Sida acuta Burm. f.: a medicinal plant with numerous potencies

Sida acuta is shrub belonging to Malvaceae family. The plant is widely distributed in the subtropical regions where it is found in bushes, in farms and around habitations. Surveys conducted in indigenous places revealed that the plant had many traditional usages that varied from one region to another. The most cited illnesses are fever, headache and infections diseases. Indeed, many laboratory screening have been conducted to show the scientific rationale behind these usages and many compounds havebeen isolated from the plant. In the present review we listed the plant usages in folk medicine in some regions where the plant grows and we discussed on the confirmed in vitro activities after laboratoryscreenings. The review ended with the pharmacological properties of several compounds isolated from S. acuta principally alkaloids

Malaria transmission pattern resilience to climatic variability is mediated by insecticide-treated nets

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria is an important public-health problem in the archipelago of Vanuatu and climate has been hypothesized as important influence on transmission risk. Beginning in 1988, a major intervention using insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) was implemented in the country in an attempt to reduce <it>Plasmodium </it>transmission. To date, no study has addressed the impact of ITN intervention in Vanuatu, how it may have modified the burden of disease, and whether there were any changes in malaria incidence that might be related to climatic drivers.</p> <p>Methods and findings</p> <p>Monthly time series (January 1983 through December 1999) of confirmed <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>and <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>infections in the archipelago were analysed. During this 17 year period, malaria dynamics underwent a major regime shift around May 1991, following the introduction of bed nets as a control strategy in the country. By February of 1994 disease incidence from both parasites was reduced by at least 50%, when at most 20% of the population at risk was covered by ITNs. Seasonal cycles, as expected, were strongly correlated with temperature patterns, while inter-annual cycles were associated with changes in precipitation. Following the bed net intervention, the influence of environmental drivers of malaria dynamics was reduced by 30–80% for climatic forces, and 33–54% for other factors. A time lag of about five months was observed for the qualitative change ("regime shift") between the two parasites, the change occurring first for <it>P. falciparum</it>. The latter might be explained by interspecific interactions between the two parasites within the human hosts and their distinct biology, since <it>P. vivax </it>can relapse after a primary infection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Vanuatu ITN programme represents an excellent example of implementing an infectious disease control programme. The distribution was undertaken to cover a large, local proportion (~80%) of people in villages where malaria was present. The successful coverage was possible because of the strategy for distribution of ITNs by prioritizing the free distribution to groups with restricted means for their acquisition, making the access to this resource equitable across the population. These results emphasize the need to implement infectious disease control programmes focusing on the most vulnerable populations.</p