TB prevalence in Zimbabwe: a national cross-sectional survey, 2014.

We conducted the first national TB prevalence survey to provide accurate estimates of bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB disease among adults aged ≥15 years in 2014. A TB symptoms screen and chest X-ray (CXR) were used to identify presumptive TB cases who submitted two sputum samples for smear microscopy, liquid and solid culture. Bacteriological confirmation included acid-fast bacilli smear positivity confirmed using Xpert MTB/RIF and/or culture.

The potential for quality assurance systems to save costs and lives: the case of early infant diagnosis of HIV.

Objectives: Scaling up of point-of-care testing (POCT) for early infant diagnosis of HIV (EID) could reduce the large gap in infant testing. However, suboptimal POCT EID could have limited impact and potentially high avoidable costs. This study models the cost-effectiveness of a quality assurance system to address testing performance and screening interruptions, due to, for example, supply stockouts, in Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe, with varying HIV epidemics and different health systems.

Can visual interpretation of NucliSens graphs reduce the need for repeat viral load testing?

Background: In Zimbabwe, viral load (VL) testing for people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy is performed at the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory using a NucliSens machine. Anecdotal evidence has shown that invalid graphs for "Target Not Detectable (TND)" will upon repeat VL testing produce a valid result for virus not detected, therefore removing the need to repeat the test. This needs formal assessment.

Laboratory characterisation of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi isolates from Zimbabwe, 2009-2017.

Background: Typhoid fever remains a major public health problem in Zimbabwe with recurrent outbreaks reported since 2009. To provide guidance on appropriate treatment choice in order to minimise the morbidity and mortality of typhoid fever and prevent large scale outbreaks, we investigated the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, prevalence of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S. Typhi) H58 haplotype and molecular subtypes of S.

Mutations in rpoB and katG genes of multidrug resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis undetectable using genotyping diagnostic methods.

Introduction: Tuberculosis remains the leading causes of death worldwide with frequencies of mutations in rifampicin and isoniazid resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates varying according to geographical location. There is limited information in Zimbabwe on specific antibiotic resistance gene mutation patterns in MTB and hence, increased rate of discordant results and mortality due to inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions. The rpoB and katG genes molecular markers are used for detecting rifampicin and isoniazid resistance respectively.