Beyond the fever: shotgun metagenomic sequencing of stool unveils pathogenic players in HIV-infected children with non-malarial febrile illness.

Background: Non-malarial febrile illnesses (NMFI) pose significant challenges in HIV-infected children, often leading to severe complications and increased morbidity. While traditional diagnostic approaches focus on specific pathogens, shotgun metagenomic sequencing offers a comprehensive tool to explore the microbial landscape underlying NMFI in this vulnerable population ensuring effective management.

Methods: In this study, we employed shotgun metagenomics to analyse stool samples from HIV-infected children at the Baylor Children's Clinic Uganda presenting with non-malarial febrile illness.

Prevalence of epilepsy across 25 sub-counties in three districts of northern Uganda.

Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions worldwide, with large variation in prevalence across Sub-Saharan Africa countries. Northern Uganda is one of the poorest areas of the country and has seen high density of pigs and prevalence of Taenia solium, a zoonotic tapeworm transmitted which cause neurocysticercosis in humans. The objective of this study was to estimate the population-level prevalence of active epilepsy in 25 sub-counties of northern Uganda.

Community Perspectives on Optimizing Community Health Volunteer Roles for HIV Prevention Services in Kenya and Uganda.

Community health workers (CHWs) play a significant role in supporting health services delivery in communities with few trained health care providers. There has been limited research on ways to optimize the role of CHWs in HIV prevention service delivery. This study explored CHWs' experiences with offering HIV prevention services [HIV testing and HIV pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP and PEP)] during three pilot studies in rural communities in Kenya and Uganda, which aimed to increase biomedical HIV prevention coverage via a structured patient-centered HIV prevention delivery model.

West Nile Fever- a looming risk and a call for effective response.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is an arboviral single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Flaviviridae family. Initial reports of the virus were found in 1937 when the WNV was isolated from a febrile individual from Uganda and later reported from Algeria, West Africa, and the Middle East. Since then, every year cases of WNV infections are emerging and posing a threat to public health.

Phylogenetic and structural characterization of Kentomonas inusitatus n. sp.: Unique insect trypanosomatid of the Strigomonadinae subfamily naturally lacking bacterial endosymbiont.

All insect trypanosomatids of the subfamily Strigomonadinae harbor a proteobacterial symbiont in their cytoplasm and unique ultrastructural cell organization. Here, we report an unexpected finding within the Strigomonadinae subfamily: the identification of a new species lacking bacterial symbiont, represented by two isolates obtained from Calliphoridae flies in Brazil and Uganda. This species is hereby designated as Kentomonas inusitatus n.

Comparative Analysis of Virology and Pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and HIV Infections: Implications for Public Health and Treatment Strategies.

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are significant 21st-century pandemics with distinct virological and clinical characteristics. COVID-19 primarily presents as an acute respiratory illness, while HIV leads to chronic immune suppression. Understanding their differences can enhance public health strategies and treatment approaches.

Patients with advanced cancer in Uganda: Gender, social norms, and family relationship icebergs in the face of terminal illness.

Objectives: Cancer is associated with physical, social, spiritual, and psychological changes in patients and their caregivers. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, there is lack of evidence on the impact of gender, social norms, and relationship dynamics in the face of terminal illness. The aim of this paper is to explore how gender identity, social norms, and power relations are impacted when a person is living in Uganda with advanced cancer.

Socio-economic and demographic determinants of undernutrition among 6-59 months old children living in Malawian stunting hotspots: a cross-sectional community study.

Background: Malnutrition is a global burden, with 171 million under-five children stunted and 45% of child deaths linked to it. Despite high undernutrition such as stunting in Mchinji, Mangochi, and Mzimba, no study has focused on all three hot spots. This study examined socio-economic and demographic determinants of undernutrition among children aged 6-59 months, offering insights to guide targeted interventions in these areas.

Challenges in managing osteogenesis imperfecta in a resource-limited setting: a case report.

Introduction: Osteogenesis imperfecta is a rare inherited connective tissue disorder that results in excessive bone fragility due to defects in collagen production. The majority of osteogenesis imperfecta cases are inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, and 17 genetic causes have been identified. Diagnosis is usually based on clinical presentation and low bone mineral density scores, while treatment involves a multidisciplinary approach using medical therapies such as bisphosphonates, vitamin C, and pamidronate.

Mixed vulnerabilities: the biological risk of high parity is aggravated by emergency referral in Benin, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.

Identification of interacting vulnerabilities is essential to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). High parity (≥ 5 previous births) is an underemphasized biological vulnerability linked to poverty and affecting a sizeable proportion of SSA births. Despite increased risk, high parity women rarely use hospitals for childbirth.

Improving diagnostics and surveillance of malaria among displaced people in Africa.

African communities that have been forced to leave their homes experience a considerably greater susceptibility to malaria as a result of densely populated living conditions, restricted availability of healthcare, and environmental influences. Internally displaced individuals frequently live in large settlements with restricted availability to drinking water, essential sanitation, and medical services, intensifying the spread of malaria. As a result, the occurrence of malaria is significantly more common among refugees and internally displaced individuals compared to those who are not displaced.

Emotional and psychological experiences of nursing students caring for dying patients: an explorative study at a national referral hospital in Uganda.

Background: Caring for dying patients is associated with psychological trauma, strong emotions and enormous stress for nursing staff and nursing students who are reliable health care providers in such difficult situations. Nursing students involved in End-of -life care need to work through these emotions during clinical placements. This study explored the lived experiences of nursing students caring for the dying patients at Mulago national referral hospital.

Additive interaction of conjoint tobacco smoking and heavy drinking on hypertension prevalence in rural Uganda: a community-based cross-sectional study.

Background: The prevalence of hypertension is high in Uganda, which places a significant burden on an already strained healthcare system. The behavioural risk factors, such as unhealthy diet, tobacco use, physical inactivity, and heavy drinking, contribute to hypertension development and complications. This study explored the associations of combined tobacco smoking and heavy alcohol consumption with existing hypertension in a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in two rural districts of Uganda.

Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries.

Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists.

Perceptions of science, science communication, and climate change attitudes in 68 countries - the TISP dataset.

Science is integral to society because it can inform individual, government, corporate, and civil society decision-making on issues such as public health, new technologies or climate change. Yet, public distrust and populist sentiment challenge the relationship between science and society. To help researchers analyse the science-society nexus across different geographical and cultural contexts, we undertook a cross-sectional population survey resulting in a dataset of 71,922 participants in 68 countries.

Optimizing emergency response systems in urban health crises: A project management approach to public health preparedness and response.

Effective management of health crises requires public health preparedness and response, especially in urban settings where the complexity and scope of catastrophes provide considerable challenges. The integration of project management frameworks with public health policies is highlighted in this review, which investigates the optimization of emergency response systems using a project management methodology. The adoption of cutting-edge technologies that improve real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and resource allocation such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and the Internet of Things (Io-T) is one of the main topics covered.

Relationship of maternal ophthalmic artery Doppler with uterine artery Doppler, hemodynamic indices and gestational age: prospective MATERA study.

Objectives: To examine the relationship of ophthalmic artery (OA) Doppler indices with uterine artery (UtA) Doppler indices, selected maternal hemodynamic parameters and gestational age, and to evaluate the intraobserver reproducibility of OA Doppler indices.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of women recruited between 11 + 0 and 23 + 6 weeks' gestation using a stratified and random sampling approach to ensure adequate distribution across the gestational-age range. OA pulsatility index (PI), first peak systolic velocity (PSV1), second peak systolic velocity (PSV2) and peak systolic velocity ratio (PSV ratio), calculated as PSV2/PSV1, were measured twice in each eye by the same observer.

Climate Change and Malaria: A Call for Robust Analytics.

Mosquito ecology and behavior and malaria parasite development display marked sensitivity to weather, in particular to temperature and precipitation. Therefore, climate change is expected to profoundly affect malaria epidemiology in its transmission, spatiotemporal distribution and consequent disease burden. However, malaria transmission is also complicated by other factors (e.

Evaluating the biomedical and behavioural drivers of HIV-1 incidence decline in adolescent girls and young women in Uganda: A mathematical modelling study.

Background: Recent declines in HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Africa are often attributed to the expansion of biomedical interventions such as antiretroviral therapy and voluntary medical male circumcision. However, changes in sexual behaviour may also play a critical role. Understanding the relative contributions of these factors is essential for developing strategies to sustain and further reduce HIV transmission.

Declines in HIV Incidence and Prevalence and Predictors Among Adolescents and Young Adults: An Observational Cohort Study, Rakai, Uganda, 2005-2020.

Background: HIV acquisition among adolescents and young adults (AYA, 15-24 years) is influenced by individual factors, community factors, and public policies and programs. We explored the association of HIV incidence and prevalence with these factors over time among AYA in Rakai, Uganda.

Methods: We examined trends over nine survey rounds (2005-2020) of the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS), an open population-based surveillance cohort of individuals living in 30 continuously followed communities in south-central Uganda (n= 35,938 person rounds).

Selective social tolerance drives differentiated relationships among wild female chimpanzees.

Strong, affiliative bonds often function to facilitate social competition through cooperative defence of resources, but the benefits of social bonds may be low when direct competition is less intense or less beneficial. In such cases, one possible outcome is that relationships are weak and undifferentiated. Alternatively, negotiating stable, selectively tolerant relationships may be a strategy to mitigate the costs and risks of sharing space when direct competition is undesirable.

A Systematic Review of Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception Towards Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) in Africa.

Background: Despite growing evidence showing ECT's efficacy and efficiency in the management of severe mental health conditions, the knowledge, attitude, and perceptions (KAP) towards ECT vary around the globe. However, KAP guarantees the extent to which ECT is accepted and administered efficiently. This review sheds light on the KAP toward ECT in Africa.

Comparative analysis of floristic richness and diversity in six central forest reserves of north eastern Uganda.

As the extinction risk of plants increases globally, there is need to prioritize areas with high floristic richness and diversity to inform the design of evidence-based conservation interventions. As such, this study aimed to comparatively analyse floristic diversity in six central forest reserves (CFR) of north eastern Uganda. This was guided by two objectives namely; (i) to determine the floristic richness and diversity in the CFRs and (ii) to evaluate the similarity and complementarity of floristic composition.