Community engagement and the use of household mapping to target sensitization and improve IRS coverage on Bioko Island
• Trends in ITN, IPTp-SP usage and malaria prevalence and anaemia in pregnant women on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
• Utilizing a Campaign Information Management System and high-performance liquid chromatography for improved Quality Control of Indoor Residual Spraying with Actellic 300 CS organophosphate insecticide on Bioko Island of Equatorial Guinea.
• Assessing IRS performance and barriers in a gender-integrated vector control program on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
• The prevalence and distribution of Plasmodium species among children at Malabo Regional Hospital on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
• Qualitative assessment of long-lasting insecticidal nets to prevent malaria on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea

Malaria Vaccine Trials

• Challenges of achieving effective contraception women of reproductive potential in malaria vaccine trials in Equatorial Guinea
• Screening Failures: How to improve coverage of vaccination?
• Social-Structural Implications of Malaria Vaccine Trials in Equatorial Guinea.
• Safety, Tolerability and Immunogenicity of PfSPZ Vaccine in Equatoguinean Children and Older Adults.
• Safety, Tolerability, Immunogenicity and Efficacy of PfSPZ Vaccine versus PfSPZ-CVac in Equatoguinean Young Adults.

Malaria Diagnostics

• Lesson learned: Development of National Archive of Malaria Slides (NAMS) in the DR Congo

Malaria Treatment and Supply Chain

• Enhancing the private health sector’s role through access to subsidized malaria commodities: game changer in Benin’s supply chain
• Efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Klouekanmey and Djougou, Republic of Benin

Cervical Cancer Screening and Treatment

• Mass screening campaigns to increase awareness of cervical cancer treatment and prevention in Equatorial Guinea
• Incidence and risk factors for cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions in Equatorial Guinea

Performance Based Financing

• Achieving an innovative and sustainable Performance-Based Financing program with the introduction of Risk Based Verification and Skills Based Quality Assessments in Lesotho

Zika Vector Control

• Evaluation of community-level vector control activities and A. aegypti egg density indices in Guatemala
• Use of dispersion index to identify key containers responsible for Aedes aegypti breeding in select communities of Guatemala