Cross border population movements across three East African states: Implications for disease surveillance and response.

The frequent population movement across the five East African Countries poses risk of disease spread in the region. A clear understanding of population movement patterns is critical for informing cross-border disease control interventions. We assessed population mobility patterns across the borders of the East African states of Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.

Molecular Epidemiology and AMR Perspective of Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Introduction: Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) persistently challenges public health in Africa, contributing substantially to the diarrhoeal disease burden. This systematic review and meta-analysis illuminate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of DEC pathotypes across the continent.

Methods: The review selectively focused on pathotype-specific studies reporting prevalence and/or AMR of human-derived DEC pathotypes from African nations, excluding data from extra-intestinal, animal, and environmental sources and studies focused on drug and mechanism experiments.

Antimicrobial stewardship situation analysis in selected hospitals in Zambia: findings and implications from a national survey.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs are critical in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Zambia, there is little information regarding the capacity of hospitals to establish and implement AMS programs. The objective of this study was to conduct a baseline assessment of WHO core elements for an AMS program implementation in eight hospitals in Zambia.

Inclusive Crisis Communication in a Pandemic Context: A Rapid Review.

Crisis communication might not reach non-native speakers or persons with low literacy levels, a low socio-economic status, and/or an auditory or visual impairments as easily as it would reach other citizens. The aim of this rapid review was to synthesize the evidence on strategies used to improve inclusive pandemic-related crisis communication in terms of form, channel, and outreach. After a comprehensive search and a rigorous screening and quality assessment exercise, twelve comparative studies were selected for inclusion in this review.

Dynamic Progression of Hypertension and Diabetes in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2019 to 2023.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) does not have national prevalence data for arterial hypertension (HTN) or diabetes (type I and II combined) to aid evidence-based decision-making, despite the assumption of epidemiological transition in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to estimate a proxy of prevalence for HTN and diabetes. This study used routine monthly reported data pertaining to HTN and diabetes from the District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2), spanning 2019-2023.

An assessment of excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic, a retrospective post-mortem surveillance in 12 districts - Zambia, 2020-2022.

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.

Treatment Effects in Randomized and Nonrandomized Studies of Pharmacological Interventions: A Meta-Analysis.

Importance: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are widely regarded as the methodological benchmark for assessing clinical efficacy and safety of health interventions. There is growing interest in using nonrandomized studies to assess efficacy and safety of new drugs.

Objective: To determine how treatment effects for the same drug compare when evaluated in nonrandomized vs randomized studies.

Optimising Clinical Epidemiology in Disease Outbreaks: Analysis of ISARIC-WHO COVID-19 Case Report Form Utilisation.

Standardised forms for capturing clinical data promote consistency in data collection and analysis across research sites, enabling faster, higher-quality evidence generation. ISARIC and the World Health Organization have developed case report forms (CRFs) for the clinical characterisation of several infectious disease outbreaks. To improve the design and quality of future forms, we analysed the inclusion and completion rates of the 243 fields on the ISARIC-WHO COVID-19 CRF.

EsxA, a type VII secretion system-dependent effector, reveals a novel function in the sporulation of Bacillus cereus ATCC14579.

Background: Bacillus cereus is a Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium that produces a spectrum of effectors integral to bacterial niche adaptation and the development of various infections. Among those is EsxA, whose secretion depends on the EssC component of the type VII secretion system (T7SS). EsxA's roles within the bacterial cell are poorly understood, although postulations indicate that it may be involved in sporulation.

Observational study on the characteristics of COVID-19 transmission dynamics during the first wave of the epidemic in Lusaka, 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.

A Situation Analysis of the Capacity of Laboratories in Faith-Based Hospitals in Zambia to Conduct Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance: Opportunities to Improve Diagnostic Stewardship.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a public health problem exacerbated by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics and the inadequate capacity of laboratories to conduct AMR surveillance. This study assessed the capacity of laboratories in seven faith-based hospitals to conduct AMR testing and surveillance in Zambia. This multi-facility, cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted from February 2024 to April 2024.

Wastewater Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Zambia: An Early Warning Tool.

Wastewater-based surveillance has emerged as an important method for monitoring the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater in Zambia. We conducted a longitudinal study in the Copperbelt and Eastern provinces of Zambia from October 2023 to December 2023 during which 155 wastewater samples were collected.

Child Immunization Coverage in Urban Settings of Twelve Provinces Plus Kabul, Afghanistan, 2019.

Low immunization and discrepancies in data sources have been a consistent challenge in Afghanistan. The objective of this was to estimate the coverage of immunization status among children of 12-23 months in urban settings of 12 provinces plus Kabul, Afghanistan in 2019. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the capital of 12 cities of polio high-risk provinces plus Kabul during October-December 2019.

Use what you have: leveraging microbiology support to develop a cumulative antibiotic susceptibility report for antimicrobial stewardship at a district hospital in Ghana.

Background: Antibiograms provide effective support for empirical prescribing and antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs). In low-resource settings, microbiology systems to develop antibiograms may be rudimentary or entirely lacking, which may place such facilities at a disadvantage. Notwithstanding this, facilities should use what they have to support ASPs to inform evidence-based antibiotic use.

Assessment of the performance of five malaria rapid diagnostic tests in health facilities in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).

Regular monitoring of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for the management of uncomplicated malaria in healthcare facilities is a key factor in improving diagnostic quality and ensuring better case management. This study aimed to assess the performance of five RDTs (Standard Q Malaria P.f Ag and Standard Q Malaria P.

Drivers and epidemiological patterns of West Nile virus in Serbia.

Background: West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen in Serbia, where it has been detected as a cause of infection in humans since 2012. We analyzed and modelled WNV transmission patterns in the country between 2012 and 2023.

Methods: We applied a previously developed modelling approach to quantify epidemiological parameters of interest and to identify the most important environmental drivers of the force of infection (FOI) by means of statistical analysis in the human population in the country.

Associations between digital health literacy and health system navigating abilities among Norwegian adolescents: validating the HLS-DIGI scale using Rasch modeling.

Background: Despite increasing global attention to health literacy and adolescents' digital health information seeking, no unidimensional instruments measuring digital health literacy (DHL) in adolescents have reportedly been validated using Rasch modeling. Moreover, the evidence of adolescents' abilities to navigate the health system (NAV-HL) in light of their DHL proficiency is still scarce. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of a DHL instrument (HLS-DIGI scale) in order to investigate DHL in adolescents and young adults aged 16-25 and associations with abilities to navigate the health system.

Implementation of the clinical practice guidelines among family medicine doctors at primary health care facilities in Khartoum and Gezira states of Sudan.

Introduction: The health system in Sudan faces several challenges, including increasing numbers of patients, shortages of health supplies, and disparities in the distribution of health services. Guidelines implementation improves patients' outcomes and ensures efficient use of the resources in such a resource limited country. The study aimed to assess the implementation of the clinical practice guidelines among family medicine doctors working in the primary health care centers in Khartoum and Gezira states to provide baseline data about the current practice in Sudan.

Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on routine childhood immunizations coverage in Zambia.

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.

Pandemic burden in low-income settings and impact of limited and delayed interventions: A granular modelling analysis of COVID-19 in Kabwe, Zambia.

Objectives: Pandemic response in low-income countries (LICs) or settings often suffers from scarce epidemic surveillance and constrained mitigation capacity. The drivers of pandemic burden in such settings, and the impact of limited and delayed interventions remain poorly understood.

Methods: We analysed COVID-19 seroprevalence and all-cause excess deaths data from the peri-urban district of Kabwe, Zambia between March 2020 and September 2021 with a novel mathematical model.

Shiga Toxin-Producing Strains from Romania: A Whole Genome-Based Description.

The zoonotic Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) group is unanimously regarded as exceptionally hazardous for humans. This study aimed to provide a genomic perspective on the STEC recovered sporadically from humans and have a foundation of internationally comparable data. Fifty clinical STEC isolates, representing the culture-confirmed infections reported by the STEC Reference Laboratory between 2016 and 2023, were subjected to whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis and sequences were interpreted using both commercial and public free bioinformatics tools.