LSTM’s Director, Professor Janet Hemingway has delivered this year’s Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH) Christmas Lecture.
Entitled Why has malaria elimination stalled? this year's prestigious RSTMH Christmas lecture was held at LSTM. Professor Hemingway’s presentation was delivered to an audience of researchers, staff and guests.
Professor Hemingway looked at the impact of vector control in reducing the number of people dying of malaria using specific examples from Equitorial Guinea and Sri Lanka. While talking about the potential that growing insecticide resistance in mosquitoes may have on those on those hard-won gains, she stressed the importance of filling the current knowledge gaps about the true scale of the problem.
Looking forward she discussed potential solutions to the problem and some of the work taking place to identify the genetic markers within mosquitoes that have been linked to insecticide resistance.
She concluded that data increasingly shows that current tools won't be enough to eradicate malaria and innovation is essential. If we ignore resistance to insecticides and drugs, malaria control will continue to stall.
Following the lecture Professor Hemingway answered several questions from members of the audience.