Publications by authors named "Marc S Opollo"

. Vaccine-preventable diseases contribute significantly to under-five deaths, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In Uganda, immunization coverage disparities persist among marginalized communities like the Batwa.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Utilization of oral health services is a global public health challenge. Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected. Uganda is one of the low- and middle-income countries where only 4% of the population has access to oral health services.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Globally, teenage pregnancy is a public health problem. Low- and middle-income countries in the Sub-Saharan region are more affected with teenage pregnancy. It is worse with teenage girls who have other vulnerabilities like living in refugee camps.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The World Health Organization novel malaria vaccine for at-risk children has the potential to greatly reduce the current malaria burden in sub-Saharan Africa. However, most studies have reported contradictory findings regarding community willingness for the vaccine, which could easily undermine the expected benefits of the vaccine. This study aims to ascertain the current state of community readiness and acceptance for the implementation of a novel malaria vaccine (RTS,S/ASO1) among at-risk children in sub-Saharan Africa, based on available evidence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Women with HIV have a higher risk of getting cervical cancer due to induced immunosuppression. Though this burden could be avoided through early identification and appropriate management, there is a paucity of information about the utilization of cervical cancer screening (CCS) services in Lira City, Uganda. This study investigated the level and factors associated with the utilization of cervical cancer screening services among HIV-positive women aged 18 to 49 years at Lira Regional Referral Hospital, Lira City, Uganda.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study aimed at assessing factors associated with first antenatal care (ANC) attendance within 12 weeks of pregnancy among women in Lira City.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Settings: The study was conducted in health facilities offering ANC services in Lira City, Northern Uganda.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Data on parents' readiness to vaccinate their children aged 5 to 17 years against COVID-19 is still scarce. This study assessed parents' readiness to vaccinate their children aged 5 to 17 years against COVID-19 and factors associated in Lira district, Uganda.

Methods And Materials: A cross-sectional survey employing quantitative methods was conducted between October and November 2022 among 578 parents of children aged 5-17 years in 3 sub-counties in Lira district.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: On 21st March 2020, the first COVID-19 case was detected in Uganda and a COVID-19 pandemic declared. On the same date, a nationwide lockdown was instituted in response to the pandemic. Subsequently, more cases were detected amongst the returning international travelers as the disease continued to spread across the country.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Blood culture (BC) processes are critical to the utility of diagnostic testing, bloodstream infection (BSI) management, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance. While Uganda has established BC guidelines, often laboratory practice does not meet the desired standards. This compromises pathogen recovery, reliability of antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and diagnostic test utility.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Globally, 5-15% of hospitalized patients acquire infections (often caused by antimicrobial-resistant microbes) due to inadequate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures. We used the World Health Organization's (WHO) 'Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework' (IPCAF) tool to assess the IPC compliance at Lira University hospital (LUH), a teaching hospital in Uganda. We also characterized challenges in completing the tool.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - This study investigated the impacts of T-cell activation, viral load, and virus subtype on HIV disease progression in Ugandan patients, finding that while activated T cells were more frequent in HIV-infected individuals, their levels did not significantly differ by virus subtype.
  • - Results showed that a higher viral load, older age, and subtype D were linked to faster progression to AIDS or death, with viral load being the strongest predictor of disease progression in the cohort studied.
  • - The findings imply that factors influencing disease progression in Europe and North America may not apply to East Africa, where HIV-1 load is the key factor determining health outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A phase I randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the immunogenicity of a multiclade HIV-1 DNA plasmid vaccine was conducted in 31 HIV-1-negative Ugandans. Following immunization with DNA at 0, 1, and 2 months, the frequency of HIV-specific immune responses was assessed up to 10 months using a standard chromium release assay (CRA), lymphoproliferative assay (LPA), and antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity assay (ADCC). Seven of 15 (47%) vaccinees demonstrated CTL activity using the CRA to HIV-1 Env B with responses observed 1 month following the second vaccination and as late as 7 months following complete immunization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF