Publications by authors named "N Kapata"
Background: The inappropriate use of antibiotics in hospitals contributes to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study evaluated the prevalence of antibiotic use and adherence to the World Health Organization (WHO) Access, Watch and Reserve (AWaRe) classification of antibiotics across 16 hospitals in Zambia.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study employing the WHO Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) methodology and WHO AWaRe classification of antibiotics was conducted among inpatients across 16 hospitals in December 2023, Zambia.
Background: The number of COVID-19 deaths reported in Zambia (N = 4069) is most likely an underestimate due to limited testing, incomplete death registration and inability to account for indirect deaths due to socioeconomic disruption during the pandemic. We sought to assess excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zambia.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of monthly-death-counts (2017-2022) and individual-daily-deaths (2020-2022) of all reported health facility and community deaths at district referral health facility mortuaries in 12 districts in Zambia.
Introduction: coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission dynamics in the communities of low- and middle-income countries, particularly sub-Saharan African countries, are still not fully understood. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of COVID-19 secondary transmission during the first wave of the epidemic (March-October 2020) in Lusaka, Zambia.
Methods: we conducted an observational study on COVID-19 secondary transmission among residents in Lusaka City, between March 18 and October 30, 2020.
There are growing concerns about the comeback of vaccine-preventable diseases. Epidemics exert shocks which affect other health performance indicators such as routine immunizations. Early model forecasts indicate decreased use of immunization services, which puts children at greater risk.
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- Enteric infections from viral pathogens like rotavirus and adenovirus are a significant public health issue, prompting the need for effective surveillance systems in wastewater to identify risk areas.
- In Zambia, researchers tested wastewater samples using different methods to concentrate viruses, resulting in a high detection rate (90% for HAdV and 70% for RVA) through molecular techniques.
- The study concluded that certain concentration methods, particularly skimmed milk flocculation and bag-mediated filtration, could be beneficial for ongoing surveillance in resource-limited settings, highlighting the importance of monitoring these pathogens in the community.