The cover image this month comes from a unique collaborative study that found evidence that fake antimalarial drugs are being manufactured in China, prompting a criminal investigation (Newton, et al. e32). The image is of a hologram copy of one of the fake artesunate drugs; in Figure 2 of the study, a fake hologram can be seen under UV light. Most of the fakes contained no artesunate. Many contained wrong active ingredients, including banned pharmaceuticals such as metamizole and the carcinogenic drug safrole. Some contained dangerously small amounts of artesunate: enough to foil screening tests, too low to treat malaria, yet high enough to encourage the spread of malaria parasites resistant to the medicine. The study involved the international police organization INTERPOL and led to the arrest of a gang in Yunnan, China, alleged to be responsible for producing almost half of the counterfeit artesunate in Southeast Asia.
Surveillance of another kind is debated in this issue (Chandramohan, et al. e57): demographic surveillance, the process of monitoring birth, deaths, causes of deaths, and migration in a population over time. The proprietorial, managerial, and financial obstacles to the sharing of demographic surveillance data are discussed. As the editorial for the issue points out, PLoS ONE is one venue for making such data freely and publicly available.
Image Credit: Figure 2C from Newton PN, Fernández FM, Plançon A, Mildenhall DC, Green MD, et al.
Editorial
The Neglected Diseases Section in PLoS Medicine: Moving Beyond Tropical Infections
PLOS Medicine: published February 26, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050059
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The PLoS Medicine Debate
Should Data from Demographic Surveillance Systems Be Made More Widely Available to Researchers?
PLOS Medicine: published February 26, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050057
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Neglected Diseases
Eliminating Human African Trypanosomiasis: Where Do We Stand and What Comes Next?
PLOS Medicine: published February 26, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050055
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Perspectives
Maternal Death, Autopsy Studies, and Lessons from Pathology
PLOS Medicine: published February 19, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050048
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Does Preventing Obesity Lead to Reduced Health-Care Costs?
PLOS Medicine: published February 5, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050037
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New Formulation of Paraquat: A Step Forward but in the Wrong Direction?
PLOS Medicine: published February 26, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050058
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The Evolution of Norovirus, the “Gastric Flu”
PLOS Medicine: published February 12, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050042
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Antiretroviral Therapy for Prevention of HIV Infection: New Clues From an Animal Model
PLOS Medicine: published February 5, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050030
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Policy Forum
Soft Targets: Nurses and the Pharmaceutical Industry
PLOS Medicine: published February 5, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050005
Research in Translation
Solving the Mystery of Myelodysplasia
PLOS Medicine: published February 12, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050040
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Salivating for Knowledge: Potential Pharmacological Agents in Tick Saliva
PLOS Medicine: published February 12, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050043
Research Articles
A Collaborative Epidemiological Investigation into the Criminal Fake Artesunate Trade in South East Asia
PLOS Medicine: published February 12, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050032
An Autopsy Study of Maternal Mortality in Mozambique: The Contribution of Infectious Diseases
PLOS Medicine: published February 19, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050044
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The Fall and Rise of US Inequities in Premature Mortality: 1960–2002
PLOS Medicine: published February 26, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050046
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Lifetime Medical Costs of Obesity: Prevention No Cure for Increasing Health Expenditure
PLOS Medicine: published February 5, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050029
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Improvement in Survival after Paraquat Ingestion Following Introduction of a New Formulation in Sri Lanka
PLOS Medicine: published February 26, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050049
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Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration
PLOS Medicine: published February 26, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045
Mechanisms of GII.4 Norovirus Persistence in Human Populations
PLOS Medicine: published February 12, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050031
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Prevention of Rectal SHIV Transmission in Macaques by Daily or Intermittent Prophylaxis with Emtricitabine and Tenofovir
PLOS Medicine: published February 5, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050028
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The Limits and Intensity of Plasmodium falciparum Transmission: Implications for Malaria Control and Elimination Worldwide
PLOS Medicine: published February 26, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050038
An Erythroid Differentiation Signature Predicts Response to Lenalidomide in Myelodysplastic Syndrome
PLOS Medicine: published February 12, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050035
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CD36 Deficiency Leads to Choroidal Involution via COX2 Down-Regulation in Rodents
PLOS Medicine: published February 19, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050039
Correction
Correction: What Are the Benefits and Risks of Fitting Patients with Radiofrequency Identification Devices?
PLOS Medicine: published February 5, 2008 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050036