Publications by authors named "Adetifa I"

Event management systems (EMS) are key tools for epidemic intelligence, integrating surveillance signals and incident response, although international standards to inform development are lacking. We describe the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) SITAware, a software capable of operating with low internet bandwidth to generate notifications, reports, and spatiotemporal dashboards and provide event-level data for real-time accountability and postevent learning. SITAware was enabled by local institutional ownership, co-created at low cost, and integrated into existing workflows.

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The COVID-19 pandemic challenged health systems globally. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the gold standard for detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples. Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits for COVID-19 have been widely used in Nigeria.

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  • In 2016, WHO prioritized Lassa fever for epidemic preparedness, highlighting the need for improved diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines.
  • Diagnostic methods for Lassa fever currently have significant limitations, and treatment options are limited to the controversial drug ribavirin.
  • Ongoing research and collaboration among experts are essential to develop effective medical countermeasures by the end of the decade to combat Lassa fever in affected regions.
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  • Nigeria reported its first mpox cases in nearly 40 years five years before the 2022-2023 outbreak, with ongoing human-to-human transmission driving the epidemic.
  • Researchers analyzed 112 mpox virus genomes from Nigeria (2021-2023) and traced the lineage back to its emergence around July 2014 from southern Nigeria, specifically Rivers State.
  • The study also found that human-to-human transmission significantly increased the virus's evolutionary rate and emphasized the importance of better pathogen surveillance and response strategies.
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  • Nigeria and Cameroon reported their first mpox cases in over 30 years starting in 2017 and 2018, with Nigeria's outbreak recognized as a human epidemic.
  • The study focused on understanding the zoonotic transmission dynamics of the mpox virus across the Nigeria-Cameroon border, revealing ongoing cases driven by a new Clade IIb.1 lineage and highlighting significant cross-border viral spread.
  • The findings indicate that southern Nigeria is likely the origin of the mpox epidemic, with evidence of a zoonotic precursor lineage present in local animal populations for over 45 years, emphasizing the persistent risk of MPXV emergence in both countries.
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  • * The World Health Organization advises that at least 80% of new births should be vaccinated against rubella to minimize CRS cases, but previous research has primarily looked at national data, missing local variations.
  • * In Nigeria, researchers found significant differences in rubella transmission levels between states, suggesting that low-risk areas can achieve safe vaccination with coverage below 80%, while high-risk areas need extra campaign support to improve vaccination rates effectively.
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  • Tungiasis, caused by the sand flea Tunga penetrans, leads to significant pain and mobility issues, affecting the quality of life, particularly among school-aged children in Kenya.
  • A survey of 10,600 primary school pupils showed those with tungiasis had lower weight-for-age, missed more school days, and performed worse in mathematics and other subjects.
  • Severe cases of tungiasis correlate with increased pain and greater negative impacts on quality of life, highlighting the need for better disease management to support children's health and academic success.
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Tuberculosis (TB) and non-communicable diseases (NCD) share predisposing risk factors. TB-associated NCD might cluster within households affected with TB requiring shared prevention and care strategies. We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis of national TB prevalence surveys to determine whether NCD cluster in members of households with TB.

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Background: Influenza is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Little is known of the true burden and epidemiology of influenza in Africa. Nigeria has a sentinel surveillance system for influenza virus (IFV).

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Introduction: Recent outbreaks of mpox are characterised by changes in the natural history of the disease, the demographic and clinical characteristics of the cases, and widening geographical distribution. We investigated the role of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) coinfection among cases in the re-emergence of mpox to inform national and global response.

Methods: We conducted a national descriptive and case-control study on cases in the 2017-2019 Nigerian mpox outbreak.

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  • - A national study in Nigeria assessed schistosomiasis seroprevalence among children aged 0 to 14 using blood samples from the 2018 HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey, finding an overall seroprevalence of 17.2%.
  • - The analysis revealed that higher seroprevalence was linked to being a boy, living in rural areas, and owning animals, while access to improved sanitation and clean drinking water significantly reduced the odds of being seropositive.
  • - The findings underscore the need for targeted prevention strategies, especially for young children and those with animal exposure, to effectively control schistosomiasis in Nigeria.
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Historically, mpox has been characterized as an endemic zoonotic disease that transmits through contact with the reservoir rodent host in West and Central Africa. However, in May 2022, human cases of mpox were detected spreading internationally beyond countries with known endemic reservoirs. When the first cases from 2022 were sequenced, they shared 42 nucleotide differences from the closest mpox virus (MPXV) previously sampled.

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The mortality impact of COVID-19 in Africa remains controversial because most countries lack vital registration. We analysed excess mortality in Kilifi Health and Demographic Surveillance System, Kenya, using 9 years of baseline data. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence studies suggest most adults here were infected before May 2022.

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Background: We sought to estimate SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence within representative samples of the Kenyan population during the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the second year of COVID-19 vaccine use.

Methods: We conducted cross-sectional serosurveys among randomly selected, age-stratified samples of Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) residents in Kilifi and Nairobi. Anti-spike (anti-S) immunoglobulin G (IgG) serostatus was measured using a validated in-house ELISA and antibody concentrations estimated with reference to the WHO International Standard for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin.

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  • - Tungiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the sand flea, Tunga penetrans, primarily affecting children in South America and sub-Saharan Africa, with a study conducted in Kenya to assess its prevalence and risk factors among school-aged children.
  • - The study involved a national survey across nine counties, examining pupils aged 8 to 14 years, revealing a prevalence of 1.35% in the first survey and 0.89% in the second, with significant variation by region and factors like sex, age, and socioeconomic status.
  • - Key findings included higher infection rates in public school attendees and associations with male gender and lower socioeconomic status, emphasizing the need for comprehensive examination methods, as traditional rapid screening could miss
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The 2022 global mpox outbreak raises questions about how this zoonotic disease established effective human-to-human transmission and its potential for further adaptation. The 2022 outbreak virus is related to an ongoing outbreak in Nigeria originally reported in 2017, but the evolutionary path linking the two remains unclear due to a lack of genomic data between 2018, when virus exportations from Nigeria were first recorded, and 2022, when the global mpox outbreak began. Here, 18 viral genomes obtained from patients across southern Nigeria in 2019-2020 reveal multiple lineages of monkeypox virus (MPXV) co-circulated in humans for several years before 2022, with progressive accumulation of mutations consistent with APOBEC3 activity over time.

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Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and NCD risk factors, such as smoking, increase the risk for tuberculosis (TB). Data are scarce on the risk of prevalent TB associated with these factors in the context of population-wide systematic screening and on the association between NCDs and NCD risk factors with different manifestations of TB, where ∼50% being asymptomatic but bacteriologically positive (subclinical). We did an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of national and sub-national TB prevalence surveys to synthesise the evidence on the risk of symptomatic and subclinical TB in people with NCDs or risk factors, which could help countries to plan screening activities.

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Introduction: Estimates suggest that one-third of snakebite cases in sub-Saharan Africa affect children. Despite children being at a greater risk of disability and death, there are limited published data. This study has determined the: population-incidence and mortality rate of hospital-attended paediatric snakebite; clinical syndromes of snakebite envenoming; and predictors of severe local tissue damage.

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  • In Kilifi, Kenya, the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) in 2011 led to increased levels of protective antibodies in infants, as shown by serological surveys between 2009 and 2017.
  • The study observed a significant rise in the proportion of infants with protective antibody levels right after the vaccine was introduced, with rates jumping from 0-33% in 2009 to 60-94% in 2011.
  • While IgG levels generally waned quickly after infancy, children aged 10-14 years maintained high antibody concentrations, suggesting ongoing immunity likely due to previous exposure or memory responses to related antigens.
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Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) protect against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) among vaccinees. However, at population level, this protection is driven by indirect effects. PCVs prevent nasopharyngeal acquisition of vaccine-serotype (VT) pneumococci, reducing onward transmission.

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Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) is a zoonotic viral disease endemic in parts of Africa. In May, 2022, the world was alerted to circulation of monkeypox virus in many high-income countries outside of Africa. Continued spread resulted in a WHO declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

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Lassa fever (LF) remains endemic in Nigeria with the country reporting the highest incidence and mortality globally. Recent national data suggests increasing incidence and expanding geographic spread. Predictors of LF case positivity in Nigeria have been sparsely studied.

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