High prevalent and incident HIV-1 and herpes simplex virus 2 infection among male migrant and non-migrant sugar farm workers in Zambia.

Background: More insight is needed regarding risk factors for prevalent and incident HIV-1 infection among male farm workers in Sub-Saharan Africa to control the HIV-1 epidemic.

Methods: Male farm workers were recruited from a sugar estate in Zambia to participate in a prospective cohort study. Questionnaire data were collected via interview, and testing was conducted for HIV-1, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and syphilis infection at baseline and follow-up between May 2006 and September 2007.

Non-sexual transmission of Trichomonas vaginalis in adolescent girls attending school in Ndola, Zambia.

Objectives: To identify risk factors for trichomoniasis among young women in Ndola, Zambia.

Method: The study was a cross-sectional study among adolescent girls aged 13-16 years in Ndola, Zambia. Study participants were recruited from schools in selected administrative areas that represented the different socio-economic strata in town.

Management of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in an urban setting in Zambia: a patient's perspective.

Background: Zambia continues to grapple with a high tuberculosis (TB) burden despite a long running Directly Observed Treatment Short course programme. Understanding issues that affect patient adherence to treatment programme is an important component in implementation of a successful TB control programme. We set out to investigate pulmonary TB patient's attitudes to seek health care, assess the care received from government health care centres based on TB patients' reports, and to seek associations with patient adherence to TB treatment programme.

Identification of amino acid substitutions associated with neutralization phenotype in the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 subtype C gp120.

Neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) are thought to play an important role in prevention and control of HIV-1 infection and should be targeted by an AIDS vaccine. It is critical to understand how HIV-1 induces Nabs by analyzing viral sequences in both tested viruses and sera. Neutralization susceptibility to antibodies in autologous and heterologous plasma was determined for multiple Envs (3-6) from each of 15 subtype-C-infected individuals.

Diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotypes circulating in Ndola, Zambia.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major public health problems in Zambia. However, information about lineages of M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC) isolates useful for epidemiology investigations is unknown.

Low Occurrence of Tuberculosis Drug Resistance among Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients from an Urban Setting, with a Long-Running DOTS Program in Zambia.

We set out to determine the levels of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to first- and second-line TB drugs in an urban population in Zambia. Sputum samples were collected consecutively from all smear-positive, new and previously treated patients, from four diagnostic centres in Ndola between January and July 2006. Drug susceptibility testing was performed using the proportion method against four first- and two second-line TB drugs.

Trichomonas vaginalis is highly prevalent in adolescent girls, pregnant women, and commercial sex workers in Ndola, Zambia.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of Trichomonas sp. infection among adolescent girls, pregnant women, and commercial sex workers in Ndola, Zambia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 460 girls attending school, 307 pregnant women, and 197 commercial sex workers.