Carlos Chaccour

Looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues at #ASTMH this week

The Editor Got a Letter From ‘Dr. B.S.’ So Did a Lot of Other Editors.

If you work with or rely on academic journals - don't miss this strange, funny, horrifying story about what happened when @carloschaccour.bsky.social published a paper on a malaria breakthrough in a prestigious journal – and AI came for the letters page. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/s...

The Editor Got a Letter From ‘Dr. B.S.’ So Did a Lot of Other Editors.

Our work on Robot Pen Pals has been covered by Gina Kolata at the NYT

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/s...

Letters to scientific journals surge as ‘prolific debutante’ authors likely use AI New study reinforces worries about “mass production of junk” by unscrupulous scholars aiming to pad their CVs

A rapidly growing share of letters to journals may be drafted by machines, undetected by editors. Study quantifies recently ‘prolific debutante authors’ who had published no letters before 2022, when ChatGPT debuted. #academicjournals #peerreview @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Ivermectin shows promise in cutting malaria transmission in Africa Clinical trial shows a 26% drop in malaria infections after repeated doses of the anti-parasite drug, but more evidence is needed before global policy shifts.

Ivermectin shows promise in cutting malaria transmission in Africa

Via Nature Africa

www.nature.com/articles/d44...

YouTube video by MicrobeTV TWiV 1246: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

This week in virology discussing our NEJM paper:

youtu.be/2vYeTsYqw8w?...

For clarity, ivermectin does NOT have an affect on the malaria parasite.

In Kwale, in Kenya, where bed nets alone can’t stop #malaria, researchers are testing #ivermectin, a ‘wonder drug’ commonly used to treat parasitic infections that can also kill mosquitoes 🦟🎙️

publichealth.jhu.edu/malaria-rese...

The cemetery of living men: Trump deportees tell of abuse in secretive mega-jail - BBC News Venezuelan migrants deported from the US to El Salvador's mega-jail speak of what life was like inside

Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador tell their story to BBC Mundo.

www.bbc.com/news/resourc...

The antiparasitic drug ivermectin was found to reduce the incidence of malaria by 26 percent in a trial conducted in Kenya, a finding that demonstrates its potential use for mass drug administration alongside other #malaria control interventions.

www.ghtcoalition.org/blog/researc...

Will take it as a joke, in which case is hilarious given ai am the first author of the malaria paper they mention.

No.

Ivermectin against Malaria — Good News in Bad Times | NEJM Twenty-five years ago,1 international organizations, philanthropic foundations, governments of donor nations (especially the United States), and health ministries in countries where malaria is ende...

And the editorial:

www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Ivermectin to Control Malaria — A Cluster-Randomized Trial | NEJM Malaria control and elimination is threatened by the spread of insecticide resistance and behavioral adaptation of vectors. Whether mass administration of ivermectin, a broad-spectrum antiparasitic...

Here is the original paper:

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

The New England Journal of Medicine Ivermectin to Control Malaria — A Cluster-Randomized Trial A Research Summary based on Chaccour C et al. | 10.1056/NEJMoa2411262 | Published on July 24, 2025 Visual representations of the patients in the trial and the treatments they were assigned. Read the full Research Summary at NEJM.org.

Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that kills mosquitoes feeding on treated persons. In this trial in Kenya, ivermectin given once per month for 3 months led to a 26% lower incidence of malaria than albendazole. Full trial results and Research Summary: nej.md/4lIyNzB 

#MedSky #IDSky

Klinische Studie: Prophylaktische Gabe von Ivermectin senkt Malaria-Rate Die prophylaktische Einnahme des Antiparasitikums Ivermectin kann bei Kindern in Endemiegebieten Ansteckungen mit dem Erreger der Malaria tropica um 26 Pro...

Die prophylaktische Einnahme des Antiparasitikums #Ivermectin kann bei Kindern in Endemiegebieten Ansteckungen mit dem Erreger der #Malaria tropica um 26 Prozent senken. Das zeigt eine klinische Studie.

@tdingermann.bsky.social schreibt.

#Gesundheit

Scientists find that an old deworming drug can reduce malaria transmissions Drug repurposing is when scientists use a drug known for a particular use and then suggest a new way of using it.

nation.africa/kenya/health...

Scientists are studying ways to make your blood deadly to mosquitos Recent studies of the "mosquitocidal drug" ivermectin found a 26 per cent reduction in malaria cases among users.

nationalpost.com/news/world/s...

Ivermectin Reduces Malaria Transmission in Trial Mass administration of broad-spectrum antiparasitic reduced incidence by 26% in Kenyan kids

Ivermectin reduced malaria transmission in a clinical trial. Mass administration of the broad-spectrum antiparasitic reduced incidence by 26% in Kenyan children. Ivermectin, derived from a microorganism found in Japan, was developed as a
veterinary drug to combat a range of parasites in livestock👇

Ivermectin is back in the news!

This time, because a new trial supports the use of ivermectin as a complementary strategy for malaria control and prevention

And, no, it DOES NOT work for Covid-19!

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Acabar con la malaria matando a los mosquitos que pican a seres humanos: una prometedora herramienta para combatir esta enfermedad Un estudio realizado en Kenia ha demostrado ser capaz de reducir un 26% la transmisión de paludismo administrando ivermectina a la población

Acabar con la malaria matando a los mosquitos que pican a seres humanos: una prometedora herramienta para combatir esta enfermedad. Un estudio en Kenia ha visto una reducción de un 26% en la transmisión de paludismo administrando ivermectina a la población

Our trial published in the NEJM is in the national TV in Kenya

I agree more evidence its needed but the endectocide concept is far from dead.
Other trials had different questions and used IVM with other drug-based interventions in the community.
They also faced operational issuses such as powering the trial for prevalence X and findinge half X at baseline.

Indeed. You might know the Mozambique trial was severely disrupted by the Gombe cyclone. So few conclusions can be drown from that data, beyond operational lessons learned. The Moz results are availabla as preprint and under review.

The #BOHEMIA clinical trial supports the use of ivermectin to control #malaria.

In Kenya, it led to a 26% drop in new infections among children aged 5–15.

🟠 www.isglobal.org/en/-/el-ensa...

Anopheles mosquito survival and pharmacokinetic modeling show the mosquitocidal activity of nitisinone Nitisinone reduces survival of the malaria-transmitting mosquito Anopheles gambiae by blocking tyrosine catabolism.

The approach yes.

Ivermectin itself no, because it does not kill Aedes vectors of arboviruses as well as it kills Anopheles that transmit malaria.
But there are other systemic insecticides such as Nitisinone, which could do the trick www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#IDsky
Fascinating study using ivermectin once a month during rainy season in children in Kenya 5-15 yrs of age as a mosquitocidal agent to reduce malaria by 27%

Management of malaria will end up being a multi pronged approach.

DOI: 10.1056/NEJMdo008089

A graph showing the crude cumulative incidence of malaria infection in the 6 months after the start of three monthly rounds of mass administration of ivermectin at a dose of 400 μg per kilogram of body weight, as compared with albendazole at a dose of 400 mg.

Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that kills mosquitoes feeding on treated persons. In this trial in Kenya, ivermectin given once per month for 3 months led to a 26% lower incidence of malaria than albendazole. Full trial results: nej.md/4lIyNzB

#MedSky #IDSky

Well-known drug could make human blood toxic for malaria-transmitting mosquitoes Field study in Kenya suggests innovative strategy has promise—but some researchers question its viability

I've always been fascinated by the idea of using ivermectin to fight malaria by essentially weaponizing our own blood to kill mosquitoes.
Now, a new trial done in Kenya and published in @nejm.org today is reporting a 26% decrease in malaria in children with this approach.
#IDsky 🧪

"Oh my, how far today we’ve come. Through war, through gore, through all that’s glum. Through the crippling chorus and the doubters’ drums that banged on loud that it can’t be done."

—Waleed Gubara

Addressing Antifungal Drug Resistance — A “One Health–One World” Challenge | NEJM Use of some antifungal pesticides may select for resistant fungi in the environment, which can then endanger human health. Coordinated regulatory processes in this area are important.

Addressing antifungal resistance via @nejm.org

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....