Publications by authors named "M Botha"
Objective: To evaluate the impact of ART duration and CD4 count on risk for high grade cervical dysplasia in women with HIV (WWH) compared to women without HIV in the treat-all era with integrase strand inhibitors (INSTIs).
Design: Prospective longitudinal cohort study in Botswana.
Methods: From February 2021 to August 2022, baseline HPV self-sampling was offered to women with and without HIV.
Article Synopsis
- Children have shown strong immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 during various pandemic waves, with a significant increase in seropositivity from 34.2% after the first wave to 99.2% after the fifth wave, despite experiencing minimal severe illness.
- The study found that IgG antibodies developed through natural exposure were effective in protecting children from future infections, with varying levels of effectiveness against different variants, showing the highest protection against the Beta variant and the least against Omicron.
- Maternal seropositivity was linked to higher child seropositivity, indicating that the immune status of mothers plays a crucial role in the immune response of their children against COVID-19.
Background: Paediatric tuberculosis leads to more than 200 000 deaths annually. We aimed to investigate the incidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and tuberculosis disease in the first decade of life in the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), a South African cohort in a community with high tuberculosis and HIV incidence.
Methods: In this prospective birth cohort study, we enrolled pregnant women aged 18 years or older who were between 20 and 28 weeks' of gestation in a peri-urban setting outside of Cape Town, South Africa.
Article Synopsis
- Poor fit between work expectations and the work environment leads to high levels of stress among early career occupational therapists, particularly those with less than 5 years of experience.
- A study involving 261 South African occupational therapists used the Area of Work-Life Survey (AWS) to analyze factors influencing work-life areas like workload, control, and community.
- Results indicated that while most work-life areas scored normal or high, workload was notably low, especially for those in public health settings and physical rehabilitation, suggesting a need for improved support in these environments.