Using minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) and Determination of Cause of Death (DeCoDe) to establish etiologies of community respiratory deaths among Zambian infants and children.

In low-to-middle income countries, acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) remains the leading infectious cause of death among infants and children under 5 years old. Case-control studies based on upper respiratory sampling have informed current understandings of ALRI etiologies; in contrast, minimally-invasive tissue sampling (MITS) offers a method of directly interrogating lower respiratory tract pathogens to establish etiologic distributions. This study performed in the post-mortem setting used MITS and a Determination of Cause of Death (DeCoDe) panel to elucidate causes of fatal pneumonia in the community in Lusaka, Zambia.

Knowledge and perceptions of asthma in Zambia: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Zambia is currently experiencing an epidemiological transition, from communicable to non-communicable diseases. The annual rate of physician-diagnosed asthma is estimated at 3 %. However, the general public's knowledge of asthma symptoms and signs, and their perception of asthma remain unknown.

Improving paediatric asthma care in Zambia.

Problem: In 2008, the prevalence of paediatric asthma in Zambia was unknown and the national treatment guideline was outdated.

Approach: We created an international partnership between Zambian clinicians, the Zambian Government and a pharmaceutical company to address shortcomings in asthma treatment. We did two studies, one to estimate prevalence in the capital of Lusaka and one to assess attitudes and practices of patients.