Magnitude of opportunistic infections and associated factors among HIV-infected individuals attending care and treatment clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study aims to assess the magnitude of opportunistic infection (OI) and to identify factors associated with OIs among people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral treatment (ART), attending HIV care and treatment clinics.

Design: A hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Setting: The study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital, Mwananyamala and Temeke Regional Referral Hospitals, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Seroprevalence of peste des petits ruminants in sheep and goats managed under pastoral and agro-pastoral systems.

Introduction: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an infectious disease that imposes substantial economic burdens on small ruminants (SR) production. For Tanzania to develop efficient management and eradication plans, it is essential to comprehend the seroprevalence of PPR designated for global elimination by 2030.

Methodology: This study investigated the prevalence of PPR in animals kept under pastoral and agropastoral communities in Tanzania.

adapted to steppe-desert climate extremes one million years ago.

Questions about when early members of the genus adapted to extreme environments like deserts and rainforests have traditionally focused on . Here, we present multidisciplinary evidence from Engaji Nanyori in Tanzania's Oldupai Gorge, revealing that thrived in hyperarid landscapes one million years ago. Using biogeochemical analyses, precise chronometric dating, palaeoclimate simulations, biome modeling, fire history reconstructions, palaeobotanical studies, faunal assemblages, and archeological evidence, we reconstruct an environment dominated by semidesert shrubland.

Factors Influencing Modern Family Planning Utilization and Barriers in Women of Reproductive Age in the Iringa Region, Tanzania: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Preventing unwanted pregnancies, achieving optimal child spacing, and improving quality of life are benefits of modern family planning (FP). This study aimed to assess modern FP use, identify the factors influencing its use and determine the barriers to FP use among women of reproductive age.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach was conducted in the Iringa Region between March and July 2022.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers to Managing Labor Pain Among Tanzanian Women Using Non-pharmacological Interventions.

Managing labor pain effectively is crucial for ensuring positive maternal health outcomes. In Tanzania, cultural barriers often hinder the acceptance and utilization of non-pharmacological pain management interventions. This clinical consultation explored strategies for overcoming these cultural barriers to improve labor pain management among Tanzanian women using non-pharmacological interventions.

Starting a cultural collective for mothers of children with disabilities: A case study.

Background: Caring for children with disabilities in Tanzania involves significant challenges, including stigma, limited support and mental health risks. A cultural collective for caretakers of children with disabilities enrolled at a primary school was established to address these issues.

Objectives: The study aims to explore the experiences of caregivers who started a cultural collective and to assess its impact on their lives in the short term.

Half logistic exponentiated inverse Rayleigh distribution: Properties and application to life time data.

This paper presents a novel extension of the exponentiated inverse Rayleigh distribution called the half-logistic exponentiated inverse Rayleigh distribution. This extension improves the flexibility of the distribution for modeling lifetime data for both monotonic and non-monotonic hazard rates. The statistical properties of the half-logistic exponentiated inverse Rayleigh distribution, such as the quantiles, moments, reliability, and hazard function, are examined.

Revisiting Africa's Stroke Obstacles and Services (SOS).

Background: As one of the most common non-communicable diseases in Africa, Stroke ought to be dealt with properly with intensifying efforts to control its burden and to face obstacles in its management.

Methods And Results: In this follow-up study we reanalyzed stroke services and related obstacles in 17 African countries that were previously studied in 2021/22 in aspects related to manpower, acute stroke services, rehabilitation programs, number of stroke units/centers, telestroke services, awareness campaigns, and national and international stroke registries through a survey that was sent to stroke specialists and national stroke societies. Overall, there is an improvement in many fields yet many obstacles in the implementation of telestroke services, acute management, secondary prevention, post-discharge services, and follow-ups whether governmental, medical, or societal are prevalent.

Factors associated with knowledge and practice regarding oxygen administration: A cross-sectional study among registered nurses working in wards and ICUs at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: Oxygen is a vital therapy approved by WHO, crucial for critically ill patients as a supplemental treatment. Nurses' pivotal role in oxygen administration is poorly understood. This study aimed to assess factors associated with oxygen administration to critically ill patients among nurses at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Economic burden of musculoskeletal disorders in Tanzania: results from a community-based survey.

Objectives: To identify, measure and value the economic burden of musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania.

Design: Community-based cross-sectional survey (undertaken between January and September 2021).

Setting: Hai district, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

Building Public Health Quantitative Methods Capacity and Networks in sub-Saharan Africa: An Evaluation of a Faculty Training Program.

Introduction: There is a shortage of individuals trained in using quantitative methods in biomedical research in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Improving public health in SSA requires new ways to promote quantitative knowledge and skills among faculty in biomedical research and better-integrated network systems of support.

Methods: We describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of an innovative faculty training and support program in SSA from December 2017-June 2020, using courses in monitoring and evaluation, data management, and complex surveys as prototypical examples.

Decoding the blueprint of receptor binding by filoviruses through large-scale binding assays and machine learning.

Evidence suggests that bats are important hosts of filoviruses, yet the specific species involved remain largely unidentified. Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) is an essential entry receptor, with amino acid variations influencing viral susceptibility and species-specific tropism. Herein, we conducted combinatorial binding studies with seven filovirus glycoproteins (GPs) and NPC1 orthologs from 81 bat species.

Knowledge of Mandatory Reporting Laws and Recording of Clients' Abuse Data: Effects of a Sexual Health Curriculum Training for Health Students in Tanzania.

Tanzania mandated reporting laws aim to identify and address child abuse, yet healthcare students' awareness and reporting are limited. This study assessed training's impact on their knowledge of reporting laws and handling confidential child abuse data. The study involved 412 medical and nursing students in a randomized controlled trial (RCT), with 206 participants receiving sexual health training and a waitlist control group of equal size receiving no intervention.

Bedford, 1931, a sole extant species of the genus - a scoping review.

Bedford, 1931 is the sole extant tick species that belongs to the genus and family and Nuttalliellidae respectively. With the characteristics that are respectively distinctive to hard and soft ticks, it is regarded as the species closest to the ancestral lineage of ticks as well as the missing link between the Argasidae and Ixodidae families. In this review, literature search of the articles reporting on was done in Google Scholar and PubMed databases.

Development of a rapid and highly sensitive nucleic acid-based diagnostic test for schistosomes, leveraging on identical multi-repeat sequences.

Introduction: Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia), a neglected tropical disease caused by parasites, afflicts over 240 million people globally, disproportionately impacting Sub-Saharan Africa. Current diagnostic tests, despite their utility, suffer from limitations like low sensitivity. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) remain the most common and sensitive nucleic acid amplification tests.

Incidence and Progression of Diastolic Dysfunction in People With HIV in Tanzania: A Comparative Cohort.

Background: People living with HIV (PLWH) have a higher prevalence of diastolic dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in cross-sectional studies. Longitudinal data are lacking, especially from Africa.

Objectives: The aim was to examine: 1) the incidence of diastolic dysfunction in PLWH compared to community controls in Tanzania; 2) the progression of diastolic function and LVH in PLWH after antiretroviral therapy initiation; and 3) traditional, endemic, and HIV-specific risk factors for diastolic function and LVH.

Utility of glass slide morphology (GSM) and whole slide image (WSI) in the diagnosis of acute leukemia (AL) by types.

Acute leukemia (AL) is a diverse group of hematological malignancies characterised by the accumulation of immature blast cells in the bone marrow. Accurate classification into acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is essential for treatment and prognosis. This study aimed to assess the performance of glass slide morphology (GSM) using a light microscope versus whole slide imaging (WSI) in diagnosing and classifying AL, using flow cytometry as the gold standard test.

Efficient Detection of West Nile Virus in Urine Specimens by a Novel In-House RT-qPCR Detection Kit.

West Nile Virus (WNV) infection represents a major global public health challenge. Even though most of the patients are asymptomatic, some cases progress to critical condition which may be fatal. Diagnosis traditionally relies on serological methods, but their limitations, including cross-reactivity, highlight the need for alternative approaches.

Larviciding for malaria control and elimination in Africa.

Background: Global progress toward malaria elimination and eradication goals has stagnated in recent years, with many African countries reporting increases in malaria morbidity and mortality. Insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying are effective, but the emergence and increased intensity of insecticide resistance and the challenge of outdoor transmission are undermining their impact. New tools are needed to get back on track towards global targets.

Sinonasal extramedullary plasmacytoma: A case report and review of the literature.

Primary solitary extramedullary plasmacytoma is a malignant neoplasm characterized by the monoclonal proliferation of plasma cells outside the bone marrow. The tumor rarely occurs in the sinonasal tract, accounting for about 4% of all non-epithelial sinonasal tumors. Herein, the authors describe a rare case of sinonasal extramedullary plasmacytoma in a 33-year-old man who presented with a 3-month history of progressively increasing nasal mass, causing obstruction.

Knowledge of and perception towards eclampsia among women and men in Unguja Island, Zanzibar: A qualitative study.

Background: Eclampsia is among the primary causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in Zanzibar. Many women and men are not aware of the signs, symptoms and causes of eclampsia and may have different explanatory models. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the community understanding of pre-eclampsia, as a key stage to improve maternal and perinatal health in Unguja Island, Zanzibar.

Bayesian predictive modelling to ascertain factors affecting cattle milk production in Tanzania: Evidence from the national panel surveys 2012 - 2021.

This study aimed to evaluate and compare Bayesian predictive models to identify and quantify the key household inputs affecting cattle milk production in Tanzania. A sample of 1,266 households with at least one milked cow was extracted from the National Panel Survey datasets, the data were collected in 2012/2013 (wave 3), 2014/2015 (wave 4), and 2020/2021 (wave 5). Two generalized linear and generalized additive mixed models were fitted using the Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation.

Reducing fragmentation of primary healthcare financing for more equitable, people-centred primary healthcare.

Despite primary healthcare (PHC) being recognised in global declarations-Alma Ata in 1978 and Astana in 2018-and prioritised in national health strategies, chronic under-resourcing of PHC persists in most low-income and middle-income countries. More public spending is needed for PHC, but macrofiscal and political constraints often limit the ability of governments to allocate more public resources to PHC. Under-resourcing has been compounded by fragmented and rigid funding flows, which are inefficient and may erode equity, quality of care and public trust in PHC.

Laparoscopic appendectomy secondary to afebrile acute perforated appendicitis mimicking threatened abortion in first trimester pregnancy in Tanzania: A case report.

Introduction: Appendicitis in pregnancy is the most common non-obstetric surgical condition which requires urgent evaluation and immediate intervention in a multidisciplinary approach. Pregnancy anatomical and physiological changes can mask the presentation of appendicitis and poses both diagnostic and management challenges.

Case Presentation: A 32 year old female, G3P2L2 at gestation age of 11 weeks by USS, presented with recurrent episodes of acute abdominal pain for one day, afebrile but accompanied with poor appetite, nausea and vomiting along episodes of per vaginal spotting which started three days prior.