Lancet
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Safety of the RTS,S/AS02D candidate malaria vaccine in infants living in a highly endemic area of Mozambique: a double blind randomised controlled phase I/IIb trial.
Malaria remains a leading global health problem that requires the improved use of existing interventions and the accelerated development of new control methods. We aimed to assess the safety, immunogenicity, and initial efficacy of the malaria vaccine RTS,S/AS02D in infants in Africa. ⋯ The RTS,S/AS02D malaria vaccine was safe, well tolerated, and immunogenic in young infants. These findings set the stage for expanded phase III efficacy studies to confirm vaccine efficacy against clinical malaria disease.
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Most developing countries do not have fully effective civil registration systems to provide necessary information about population health. Interim approaches—both innovative strategies for collection of data, and methods of assessment or estimation of these data—to fi ll the resulting information gaps have been developed and refined over the past four decades. To respond to the needs for data for births, deaths, and causes of death, data collection systems such as population censuses, sample vital registration systems, demographic surveillance sites, and internationally-coordinated sample survey programmes in combination with enhanced methods of assessment and analysis have been successfully implemented to complement civil registration systems. ⋯ Our knowledge of demography and descriptive epidemiology of populations in developing countries has been greatly increased by the widespread use of these interim approaches; although gaps remain, particularly for adult mortality. However,these approaches should not be regarded as substitutes for complete civil registration but rather as complements,essential parts of any fully comprehensive health information system. International organisations, national governments, and academia all have responsibilities in ensuring that data continue to be collected and that methods continue to be improved.