Publications by authors named "Ismaela Abubakar"
Article Synopsis
- Preterm and very low birthweight (VLBW) infants face high health risks in their early days, with full enteral feeding being crucial for their care, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where data on feeding practices is limited.
- This study analyzed demographic and clinical data from 484 preterm and VLBW infants across 7 neonatal units in Nigeria and Kenya to assess factors affecting the time to achieve full enteral feeds.
- Results indicated a significant percentage of mortality before feeding, revealing that earlier first feeds and gestational age greatly influenced the time to reach full enteral feeds, suggesting that implementing standardized feeding guidelines could improve outcomes in these infants.
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the interventions to mitigate its spread impacted access to healthcare, including hospital births and newborn care. This study evaluated the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on newborn service utilization in Nigeria.
Methods: The records of women who delivered in hospitals and babies admitted to neonatal wards were retrospectively reviewed before (March 2019-February 2020) and during (March 2020-February 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in selected facilities in Nigeria.
Background: Carriers of persistent asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infections constitute an infectious reservoir that maintains malaria transmission. Understanding the extent of carriage and characteristics of carriers specific to endemic areas could guide use of interventions to reduce infectious reservoir.
Methods: In eastern Gambia, an all-age cohort from four villages was followed up from 2012 to 2016.
Objectives: Accurate and timely diagnosis of common neonatal conditions is crucial for reducing neonatal deaths. In low/middle-income countries with limited resources, there is sparse information on how neonatal diagnoses are made. The aim of this study was to describe the diagnostic criteria used for common conditions in neonatal units (NNUs) in Nigeria and Kenya.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Optimizing nutrition in very preterm (28-32 weeks gestation) and very low birth weight (VLBW; 1,000 g to <1,500 g) infants has potential to improve their survival, growth, and long-term health outcomes.
Aim: To assess feeding practices in Nigeria and Kenya for very preterm and VLBW newborn infants.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study where convenience sampling was used.
Objective: To describe the patient population, priority diseases and outcomes in newborns admitted <48 hours old to neonatal units in both Kenya and Nigeria.
Study Design: In a network of seven secondary and tertiary level neonatal units in Nigeria and Kenya, we captured anonymised data on all admissions <48 hours of age over a 6-month period.
Results: 2280 newborns were admitted.
Background: Because clustering of Plasmodium falciparum infection had been noted previously, the clustering of infection was examined at four field sites in West Africa: Dangassa and Dioro in Mali, Gambissara in The Gambia and Madina Fall in Senegal.
Methods: Clustering of infection was defined by the percent of persons with positive slides for asexual P. falciparum sleeping in a house which had been geopositioned.
Background: Developing and sustaining a data collection and management system (DCMS) is difficult in malaria-endemic countries because of limitations in internet bandwidth, computer resources and numbers of trained personnel. The premise of this paper is that development of a DCMS in West Africa was a critically important outcome of the West African International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research. The purposes of this paper are to make that information available to other investigators and to encourage the linkage of DCMSs to international research and Ministry of Health data systems and repositories.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2006, artemether-lumefantrine (AL) became the first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Senegal, Mali, and the Gambia. To monitor its efficacy, between August 2011 and November 2014, children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria were treated with AL and followed up for 42 days. A total of 463 subjects were enrolled in three sites (246 in Senegal, 97 in Mali, and 120 in Gambia).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Non-Plasmodium falciparum malaria infections are found in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa but little is known about their importance in pregnancy.
Methods: Blood samples were collected at first antenatal clinic attendance from 2526 women enrolled in a trial of intermittent screening and treatment of malaria in pregnancy (ISTp) versus intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) conducted in Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana and Mali. DNA was extracted from blood spots and tested for P.
Background: Haematological and biochemistry reference values for children are important for interpreting clinical and research results however, differences in demography and environment poses a challenge when comparing results. The study defines reference intervals for haematological and biochemistry parameters and examines the effect of seasonality in malaria transmission.
Methods: Blood samples collected from clinically healthy children, aged 12-59 months, in two surveys during the dry and wet season in the Upper River region of The Gambia were processed and the data analysed to generate reference intervals based on the 2.
Background: The efficacy of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) in pregnancy is threatened in parts of Africa by the emergence and spread of resistance to SP. Intermittent screening with a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and treatment of positive women (ISTp) is an alternative approach.
Methods And Findings: An open, individually randomized, non-inferiority trial of IPTp-SP versus ISTp was conducted in 5,354 primi- or secundigravidae in four West African countries with a low prevalence of resistance to SP (The Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana).
Background: Severe malaria (SM) is a major cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. Identification of both specific and sensitive clinical features to predict death is needed to improve clinical management.
Methods: A 13-year observational study was conducted from 1997 through 2009 of 2,901 children with SM enrolled at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in The Gambia to identify sensitive and specific predictors of poor outcome in Gambian children with severe malaria between the ages 4 months to 14 years.
With the paradigm shift from the reduction of morbidity and mortality to the interruption of transmission, the focus of malaria control broadens from symptomatic infections in children ≤5 years of age to include asymptomatic infections in older children and adults. In addition, as control efforts intensify and the number of interventions increases, there will be decreases in prevalence, incidence and transmission with additional decreases in morbidity and mortality. Expected secondary consequences of these changes include upward shifts in the peak ages for infection (parasitemia) and disease, increases in the ages for acquisition of antiparasite humoral and cellular immune responses and increases in false-negative blood smears and rapid diagnostic tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe study sites for the West African ICEMR are in three countries (The Gambia, Senegal, Mali) and are located within 750 km of each other. In addition, the National Malaria Control Programmes of these countries have virtually identical policies: (1) Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs) for the treatment of symptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infection, (2) Long-Lasting Insecticide-treated bed Nets (LLINs) to reduce the Entomololgic Inoculation Rate (EIR), and (3) sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for the Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria during pregnancy (IPTp). However, the prevalence of P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Malaria cases and related deaths in The Gambia significantly decreased from 2003 to 2007 due to increased international efforts and funding for control measures aimed at vulnerable populations like pregnant women and young children.
- Retrospective analysis showed an 82% reduction in malaria-positive blood slides and a 74% decline in malaria admissions for children, along with a total elimination of malaria deaths in some hospitals.
- Findings indicate that malaria interventions have improved overall health outcomes, suggesting that a policy to eliminate malaria in The Gambia is feasible and should be considered.