Antibiotic use and adherence to the WHO AWaRe guidelines across 16 hospitals in Zambia: a point prevalence survey.

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.

Infection Rates and Characterisation of (Rickettsiaceae) Detected in Species from Southern Africa.

Tick-borne rickettsioses are considered among the oldest known vector-borne zoonotic diseases. Among the rickettsiae, is the most reported and important in Africa, as it is the aetiological agent of African tick bite fever (ATBF). Studies describing the prevalence of .

Intra- and interspecific variation of Amblyomma ticks from southern Africa.

Background: Amblyomma spp. ticks, known for their long mouthparts, bright ornate appearance and aggressive hunting behaviour, are vectors of a number of important pathogens. In southern Africa, 17 Amblyomma spp.

Trends, patterns and relationship of antimicrobial use and resistance in bacterial isolates tested between 2015-2020 in a national referral hospital of Zambia.

Increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among bacteria underscores the need to strengthen AMR surveillance and promote data-based prescribing. To evaluate trends and associations between antimicrobial usage (AMU) and AMR, we explored a dataset of 34,672 bacterial isolates collected between 2015 and 2020 from clinical samples at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia. The most frequently isolated species were Escherichia coli (4,986/34,672; 14.

Antibiotic prescribing patterns and carriage of antibiotic-resistant and species in healthy individuals from selected communities in Lusaka and Ndola districts, Zambia.

Objectives: This study assessed antibiotic prescribing patterns in primary healthcare facilities and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of commensal and enterococci isolated from pregnant women and children under 5 years of age.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Lusaka and Ndola districts of Zambia. Prescription pattern data were obtained from hospital pharmacies.

The Immunogenicity of a Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Serotype O Vaccine in Commercial and Subsistence Cattle Herds in Zambia.

The recent introduction of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus serotype O (O/EA-2 topotype) in Southern Africa has changed the epidemiology of the disease and vaccine requirements of the region. Commercial and subsistence cattle herds in Zambia were vaccinated with an FMD virus serotype O Manisa vaccine according to a double- or single-dose vaccination schedule. Heterologous antibody responses induced by this vaccine against a representative O/EA-2 virus from Zambia were determined.

Multidrug-Resistant from Raw Cow Milk in Namwala District, Zambia: Public Health Implications.

(), a major foodborne disease-causing pathogen found in raw cow milk, has even far more reaching public health ramifications as it encodes for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study aimed to identify multidrug-resistant (MDR) from raw cow's milk and evaluate their antimicrobial-resistant profiles. In total, 418 pooled raw cow milk samples were collected from milk collection centers and analysed using standard culture methods to isolate Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) was conducted using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method and PCR was used to identify cefotaxime (CTX) resistant genes.

in ready to eat meat products from Zambia: phenotypical and genomic characterization of isolates.

The contamination of ready to eat foods (RTE) products due to could compromise the products safety becoming a great risk for the consumers. The high presence of in RTE products has been described worldwide, but few data are available about these products from African countries. The aims of this study were to report the presence of in Zambian RTE products, providing genomic characterization and data on similarity with African circulating strains using whole genome sequencing (WGS).

Contamination of selected heavy metals in (Boulenger, 1906) in the four strata of Lake Kariba Zambia: are the consumers at risk?

Pollution of aquatic ecosystems is one of the major challenges affecting many countries of the world. Heavy metal pollutants, in particular, threaten the life of aquatic organisms (fauna and flora) and, more importantly, humans who consume aquatic products as a critical source of proteins. In the present study, the concentrations of selected heavy metals (cobalt- Co, Chromium-Cr, nickel- Ni and manganese- Mn) in , locally known as 'Kapenta' were assessed using the Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (MP AES) 4200 at the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI).

Dogs' health and demographics in wildlife-populated and tsetse-infested villages of Mambwe district, eastern Zambia.

Good dog-keeping practices and access to veterinary care are essential for the well-being of dogs. As the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the rural canine population in Zambia are poorly understood, we followed a cohort of 162 indigenous dogs for six months in wildlife-populated and tsetse-infested villages of Mambwe district, eastern Zambia to gain deeper insights. Dogs lacked basic home and veterinary care, they were often starved and burdened with ticks, and some passed live adult worms in their stool.

Tropical infections as occupational diseases among young volunteers in social projects.

Purpose: The trend of volunteering overseas has increased tremendously over the last decade. Volunteers often go to regions where they are exposed to the risk of tropical infections like malaria, dengue, typhoid fever and schistosomiasis. Health assessments have shown a high occurrence of tropical infections among young volunteers.

spp. in Ticks of South Luangwa Valley, Eastern Province, Zambia.

Ticks are important vectors for spp. belonging to the Spotted Fever Group responsible for causing Rickettsiosis worldwide. Rickettsioses pose an underestimated health risk to tourists and local inhabitants.

Current status and molecular epidemiology of rabies virus from different hosts and regions in Malawi.

Although rabies is endemic in Malawi, there have been no studies in which rabies virus was systematically investigated and characterized in multiple animal hosts in that country. In order to provide molecular epidemiological data on rabies virus in Malawi, 683 suspected rabies case reports from 2008 to 2021 were examined, and 46 (dog = 40, cow = 5, and cat = 1) viable rabies-positive brain samples archived at the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL), Lilongwe, Malawi, were analyzed genetically. The results showed an increase in the submission of brain samples from 2008 to 2010, with the highest number of submissions observed in 2020.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) seroprevalence in the South Pacific populations of the Cook Islands and Vanuatu with associated environmental and social factors.

Background: Arthropod-borne diseases pose a significant and increasing risk to global health. Given its rapid dissemination, causing large-scale outbreaks with severe human infections and economic loss, the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is one of the most important arboviruses worldwide. Despite its significance, the real global impact of CHIKV remains underestimated as outbreak data are often incomplete and based solely on syndromic surveillance.

Genetic diversity in Babesia bovis from southern Africa and estimation of B. bovis infection levels in cattle using an optimised quantitative PCR assay.

Babesia bovis is a causal agent of bovine babesiosis, a disease which leads to mortality and morbidity and impacts the cattle industry worldwide. We amplified, cloned and sequenced the B. bovis merozoite surface antigen-2b (msa-2b) gene (940 bp) and the near full-length 18S rRNA gene (1600 bp) from cattle samples from South Africa and Mozambique to determine sequence variation between B.