Bednets with insecticide in the fabric reduce child deaths by about one-fifth in malaria areas in Africa – that was the key message of the Cochrane Review published in 1998. Since then the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group (CIDG) malaria portfolio has expanded to over 70 reviews.

Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) kills up to 40% of people it infects. It’s an emerging problem in the Eastern Mediterranean region, particularly in Turkey, Iran, and Russia. Spain has recently seen its first domestically contracted cases. CCHF is spread by ticks and is endemic in areas of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Until now there have been no international guidelines specifically for treating CCHF.

From 27th February to 10th March 2017, the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group (CIDG) editorial base welcomed Dr. Francis Mhimbira as a visiting fellow. In this report, he provides an insight into his involvement with the CIDG and his time at the CIDG editorial base in Liverpool.

Every year, Cochrane UK organizes an annual symposium for all its networks, including UK- & Ireland-based Cochrane contributors, researchers, health professionals, students, charities, patient advocates, and other interested groups. This year's symposium took place at Kebl

Paul Garner, Co-ordinating Editor of the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group and Director of the Effective Health Care Research Consortium, has been appointed a Member of the Editorial Board of PLOS Medicine for 2017.

It's been a year since we launched the news feature 'Meet the Editors' on the CIDG and EHCRC websites, and what a year it's been! Over the 12 months we've been delighted to introduce you to nine CIDG Editors (click on their names to read their 'Meet the Editor' interviews):

“Globalise the evidence, localise the decision” was John Eisenberg’s meme of 2002. It set the stage for evidence synthesis to summarize global evidence, then tools to apply this more locally. With UKaid committed to evidence-informed policy, Department for International Development (DFID) advisers are mandated to identify generate and use best evidence and knowledge to improve the effectiveness and impact of its programmes.

The Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group (CIDG), as part of the Effective Health Care Research Consortium, welcomes four new staff members to the CIDG editorial base: Sam Johnson (Research Associate, joined January 2017), Leslie Choi and 

In the ninth instalment of the CIDG 'Meet the Editor' series, we meet Yemisi Takwoingi.Could you describe where you currently work and what you do there?

The International Journal of Epidemiology finds that three widely cited research studies relating to mass deworming in Africa have substantial problems in their methods and analysis. The original researchers claimed that their results show long-term effectiveness of these mass deworming programmes in developing countries, but this critical analysis concludes that the findings are unlikely to be as positive as previous researchers have reported.