PLoS medicine
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Unrest in Myanmar in August 2017 resulted in the movement of over 700,000 Rohingya refugees to overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. A large outbreak of diphtheria subsequently began in this population. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the largest reported diphtheria outbreak in refugee settings. We observed that high population density, poor living conditions, and fast growth rate were associated with explosive expansion of the outbreak during the initial exponential growth phase. Three rounds of mass vaccinations targeting those aged 6 weeks to 14 years were associated with only modestly reduced transmission, and additional public health measures were necessary to end the outbreak. This outbreak has a long-lasting tail, with Rt oscillating at around 1 for an extended period. An adequate global DAT stockpile needs to be maintained. All populations must have access to health services and routine vaccination, and this access must be maintained during humanitarian crises.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002883.].
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Jean-Marc Chavatte and Georges Snounou discuss research involving controlled malaria infections.
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In this review for the Vivax malaria collection, Kamala Thriemer and colleagues explore efforts to eliminate P. vivax malaria.
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Sarah Auburn and co-authors discuss the unique biology and epidemiology of P. vivax and current evidence on conventional and new approaches to surveillance.