Protein Identification of Venoms of the African Spitting Cobras, and .

Cobra snakes, including and are one of the major groups of snakes responsible for snakebites in southern Africa, producing significant cytotoxicity and tissue damage. The venom of has been briefly characterised, but that of is not reported. The current study identifies the venom proteins of and .

Distribution of hepatitis B virus infection in Namibia.

Background: Namibia regards hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection as a public health problem and introduced hepatitis B vaccinations for infants during 2009. However, information on HBV infection in the country remains limited, and effective public health interventions may be compromised in the absence of adequate evidence-based data. Available data from the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that 15 - 60% of the normal population in many African countries may be positive for one or more of the HBV serological markers.

Bone health of the Ovahimba people of north-western Namibia in the context of urbanization and a change of the sociocultural environment.

The prevalence of osteoporosis in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries is low, however, as urbanization takes root, it is predicted that bone health will decrease dramatically. The bone health of the semi-nomadic Ovahimba people of Namibia was investigated in the context of urbanization and changes of the sociocultural environment. Furthermore, data on bone health in SSA countries is scarce; there exists no ethnic-specific reference group for people of black origin.

Alterations of cortisol homeostasis may link changes of the sociocultural environment to an increased diabetes and metabolic risk in developing countries: a prospective diagnostic study performed in cooperation with the Ovahimba people of the Kunene region/northwestern Namibia.

Context: Diabetes mellitus is increasingly affecting Africa.

Objective: Urbanization of the Ovahimba people in Namibia is associated with an increased prevalence of disorders of glucose metabolism, and may thus be attributed to changes of cortisol homeostasis.

Design: A prospective, cross-sectional, diagnostic study was applied.

Cracking the whip on childhood mortality--role of the specialized neonatal unit in Eritrea.

Unlabelled: Health care services in developing countries are being challenged by high childhood mortality rates. Although there have been tremendous strides made in reducing infant mortality rates largely due to vaccinations and improved standards of living, a lot remains to be done to reduce neonatal mortality. Achievement of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number 4 on childhood mortality will remain unattainable in most developing countries unless purpose based interventions targeted at reducing neonatal mortality are instituted.

Recurrent cholera epidemics in Kano--northern Nigeria.

Objectives: The study examined the factors associated with recurrent cholera epidemics in Kano State of Northern Nigeria, the management of the epidemics and health outcomes.

Methods: Using epidemiological data from the Public Health Department of the Kano State Ministry of Health, the study examined the frequency and geographical distribution of the epidemics for the period 1995 to 2001; procedures for detection; control measures as well as results of biological and bacteriological testing of water from different sources. Mapping and testing for significance of faecal contamination of water sources were done.

Prevalence of non-communicable disease risk factors in Eritrea.

Objective: To establish the baseline prevalence rates for non-communicable disease risk factors in Eritrea.

Study Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among all the ethnic groups in Eritrea with the WHO STEPwise approach. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure > or = 140/90 mm Hg or a person on medication for hypertension, while diabetes based on medical history of the disease.

Emerging non-communicable disease epidemic in Africa: preventive measures from the WHO Regional Office for Africa.

The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) commissioned a study to compile and analyze published reports on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa to build evidence on the burden of NCDs in the region. Anecdotally, little information or literature was available on this subject. The objective of the study was to establish the status of NCDs in Africa by using published sources of information.

Prevalence of tobacco use in Eritrea: results from a noncommunicable disease risk factor survey.

The prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in Eritrea is increasing. Tobacco use is a recognized risk factor for most of these diseases, especially cardiovascular disease. No data have been published on tobacco use in Eritrea.

Roll back malaria--an African success story in Eritrea.

Background: High morbidity and mortality from malaria in Africa prompted the Abuja Declaration by African Heads of State in 2000. The goal set in the declaration for 2010 was to reduce malaria mortality by 50%. Countries were therefore expected to ensure that 60% of people suffering from malaria had access to treatment, that 60% of those at risk received intermittent prophylaxis, and that 60% of people in high-risk groups were using insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) by 2005.

Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in Zimbabwe: results from analysis of data from the National Central Registry and Urban Survey.

The disease burden from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa is rapidly increasing based on projections from a limited number of reports. In the absence of national health surveys in Zimbabwe, all data nationally generated between 1990 and 1997 were analyzed. From 1990 to 1997, prevalence rates (expressed per 100,000 people) of hypertension increased from 1000 to 4000, rates of diabetes increased from 150 to 550, and rates of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) increased from 5 to 15.

A steep decline of malaria morbidity and mortality trends in Eritrea between 2000 and 2004: the effect of combination of control methods.

Background: Malaria is a huge public health problem in Africa that is responsible for more than one million deaths annually. In line with the Roll Back Malaria initiative and the Abuja Declaration, Eritrea and other African countries have intensified their fight against malaria. This study examines the impact of Eritrea's Roll Back Malaria Programme: 2000-2004 and the effects and possible interactions between the public health interventions in use.

Continuing communicable disease burden in Eritrea.

Background And Methods: A retrospective study of the national health profile of Eritreans, focusing on acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI), tuberculosis (TB), diarrhoea, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS, was done on data from 1998 to 2003 through a health information management system. Records were included for patients of all ages receiving outpatient and inpatient hospital services during the study period. All incidence rates were given as cases per 100,000 population.

The prevalence of hypertension and its relationship with obesity: results from a national blood pressure survey in Eritrea.

The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases has been shown to be on the increase in Africa based on hospital-based information and limited national surveys. A recent report on analysis of data from Health Information Management Systems (HIMS) highlighted an increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Eritrea, with the incidence of hypertension doubling in a space of 6 years. HMIS data are only a proxy of national prevalence rates, necessitating the conduct of national surveys.

Foundations for effective strategies to control sexually transmitted infections: voices from rural Kenya.

Achieving maximal benefit from clinic-based, sexually transmitted infection (STI) control strategies requires that persons seek treatment at public clinics. Community-based, ethnographic research methods were used to examine patterns of health-seeking behavior for sexually transmitted infections in western Kenya. Illness narratives of sexually transmitted infections provided the basis for an analysis of sequential steps in health-seeking behavior, namely recognition, classification, overcoming stigma, identification of treatment options and selection of a course of therapy.

Problem-based learning in distance education: a first exploration in continuing medical education.

The Wellcome Tropical Institute has assisted countries in the tropics to establish viable systems of continuing medical education, particularly for young doctors practising in rural areas. As part of this strategy the Institute has developed material for use in distance learning. The first attempt to apply the problem-based learning approach to written material for use by an individual learner in the absence of a tutor led to a trial in Ghana, Kenya and Pakistan to compare a conventionally designed module with a problem-based learning module on the same topic for their respective acceptability, effectiveness and efficiency.

Distance learning for rural medical officers in Kenya: the first pilot project.

Representatives from the Ministry of Health, the University of Nairobi and the Kenya Medical Association arranged a workshop in Nairobi in September, 1987 to ensure that policy makers, civil servants, academics and senior members of the medical profession would feel fully informed about the purpose and nature of distance learning. A further meeting was arranged for the supervisors and tutors who would be involved in the pilot project which was designed to validate the usefulness of distance learning materials prepared in London and to evaluate the organisational and educational aspects of the local system for distance learning. Ten rural medical officers, selected by the Ministry, met to be inducted at a briefing workshop in Mombasa.

Medical practice in the next century: continuing medical education for change.

Dramatic changes have occurred in society since the Second World War. These include great advances in science and medicine. Such changes are likely to continue at an ever increasing rate.