TB treatment delays and associated risk factors in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 2019-2021.

Background: In Tajikistan, where there are about 8,000 cases annually, many new cases are being diagnosed with severe disease, indicating a delay in receiving care. We aimed to estimate the proportion with delayed care and the main factors contributing to delayed care.

Methods: Using a retrospective cohort design, we conducted a study that included all people aged over 15 years who were newly diagnosed with pulmonary TB in Dushanbe from 2019 to 2021.

Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antibody among previously vaccinated healthcare workers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Healthcare workers (HCW) have high occupational risk for hepatitis B and Uzbekistan held two HCW vaccination campaigns in 2015 and 2022. Hepatitis B antibody testing (anti-HBs) after Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccination is recommended by the U.S.

Corrigendum: Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine confidence among primary care providers in Kazakhstan, March-April 2021.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.

Therapies for people hospitalized with COVID-19 and alignment with national clinical guidelines in a large hospital, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2020-2021.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines were continually changing during the COVID-19 pandemic to reflect the best available evidence for a novel virus. In Kazakhstan, the national clinical guidelines for COVID-19 patient care were regularly modified and it was not known if and to what extent these guidelines were being followed in practice.

Methods: We conducted a sub-analysis of data collected from an observational study among people hospitalized with COVID-19 in a large infectious disease hospital in Almaty in four cross-sections of increased COVID-19 incidence: T1 (1 June-30 August 2020); T2 (1 October-31 December 2020); T3 (1 April-31 May 2021); and T4 (1 July-26 October 2021).

COVID-19 pandemic and other factors associated with unfavorable tuberculosis treatment outcomes-Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2018-2021.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively influenced the availability of tuberculosis (TB) services, such as detection, diagnosis and treatment, around the world, including Kazakhstan. We set out to estimate the COVID-19 pandemic influence on TB treatment outcomes by comparing outcomes among people starting treatment before the pandemic (2018-2019) and during the pandemic (2020-2021) and to determine risk factors associated with unfavorable outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among all people newly diagnosed with drug-sensitive pulmonary or extrapulmonary TB at least 18 years old who initiated treatment from 2018 to 2021 in Almaty.

Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine confidence among primary care providers in Kazakhstan, March-April 2021.

Introduction: Vaccination is a critical public health intervention, and vaccine hesitancy is a major threat. Globally, confidence in COVID-19 vaccines has been low, and rates of routine immunizations decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because healthcare providers are a trusted source of information on vaccination in Kazakhstan, it was vital to understand their knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) related to both routine and COVID-19 vaccines.

Excess deaths directly and indirectly attributable to COVID-19 using routinely reported mortality data, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 2020: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Studies on excess deaths (ED) show that reported deaths from COVID-19 underestimate death. To understand mortality for improved pandemic preparedness, we estimated ED directly and indirectly attributable to COVID-19 and ED by age groups.

Design: Cross-sectional study using routinely reported individual deaths data.

Effectiveness of four vaccines in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2021: retrospective population-based cohort study.

Background: In February 2021 Kazakhstan began offering COVID-19 vaccines to adults. Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections raised concerns about real-world vaccine effectiveness. We aimed to evaluate effectiveness of four vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Outbreak of acute gastroenteritis associated with drinking water in rural Kazakhstan: A matched case-control study.

We conducted an outbreak investigation from June 3 to 15th in a rural village in northern Kazakhstan, after surveillance showed an increase in gastroenteritis. Cases were residents who presented for medical treatment for diarrhea, fever (>37.5 °C), vomiting, or weakness from May 14 to June 15, 2021.

Molecular Markers of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine Resistance in Samples from Children with Uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum at Three Sites in Angola in 2019.

Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is used for prevention of malaria in pregnant women in Angola. We sequenced the Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase () and dihydropteroate synthase () genes, implicated in SP resistance, in samples collected during a 2019 study of artemisinin-based combination therapy efficacy in Benguela, Lunda Sul, and Zaire provinces. A total of 90 day 0 and day of failure samples were individually sequenced, while 508 day 0 samples from participants without recurrent parasitemia were pooled after DNA extraction into 61 pools.

Low engagement in HIV services and progress through the treatment cascade among key populations living with HIV in Mozambique: alarming gaps in knowledge of status.

Background: Mozambique has a generalized HIV epidemic of 13.5% among the general population. Early modeling exercises in Mozambique estimate that key populations (KP), defined as men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers (FSW), and people who inject drugs (PWID), along with their partners account for about one third of all new infections.

Recognizing the hidden: strengthening the HIV surveillance system among key and priority populations in Mozambique.

High quality, representative data from HIV surveillance systems that have country ownership and commitment are critical for guiding national HIV responses, especially among key and priority populations given their disproportionate role in the transmission of the virus. Between 2011 to 2013, the Mozambique Ministry of Health has conducted five Biobehavioral Surveillance Surveys among key populations (female sex workers, men who has sex with men and people who inject drugs) and priority populations (long distance truck drives and miners) as part of the national HIV surveillance system. We describe the experience of strengthening the HIV surveillance system among those populations through the implementation of these surveys in Mozambique.

Infection control response to an outbreak of OXA-23 carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in a skilled nursing facility in Utah.

Background: Antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter species are a growing public health threat, yet are not nationally notifiable, and most states do not mandate reporting. Additionally, there are no standardized methods to detect Acinetobacter species colonization.

Methods: An outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) was identified at a Utah ventilator unit in a skilled nursing facility.

Continued Low Efficacy of Artemether-Lumefantrine in Angola in 2019.

Biennial therapeutic efficacy monitoring is a crucial activity for ensuring the efficacy of currently used artemisinin-based combination therapy in Angola. Children with acute uncomplicated infection in sentinel sites in the Benguela, Zaire, and Lunda Sul Provinces were treated with artemether-lumefantrine (AL) or artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and monitored for 28 days to assess clinical and parasitological responses. Molecular correction was performed using seven microsatellite markers.

Population Size Estimate of Men Who Have Sex With Men, Female Sex Workers, and People Who Inject Drugs in Mozambique: A Multiple Methods Approach.

Background: Accurate estimates of key population size are necessary to design programs and policies to prevent and reduce new HIV infections and to monitor the dynamics of the epidemic. The first bio-behavioral surveillance surveys, with population size estimation activities, were conducted in Mozambique in 2010 to 2014.

Methods: We used multiple methods-sequential sampling, unique object, unique event, and service multipliers-to estimate the numbers of men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers (FSW), and people who inject drugs (PWID) living in major cities in Mozambique.

Access to and use of health and social services among people who inject drugs in two urban areas of Mozambique, 2014: qualitative results from a formative assessment.

Background: Prior to 2014, data about health seeking behaviors or service uptake for People who inject drugs (PWID) in Mozambique did not exist. We present the results from the formative assessment component of the Biological and Behavioral Survey (BBS).

Methods: Standardized interview guides were used during key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussions (FGD) in Maputo and Nampula/Nacala to discuss issues related to risk behaviors and access to and utilization of health and social services by PWID.

Clinical Sequelae Associated with Unresolved Tropical Splenomegaly in a Cohort of Recently Resettled Congolese Refugees in the United States-Multiple States, 2015-2018.

Tropical splenomegaly is often associated with malaria and schistosomiasis. In 2014 and 2015, 145 Congolese refugees in western Uganda diagnosed with splenomegaly during predeparture medical examinations underwent enhanced screening for various etiologies. After anecdotal reports of unresolved splenomegaly and complications after U.

Artemether-Lumefantrine Efficacy for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Malaria in Choco, Colombia after 8 Years as First-Line Treatment.

Artemether-lumefantrine (AL) is the first-line treatment for uncomplicated infection in Colombia. To assess AL efficacy for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Quibdo, Choco, Colombia, we conducted a 28-day therapeutic efficacy study (TES) following the WHO guidelines. From July 2018 to February 2019, febrile patients aged 5-65 years with microscopy-confirmed mono-infection and asexual parasite density of 250-100,000 parasites/µL were enrolled and treated with a supervised 3-day course of AL.

High prevalence of HIV, HBsAg and anti-HCV positivity among people who injected drugs: results of the first bio-behavioral survey using respondent-driven sampling in two urban areas in Mozambique.

Background: Few countries in sub-Saharan Africa know the magnitude of their HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs (PWID). This was the first study in Mozambique to measure prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV, and to assess demographic characteristics and risk behaviors in this key population.

Methods: We used respondent-driven sampling (RDS) to conduct a cross-sectional behavioral surveillance survey of PWID in two cities of Mozambique lasting six months.

How to Classify Super-Utilizers: A Methodological Review of Super-Utilizer Criteria Applied to the Utah Medicaid Population, 2016-2017.

A limited number of patients, commonly termed super-utilizers, account for the bulk of health care expenditures. Multiple criteria for identifying super-utilizers exist, but no standard methodology is available for determining which criteria should be used for a specific population. Application is often arbitrary, and poorly aligned super-utilizer criteria might result in misallocation of resources and diminished effects of interventions.

Use of electronic health records from a statewide health information exchange to support public health surveillance of diabetes and hypertension.

Background: Electronic health record (EHR) data, collected primarily for individual patient care and billing purposes, compiled in health information exchanges (HIEs) may have a secondary use for population health surveillance of noncommunicable diseases. However, data compilation across fragmented data sources into HIEs presents potential barriers and quality of data is unknown.

Methods: We compared 2015 patient data from a mid-size health system (Database A) to data from System A patients in the Utah HIE (Database B).