Identification of Anthrax as the Cause of a Cluster of Unexplained Deaths, Uganda, 2023: The Role of Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing and Postmortem Specimens.

Between April and November 2023, 27 unexplained human deaths that presented with swelling of the arms, skin sores with black centers, difficulty in breathing, obstructed swallowing, headaches, and other body aches were reported in Kyotera District, Uganda by the Public Health Emergency Operations Center. Subsequently, the death of cattle on farms and the consumption of carcass meat by some residents were also reported. Field response teams collected clinical/epidemiological data and autopsy samples to determine the cause of deaths.

Molecular phenotypes of critical illness confer prognostic and biological enrichment in sub-Saharan Africa: a prospective cohort study from Uganda.

The generalisability of critical illness molecular phenotypes to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is unknown. We show that molecular phenotypes derived in high-income countries (hyperinflammatory and hypoinflammatory, reactive and uninflamed) stratify sepsis patients in Uganda by physiological severity, mortality risk and dysregulation of key pathobiological domains. A classifier model including data available at the LMIC bedside modestly discriminated phenotype assignment (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) 0.

Case Reports of Human Monkeypox Virus Infections, Uganda, 2024.

Mpox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus. We report on human mpox cases in Uganda identified by PCR and confirmed by deep sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis revealed clustering with other clade Ib sequences associated with recent outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Genotypic and phylogeographic insights into a pre-epidemic variant of Wesselsbron virus detected in sylvatic from Semuliki Forest, Uganda.

Wesselsbron virus (WSLV) is a neglected mosquito-borne virus within the yellow fever subgroup in the genus of the family. Despite being primarily a veterinary pathogen able to cause stillbirths, congenital malformations, and mortality in ruminants, WSLV also infects humans, causing a usually self-limiting febrile illness, or may lead to neurological complications in rare cases. WSLV causes sporadic outbreaks in Southern Africa, but findings in mosquitoes from other African countries suggest a wider distribution.

Unsupervised Classification of the Host Response Identifies Dominant Pathobiological Signatures of Sepsis in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Rationale: The global burden of sepsis is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, where inciting pathogens are diverse and HIV co-infection is a major driver of poor outcomes. Biological heterogeneity inherent to sepsis in this setting is poorly defined.

Objectives: To identify dominant pathobiological signatures of sepsis in sub-Saharan Africa and their relationship to clinical phenotypes, patient outcomes, and biological classifications of sepsis identified in high-income-countries (HICs).