C-reactive protein and association with disease severity in hospitalized adult patients with Lassa fever in Nigeria.

Objectives: Lassa fever (LF) poses a significant health burden in West Africa. The pathophysiology of LF and determinants of clinical spectrum of disease remain poorly understood. We performed a study to understand the correlation of blood inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP), with LF disease severity.

A meta-core outcome set for stillbirth prevention and bereavement care following stillbirth in LMIC.

Study Objective: Stillbirth is burdensome in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Currently, there are two core outcome sets (COS) for stillbirth (prevention and bereavement care), but these were developed with limited reflection of the needs of parents in an LMIC setting. To address this gap, the objective of this study was to establish consensus on the most important outcomes for stillbirth prevention and bereavement care following stillbirth in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Assessing the African burden of breast cancer: A demographic analysis using Global Cancer Observatory 2022.

Background: Breast cancer is a major health issue for women in Africa. This study aims to assess the burden of the disease using the latest estimates from Global Cancer Observatory 2022.

Methods: Data were sourced from the Global Cancer Observatory 2022.

Designing community-based strategies to reach non-household contacts of people with tuberculosis in Lusaka, Zambia: a rapid qualitative study among key stakeholders.

Background: In high-burden settings, most tuberculosis (TB) transmission likely occurs outside the home. Our qualitative study in Zambia explored the acceptability and preferences for designing TB active case finding (ACF) strategies to reach non-household contacts of people with TB.

Methods: We conducted 56 in-depth interviews with persons with TB ( = 12), TB healthcare workers (HCWs) ( = 10), TB lay HCWs ( = 10), and leaders/owners ( = 12) and attendees ( = 12) of community venue types identified as potential TB transmission locations.

Exploring the clinical profiles and management of juvenile dermatomyositis in Africa: a survey of African rheumatology care providers.

Background: There are limited studies of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Many demonstrate delays to care, high prevalence of severe manifestations, and high mortality. Given the disease-associated damage with JDM, understanding JDM in Africa further is critical.

Prey depletion, interspecific competition, and the energetics of hunting in endangered African wild dogs, .

Large herbivores are in decline in much of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa, and true apex carnivores like the lion () decline in parallel with their prey. As a consequence, competitively subordinate carnivores like the African wild dog () are simultaneously experiencing a costly reduction in resources and a beneficial reduction in dominant competitors. The net effect is not intuitively obvious, but wild dogs' density, survival, and reproduction are all low in areas that are strongly affected by prey depletion.

Determination of carcinogenic benzo(a)pyrene in heat treated black tea samples from Turkey by using HPLC-fluorescence detection system.

A rapid, simple, and cost-efficient extraction method was developed for evaluating and screening benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in tea samples by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with coupled fluorescence detector (FLD) in order to obtain the best extraction performance. In this study, it was observed that when optimized using microwave assisted extraction (MAE) method was performed twice for 2 min using 10 mL n-hexane: acetonitrile (1:3, v/v). The recoveries for BaP in tea were found to be 97 ± 2; 83 ± 8 and 92 ± 6%, respectively.

A qualitative study of how maternal morbidities impact women's quality of life during pregnancy and postpartum in five countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Aim: Maternal morbidities present a major burden to the health and well-being of childbearing women. However, their impacts on women's quality of life (QoL) are not well understood. This work aims to describe the extent to which the morbidities women experience during pregnancy and postpartum affect their QoL and identify any protective or risk factors.

Infections: Bridging Clinical Observations and Epidemiological Insights.

Purpose: is the main etiologic agent implicated in primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). It is also known as the brain-eating amoeba because of the severe brain inflammation following infection, with a survival rate of about 5%. This review aims to identify infections and evaluate patients' progression.

Advancing Sustainable HIV Services Through Integration in Primary Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Perspective on Practical Recommendations.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear a disproportionate burden of the global HIV epidemic. Integrating HIV services into primary healthcare is a crucial strategy to accelerate progress towards ending the epidemic. However, several challenges hinder effective integration, including underfunding, human resource shortages, infrastructure limitations, weak health systems, and sociocultural factors.

Evidence of human exposure and associated risk factors to Rift Valley fever in selected districts of Central and Western Zambia.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an important viral zoonotic disease that not only affects ruminants but causes serious morbidity and mortality in humans. In humans, its symptoms range from mild flu-like signs to a severe form such as retinal damage, meningoencephalitis to haemorrhagic fever. In this study, 202 human serum samples were collected from central and western parts of Zambia and tested for RVF-specific antibodies using a commercially available ELISA kit.

Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of the Invaplex Vaccine Co-Administered with the dmLT Adjuvant in Dutch and Zambian Adults: Study Protocol for a Multi-Center, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Escalation Phase Ia/b Clinical Trial.

Background: Shigella infections remain endemic in places with poor sanitation and are a leading cause of diarrheal mortality globally, as well as a major contributor to gut enteropathy and stunting. There are currently no licensed vaccines for shigellosis but it has been estimated that an effective vaccine could avert 590,000 deaths over a 20-year period. A challenge to effective Shigella vaccine development has been the low immunogenicity and protective efficacy of candidate Shigella vaccines in infants and young children.

Biological and Social Predictors of HIV-1 RNA Viral Suppression in ART Treated PWLH in Sub-Saharan Africa.

HIV remains a significant health issue, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. There are 39 million people living with HIV (PLWH) globally. Treatment with ART improves patient outcomes by suppressing the HIV RNA viral load.

Building resilience against cholera: lessons from the implementation of integrated community strategy for cholera control in Zambia.

Cholera has remained a persistent public health challenge in Zambia since the country's first reported outbreak in 1977. The recent outbreak, which began in October 2023 and is ongoing as of June 2024, is the most severe in Zambia's history and part of the larger 2022-2024 Southern Africa cholera outbreak, which has affected multiple countries in the region. This article describes the implementation of the integrated community strategy for cholera control (ICSCC) in three districts of the Copperbelt Province during this outbreak.

An assessment of the progress made in the implementation of the regional framework for cholera prevention and control in the WHO African region.

High-burden cholera outbreaks, spreading beyond the traditional cholera-endemic countries, have been reported since 2021 in the WHO African region. Member states in the region have committed to the global goal of cholera elimination by 2030. To track progress towards this goal, WHO-African countries adopted a regional cholera prevention and control framework in 2018.

A comparison of CXR-CAD software to radiologists in identifying COVID-19 in individuals evaluated for Sars CoV-2 infection in Malawi and Zambia.

AI based software, including computer aided detection software for chest radiographs (CXR-CAD), was developed during the pandemic to improve COVID-19 case finding and triage. In high burden TB countries, the use of highly portable CXR and computer aided detection software has been adopted more broadly to improve the screening and triage of individuals for TB, but there is little evidence in these settings regarding COVID-19 CAD performance. We performed a multicenter, retrospective cross-over study evaluating CXRs from individuals at risk for COVID-19.

Prevalence of mortality caused by injuries at Livingstone University Hospital, Zambia. A retrospective cross-sectional study.

Background: Trauma is a major global public health issue, with an annual death toll of approximately 5 million, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. Zambia bears a significant burden of trauma-related mortalities, contributing to 7% of all annual deaths and 1 in 5 premature deaths in the country. Despite the significant burden of trauma in our country, few studies have been conducted, with most focusing on high-population centers, and there is a lack of epidemiological data on trauma-related deaths in our region.

Increased Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance in Vibrio cholerae in the Capital and Provincial Areas of Zambia, January 2023-February 2024.

Zambia experienced the largest cholera epidemic in the country's history in 2023-2024; however, the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Vibrio cholerae during the epidemic is unknown. A total of 2,384 stool samples were collected from suspected cholera cases in Eastern, Lusaka, and Luapula provinces in Zambia from January 2023 to March 2024. Among them, 549 (23.

High unmet needs for cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV in six African countries: A population-based study.

Background: Cisgender women living with HIV (WLWH) are disproportionately impacted by cervical cancer. Nevertheless, disparities in uptake and implementation of cervical cancer services persist in sub-Saharan Africa, where population-level estimates of screening coverage remain scarce.

Methods: We pooled data from nationally representative Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) surveys conducted in Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (2015-2019).

A Friendlier "Kinda" Social System: Male Kinda Baboons Invest in Long-Term Social Bonds With Females.

Objectives: Certain group-living mammals-including many primates-exhibit affiliative relationships between sexes that persist past copulation. Relationships between females and males in baboons (Papio sp.) are particularly well-characterized.

Urine kidney injury molecule-1 predicts subclinical kidney disease among persons living with HIV initiating tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-based ART in Zambia.

Introduction: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) increases the life expectancy of persons living with HIV (PLWH), but not without potentially serious adverse effects. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) can cause nephrotoxicity, manifesting as acute kidney injury (AKI) that may persist after treatment discontinuation. Kidney injury biomarkers such as kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP-4), interleukin-18 (IL-18), and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) can aid early diagnosis and predict TDF-associated nephrotoxicity.

Social vulnerability index associated with higher COVID-19 seroprevalence in Nigeria.

Social vulnerability has been shown to be a strong predictor of disparities in health outcomes. A common approach to estimating social vulnerability is using a composite index, such as the social vulnerability index (SVI), which combines multiple factors corresponding to key social determinants of health. Lawal and Osayomi created an SVI to explore key social determinants of health-related COVID-19 infection among the Nigerian population.

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.

Microbial Characterization of a Zambian Honey Vinegar.

Forest Fruits Organic Honey Vinegar (FFOHV) is a spontaneously fermented (yeast) and acetified (Acetic Acid Bacteria-AAB) Miombo Woodland honey vinegar developed in Zambia. Live vinegars containing live microbial cultures are marketed for their probiotic health benefits. The correlation between a well-developed gut microbiome and human health is well studied and fermented products such as live vinegar containing AAB contribute to a healthy gut microbiome.