Publications by authors named "Brian Agaba"
Ludwig's angina is a potentially fatal condition characterized by a rapid onset of cellulitis that bilaterally involves the submandibular, sublingual, and submental spaces. This report describes the case of a 29-year-old female who presented to us with Ludwig's angina following a tooth extraction performed by a traditional healer in Southwestern Uganda. The patient stayed home for over a week before she could seek formal treatment, and this delay led to severe infection and necrotizing fasciitis with extensive tissue necrosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEbola disease survivors often experience stigma in multiple forms, including felt (perceived) stigma, enacted (action-based) stigma, and institutional stigma. On September 20, 2022, Uganda declared a Sudan Virus Disease (species orthoebolavirus sudanense) outbreak after a patient with confirmed Sudan virus (SUDV) infection was identified in Mubende District. The outbreak led to 142 confirmed and 22 probable cases over the next two months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Academic examination retakes are significant challenges in health professions education. With rigorous clinical assessments, limited training resources and high-stakes examinations, students struggle to meet academic requirements which cab result in retakes. This study aimed to assess the proportion of medical and nursing students with retakes across five Sub-Saharan African universities and to explore factors contributing to the retakes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Uganda faced a Sudan Virus Disease outbreak starting September 2022, spreading to multiple districts and prompting a study on community beliefs that contributed to its spread.
- A qualitative study in February 2023 involved focus groups and interviews, revealing that local beliefs often attributed deaths to witchcraft or poisoning, leading patients to seek traditional healing before formal medical care.
- The analysis indicated that cultural practices, such as hiding patients and unsafe burial customs, facilitated transmission, suggesting that integrating traditional healers and religious leaders into public health strategies could enhance control measures.
Article Synopsis
- In February 2022, over 100 child deaths in Namutumba District were reported due to a mysterious disease, later confirmed to be severe malaria, leading to an investigation into its causes and preventive measures.
- A retrospective study in March 2022 focused on the most affected subcounty, identifying cases of severe malaria-related deaths and matching them with survivors to determine risk factors associated with mortality.
- Findings revealed that a significant percentage of child fatalities were among those under 5 years old, with notable links to incomplete treatment and lack of access to blood transfusions as key contributors to the deaths.
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) trends in Uganda by analyzing bacterial isolates from clinical samples between 2018-2021 to improve public health responses.
- A total of 537 isolates were analyzed, with Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella being the predominant pathogens, showing significant resistance to various antibiotics, particularly sulfonamides and fluoroquinolones.
- The results indicated fluctuating resistance levels, particularly in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and increasing resistance among gram-negative bacteria to antibiotics like tetracycline and ceftriaxone.
Background: Uganda has had seven Ebola disease outbreaks, between 2000 and 2022. On Sept 20, 2022, the Ministry of Health declared a Sudan virus disease outbreak in Mubende District, Central Uganda. We describe the epidemiological characteristics and transmission dynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding the delay in identifying Sudan Virus Disease: gaps in integrated disease surveillance and response and community-based surveillance to detect viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in Uganda, September 2022.
BMC Infect Dis
July 2024
Article Synopsis
- Uganda's Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) system aims for early outbreak detection, but the Sudan virus outbreak in 2022 highlighted gaps in community and health facility reporting.* -
- A study evaluated surveillance capacities in public and private health facilities, revealing that 85% of surveyed private facilities failed to report to the national system, and many lacked trained staff.* -
- Identified gaps included weak community surveillance, poor engagement of private facilities, low awareness of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, and insufficient funding and training for effective reporting.*
Background: Proper and complete clerkships for patients have long been shown to contribute to correct diagnosis and improved patient care. All sections for clerkship must be carefully and fully completed to guide the diagnosis and the plan of management; moreover, one section guides the next. Failure to perform a complete clerkship has been shown to lead to misdiagnosis due to its unpleasant outcomes, such as delayed recovery, prolonged inpatient stay, high cost of care and, at worst, death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In 2022, an Ebola disease outbreak caused by Sudan virus (SUDV) occurred in Uganda, primarily affecting Mubende and Kassanda districts. We determined risk factors for SUDV infection among household members (HHM) of cases.
Methods: We conducted a case-control and retrospective cohort study in January 2023.
Background: On 20 September 2022, Uganda declared its fifth Sudan virus disease (SVD) outbreak, culminating in 142 confirmed and 22 probable cases. The reproductive rate (R) of this outbreak was 1.25.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Early isolation of Ebola patients at Treatment Units is crucial to control outbreaks, and a study was conducted to assess the timing of ETU entry during the 2022 Sudan virus disease outbreak in Uganda.
- Among 118 confirmed cases, delays in ETU entry were significant, with 43% experiencing long delays of six days or more, particularly those whose symptoms started later in the outbreak.
- Factors such as awareness of symptoms and contact status helped improve early care-seeking, while fear of the ETUs and transportation issues were common reasons for delayed isolation.
Article Synopsis
- * An investigation revealed 25 meningitis cases, including 2 deaths, in the Palorinya Refugee Settlement between December 2022 and May 2023, with most affected being children under 18 years old and none vaccinated against the bacteria.
- * The outbreak lacked an epidemiological link between cases, prompting recommendations for vaccination of at-risk individuals to control the spread of the infection.
Article Synopsis
- Between March and June 2022, around 34,000 refugees arrived at the Nyakabande Transit Centre in Uganda, leading to a COVID-19 outbreak with over 330 cases reported by mid-June.
- A study identified risk factors for infection, revealing that close contact with symptomatic individuals increased the odds of COVID-19, while wearing face masks significantly reduced risk.
- Recommendations included enforcing mask use and improving shelter space, with successful initiatives from collaborative efforts to promote health and expand resources.
Background: Contact tracing (CT) is critical for ebolavirus outbreak response. Ideally, all new cases after the index case should be previously-known contacts (PKC) before their onset, and spend minimal time ill in the community. We assessed the impact of CT during the 2022 Sudan Virus Disease (SVD) outbreak in Uganda.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The association between overt hypertension and diabetes and adverse pregnancy outcomes is well documented. Recent evidence suggests that even moderate elevations in blood pressure or blood glucose may confer a significant risk in a dose-dependent manner. However, these studies have primarily been undertaken in white populations in high-income settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hyperglycaemia in pregnancy (HIP) is associated with complications for both mother and baby. The prevalence of the condition is likely to increase across Africa as the continent undergoes a rapid demographic transition. However, little is known about the management and pregnancy outcomes associated with HIP in the region, particularly less severe forms of hyperglycaemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF