Publications by authors named "M Rubach"
Background: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a tick-borne zoonotic disease that may be severe and is present in many African countries. We aimed to understand the seroprevalence and risk for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in Tanzania by testing archived serum samples from patients enrolled in a prospective cohort study.
Methods: We prospectively enrolled febrile inpatients and outpatients from 2012 through 2014 at two referral hospitals in northern Tanzania.
Acute Q fever diagnosis via paired serology is problematic because it requires follow-up for convalescent sample collection; as such, it cannot provide a diagnosis to inform a treatment decision at the time of acute presentation. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) may be a useful approach for the diagnosis of acute Q fever in endemic settings. Among febrile patients enrolled in a sentinel surveillance study for Q fever at two referral hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania, from 2012 to 2014, we analyzed those with paired sera for IgG to Coxiella burnetii (C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Acute febrile illness is a common reason for seeking healthcare in low- and middle-income countries. We describe the diagnostic utility of a TaqMan Array Card (TAC) real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panel for pathogen detection in paediatric and adult inpatients admitted with febrile illness.
Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we screened medical admissions for a tympanic temperature ≥38.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated risk factors for spotted fever group rickettsioses (SFGR) in the Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania, focusing on febrile patients from local hospitals between 2012 and 2014.
- Of 1,190 participants, 54.6% had SFGR exposure, with 9.2% displaying acute SFGR; factors such as age, rural living, and temperature were significant in determining risk.
- The findings highlight that children under 2 years, rural residents, and those in cooler areas may be at higher risk for SFGR, suggesting a need for targeted prevention strategies and additional research on tick exposure.
Background: A peri-urban outbreak of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) among dairy cattle from May through August 2018 in northern Tanzania was detected through testing samples from prospective livestock abortion surveillance. We sought to identify concurrent human infections, their phylogeny, and epidemiologic characteristics in a cohort of febrile patients enrolled from 2016-2019 at hospitals serving the epizootic area.
Methods: From September 2016 through May 2019, we conducted a prospective cohort study that enrolled febrile patients hospitalized at two hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania.