In this retrospective analysis, Aye Sandar Zaw and colleagues report the successful elimination of falciparum malaria following the introduction of community-based health workers in Eastern Myanmar
Author summary Why was this study done? Shortening antibiotic treatment duration is a commonly adopted antibiotic stewardship strategy, with the expectation that it will reduce antimicrobial resistance in treated individuals and in the overall population. Antibiotic selective pressure acts predominantly on “bystander” colonising bacteria for resistance, and this depends on the spectrum of coverage, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of individual antibiotics. Empirical evidence and an understanding of the mechanisms by which antibiotic treatment duration effects the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance are lacking. Understanding the key factors driving the effect of antibiotic treatment duration on resistance carriage will help to inform future research study designs, antimicrobial stewardship interventions, and resource allocation in multimodal control strategies. What did the researchers do and find? We modelled within- and between-host dynam