First report of epidemic dengue fever and malaria co-infections among internally displaced persons in humanitarian camps of North Darfur, Sudan.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate an outbreak of a non-malaria, undifferentiated febrile illness, among internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in humanitarian camps in North Darfur, Sudan, in 2019.

Methods: An investigation team was deployed to North Darfur to identify suspected cases and collect blood samples, and clinical and demographical data. Blood samples were examined microscopically for Plasmodium spp and tested for dengue (DENV) and yellow fever viruses by reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase-1/2 blockade locks dendritic cells in the semimature state associated with FA deprivation by favoring FAO.

Immunometabolism is rising as an intriguing topic that reveals the connection between immune cell function and metabolic processes. Especially, fatty acid metabolism plays an essential role in the dendritic cells (DCs) during the differentiation and maturation period. We questioned whether regulation of acetyl-CoA carboxylases 1 and 2-(ACC1/2), the core enzymes of fatty acid synthesis (FAS), would control DC function.

Intratracheal inoculation of human varicella zoster virus (VZV; MAV strain) vaccine successfully induced VZV IgG antibodies in rhesus monkeys.

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate whether the use of live attenuated varicella zoster virus (VZV) MAV vaccination can efficiently induce VZV antibody production in naive rhesus monkeys as an approach to prevent simian varicella virus (SVV) reactivation in animals immunosuppressed for transplantation studies.

Results: Clinically available human VZV vaccine was used to induce the production of anti-VZV antibodies in rhesus monkeys. A vial of the vaccine was subcutaneously injected at 0 week, and the second and third vaccination was performed at 5 and 6 weeks by intratracheal inoculation.

Contrasting epidemiology and genetic variation of Plasmodium vivax infecting Duffy-negative individuals across Africa.

Objectives: Plasmodium vivax malaria was thought to be rare in Africans who lack the Duffy blood group antigen expression. However, recent studies indicate that P. vivax can infect Duffy-negative individuals and has spread into areas of high Duffy negativity across Africa.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Intestinal Helminthiasis in Remote Mountainous Villages of Northern Lao PDR: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Helminth infections are prevalent in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). This study aimed at determining the prevalence and risk factors of intestinal helminthiasis in remote mountainous villages of northern Lao PDR. During the dry season in January 2017, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in 3 remote mountainous villages in Oudomxay province, Lao PDR.

Detection and characterization of carbapenem resistant Gram-negative bacilli isolates recovered from hospitalized patients at Soba University Hospital, Sudan.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a complex threat to global health security and universal health coverage. Recently, nosocomial infections with carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) is increasing worldwide. We report the molecular characterization and detection of genes associated with carbapenemase producing Gram negative bacteria isolated from hospitalized patients at Soba University Hospital (SUH) in Khartoum State, Sudan.

New Genotype of Found in Live Rodents in Yunnan Province, China.

Yunnan Province, China is thought to be the original source of biovar Orientalis of , the causative agent of the third plague pandemic that has spread globally since the end of the 19th century. Although encompassing a large area of natural plague foci, strains have rarely been found in live rodents during surveillance in Yunnan, and most isolates are from rodent corpses and their fleas. In 2017, 10 strains were isolated from seven live rodents and three fleas in Heqing County of Yunnan.

Single Administration of a Biodegradable, Separable Microneedle Can Substitute for Repeated Application of Eyedrops in the Treatment of Infectious Keratitis.

Infectious keratitis is mainly treated with topical antibiotics. To achieve and maintain the required therapeutic concentration in the cornea where the tear fluid continuously rinses the surface, the antibiotics must be frequently applied, even while the patient is sleeping, and oral medication is sometimes required. However, the inevitably poor compliance and avascular nature of the cornea decrease drug bioavailability.

Murine Double Minute 2 Gene () rs937283A/G variant significantly increases the susceptibility to breast cancer in Saudi Women.

Breast cancer is predominant causes of mortality in women worldwide. Genetic polymorphisms have a significant role in breast cancer aetiology. and its inhibitor the murine double minute ) genes encode proteins that have crucial functions in the DNA damage response.

Genetic diversity of the Sudanese: insights on origin and implications for health.

By virtue of their cultural, linguistic and genetic legacies, many populations from Sudan have deep histories in the region and retain high genetic diversities. Sudan's location in north east Africa, a unique spot believed to act as a climatic refuge during periods of climate extremes, might have dictated that fate. Among the marked consequences of this diversity is the potential to provide information on the origin and structure of human populations within and outside the continent, as well as migration patterns towards various parts of the African continent, and out of Africa.

Meta-analysis of Association Studies of Selenoprotein Gene Polymorphism and Kashin-Beck Disease: an Updated Systematic Review.

To evaluate the association between selenoprotein gene polymorphisms and Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) susceptibility through a systematic review and updated meta-analysis. PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane library, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were electronically searched using the terms "selenoprotein" and "Kashin-Beck disease" or "KBD" with a search time from the establishment of the database to January 2021. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used for methodological quality evaluation of the included studies.

Safety and immunogenicity of ChAd63-KH vaccine in post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis patients in Sudan.

Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a chronic, stigmatizing skin condition occurring frequently after apparent clinical cure from visceral leishmaniasis. Given an urgent need for new treatments, we conducted a phase IIa safety and immunogenicity trial of ChAd63-KH vaccine in Sudanese patients with persistent PKDL. LEISH2a (ClinicalTrials.

Assessment of chronic disease management mode (CDMM) on participants with primary hypertension.

Objective: Hypertension requires continuous and long-term care to prevent associated complications. Chronic disease management mode (CDMM) was developed to improve patients' self-management. We aimed to evaluate quality of care and clinical outcomes of CDMM versus routine care.

Reduction of Smad2 caused by oxidative stress leads to necrotic death of hypertrophic chondrocytes associated with an endemic osteoarthritis.

Objective: The occurrence and development of an endemic OA, Kashin-Beck disease (KBD), is closely related to oxidative stress induced by free radicals. The aim of the study was to find the key signalling molecules or pathogenic factors as a potential treatment strategy for KBD.

Methods: Real-time PCR and western blotting were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels in cells and tissues.

Quantitative Analysis of Candidate Endodontic Pathogens and Their Association with Cause and Symptoms of Apical Periodontitis in a Sudanese Population.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of key endodontic pathogens and their association with the clinical features and the cause of apical periodontitis.

Methods: The study population included patients referred to Khartoum Dental teaching Hospital, Sudan for endodontic treatment. Samples were collected from single-rooted teeth carious or traumatised teeth with clinical and radiographic evidence of apical periodontitis.

Emergent chikungunya fever and vertical transmission in Yunnan Province, China, 2019.

During the dengue epidemic in Yunnan Province, China, during 2019, a concurrent outbreak of chikungunya occurred in the city of Ruili, which is located in the southwest of the province, adjacent to Myanmar. As part of this outbreak, three neonatal cases of infection with indigenous chikungunya virus from mother-to-child (vertical) transmission were observed. Isolates of chikungunya virus were obtained from 37 serum samples of patients with chikungunya during this outbreak, and a phylogenetic analysis of these isolates revealed that they belong to the Indian Ocean subclade of the East/Central/South African genotype.

A possible role for ticks in the transmission of Madurella mycetomatis in a mycetoma-endemic village in Sudan.

Background: Currently there is a wide knowledge gap in our understanding of mycetoma epidemiological characteristics, including the infection route.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological study was carried out to determine the role of exposure to animals and insects such as ticks in the transmission of eumycetoma in two adjacent villages at eastern Sudan.

Results: Significant differences were found between the two villages in the level of contact and exposure to animals and ticks, the percentages of people bitten by ticks, participation in cleaning animal pens and knowledge of the medical importance of ticks.

COVID-19 in Sudan.

The steadily growing COVID-19 pandemic is challenging health systems worldwide including Sudan. In Sudan, the first COVID-19 case was reported on 13th March 2020, and up to 11 November 2020 there were 14,401 confirmed cases of which 9,535 cases recovered and the rest 3,750 cases were under treatment. Additionally, 1,116 deaths were reported, indicating a relatively high case fatality rate of 7.

Molecular and morphological identification of suspected Plasmodium vivax vectors in Central and Eastern Sudan.

Background: In spite of the global effort to eliminate malaria, it remains the most significant vector-borne disease of humans. Plasmodium falciparum is the dominant malaria parasite in sub-Saharan Africa. However, Plasmodium vivax is becoming widely spread throughout Africa.

The ScaB Autotransporter Protein Is Required for Adhesion and Invasion of Mammalian Cells.

Autotransporter proteins are widely present in Gram-negative bacteria. They play a pivotal role in processes related to bacterial pathogenesis, including adhesion, invasion, colonization, biofilm formation, and cellular toxicity. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that , the causative agent of scrub typhus, encodes six different autotransporter genes (-).

The dichotomy of the systemic and local cytokine responses of mucosal leishmaniasis patients in Sudan: A pilot study.

Sudanese mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) is a rare clinical form of leishmaniasis and characterized by persistent ulcer of the oral and/or the nasal mucous membranes caused by Leishmania donovani. No data is available about the systemic and local immune responses in mucosal leishmaniasis. This study aimed to measure the systemic and the local cytokines responses of Sudanese ML patients compared to cured cutaneous leishmaniasis patients (Leishmanin skin test positive, LST+ve) and unexposed healthy controls (Leishmanin skin test negative, LST-ve).