Publications by authors named "J C L Mwansa"
Background: PCR-based screenings on the presence of diarrhoea-causing intestinal protist species are limited in Zambia, resulting in inaccurate current prevalence and epidemiological data. Sensitive PCR-based methods are particularly well suited for detecting subclinical infections in apparently healthy carriers.
Methodology: In this prospective cross-sectional study, we investigated the occurrence of the most common intestinal protists in an apparently healthy paediatric population (5-18 years) in Lusaka Province, Zambia.
The Project YES! clinic-based peer mentoring program was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted among 276 youth from four HIV clinics to test the impact of the program on promoting HIV self-management and reducing internalized stigma among youth living with HIV (ages 15-24 years) in Ndola, Zambia. We conducted a qualitative sub-study involving in-depth interviews with 40 intervention youth participants (21 female, 19 male) to explore their experiences with Project YES! which included: an orientation meeting led by a healthcare provider, monthly individual and group counseling sessions over six months, and three optional caregiver group sessions. Using baseline RCT data, we used maximum variation sampling to purposively select youth by sex, age, change in virologic results between baseline and midline, and study clinic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Two Weeks in the World research project has resulted in a dataset of 3087 clinically relevant bacterial genomes with pertaining metadata, collected from 59 diagnostic units in 35 countries around the world during 2020. A relational database is available with metadata and summary data from selected bioinformatic analysis, such as species prediction and identification of acquired resistance genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Sepsis Prevention in Neonates in Zambia study is a prospective cohort study that evaluated an infection prevention and control (IPC) bundle in the University Teaching Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Lusaka, Zambia. We present here the etiologies, antimicrobial resistance profiles, and associated mortality of bloodstream infections (BSI) in this cohort.
Methods: Venous blood was collected from neonates with clinically suspected sepsis and cultured with an automated blood culture system.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical volumes for pediatric patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), highlighting a significant reduction in surgeries.
- A survey, conducted among pediatric surgeons in sub-Saharan Africa and Ecuador, revealed that public hospitals had longer wait times, with a median waitlist of 90 patients and an average wait of 2 months for elective surgeries.
- The findings indicate that long surgical wait times persist in LMICs, adversely affecting surgical access, and underline the need for resource scaling and monitoring strategies to address these delays, especially in the wake of COVID-19.