Predictors of household drinking water E. coli contamination: Population-based results from rural areas of Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, rural areas have lower rates of access to safe drinking water compared to urban areas. We investigated predictors of Escherichia coli contamination in drinking water of rural households in Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.

Methods: We used a population-based, cluster randomized sampling design to select rural households in each country.

Leptospira seroprevalence and associated risk factors among slaughterhouse workers in Western Bahr El Ghazal State, South Sudan.

Background: Leptospirosis is a neglected re-emerging and occupational zoonotic disease worldwide. In Africa, contact with livestock is postulated as a potential source of environmental contamination and a source of human Leptospira exposure, though pathways remain unknown. Recently, we confirmed Leptospira exposure and shedding among slaughtered cattle in Western Bahr El Ghazal.

Perceptions of COVID-19 and HIV Risk and Related Preventive Health Behaviors in Rural Zambia.

Risk perception, its relationship to preventive health behaviors and other factors (e.g., direct experience of a disease) are important for determining effective targets for disease prevention.

Occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica at an underground copper mine in Zambia.

Introduction: Overexposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) can lead to the development of silicosis and other respiratory diseases. The mine under study was reported to have the highest number of certified cases of pneumoconiosis in Zambia in 2015, and in 2008, a study revealed that 56% of the RCS samples exceeded 0.05 mg/m3.

The World Health Organization Access, Watch, and Reserve classification of antibiotics: an awareness survey among pharmacy professionals in a sub-Saharan country, Zambia.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs are very essential in addressing the problem of drug-resistant infections. The WHO Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe) classification of antibiotics is essential in monitoring the rational use of antibiotics. Therefore, this study evaluated the awareness of the WHO AWaRe classification of antibiotics among pharmacy professionals in Zambia.

Inequality in modern contraceptive use and unmet need for contraception among women of reproductive age in Zambia. A trend and decomposition analysis 2007-2018.

Background: Access to contraception can be a transformational intervention towards advancement of education, health, and freedom of choice. Countries have committed to improving access to contraception enshrined in the sustainable development goals (SDGs), indicator 3.7.

Caring for children with SAM: Intersectional stories of shame, blame and stigmatisation in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya.

This paper draws from qualitative research undertaken with the mothers and primary caregivers of children aged under 5 years old and in recovery from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), as well as other community members, across three study sites in Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The paper highlights how nutrition-related stigma is constructed and enacted in complex ways, by multiple actors and across diverse settings. Adopting an intersectional approach, the paper identifies how stigma emerges at the intersections of social identity, especially age, gender, and associated beliefs about women's, and especially young women's, assumed (in)capacity to care.

High recent PrEP adherence with point-of-care urine tenofovir testing and adherence counselling among young African women: results from the INSIGHT cohort.

Introduction: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) account for two-thirds of new HIV infections in Africa. African AGYW have had high uptake of oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) but low adherence, which might be improved by point-of-care adherence monitoring with tailored counselling.

Methods: From August 2022 to July 2023, we conducted a PrEP demonstration project with sexually active AGYW ages 16-30 years from 20 sites in South Africa, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia.

Bacteriology testing and antimicrobial resistance detection capacity of national tiered laboratory networks in sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis from 14 countries.

Background: Accurate detection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) depends on adequate laboratory capacity. We aimed to document key weaknesses hindering AMR detection at various tiers of laboratory networks in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and analyse their significance in AMR surveillance and policies.

Methods: In this analysis, we obtained retrospective data on AMR and antimicrobial consumption from 14 countries participating in the Mapping Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use Partnership between May 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020.

At risk but not adequately included: People with disabilities' experience of COVID-19 in Zambia.

Background: COVID-19 had an impact on all sections of society, including people with disabilities.

Objectives: The authors aimed to explore the needs and experiences of people with disabilities in Zambia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: In this hermeneutic phenomenological study, we used a semi-structured interview guide to collect data from a purposive and snowball sample of 40 people with disabilities and their caregivers.

Effect of a multicomponent, person-centred care intervention on client experience and HIV treatment outcomes in Zambia: a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised trial.

Background: Recipients of health services value not only convenience but also respectful, kind, and helpful providers. To date, research to improve person-centred HIV treatment has focused on making services easier to access (eg, differentiated service delivery) rather than the interpersonal experience of care. We developed and evaluated a person-centred care (PCC) intervention targeting practices of health-care workers.

Scratching the surface of Afrotropical Dissomphalus (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae): a revision uncovering 114 new species.

The main goal of this paper is to revise the Dissomphalus genus within the Afrotropical region. Specimens were collected across seventeen countries: Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A total of 127 species have been identified in the Afrotropical region.

Description of two new species of the genus Dollmania (Lepidoptera, Lasiocampidae).

Two new species of the genus Dollmania Tams, 1930 are described: Dollmania lola sp. n. from Ivory Coast and Dollmania reggie sp.

New records, diagnostics and preliminary checklist of the superfamily Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from the Comoro Islands.

The following species are recorded from the Comoro Islands for the first time: 12 species of Pentatomidae: Pentatominae-Anoano pronotalis Cachan, 1952 (from Mayotte), Antestiopsis clymeneis cf. galtiei (Frappa, 1934) (Mayotte), Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister, 1835) (Mayotte), Bathycoelia rodhaini Schouteden, 1913 (Mayotte), Coquerelia ventralis Horváth, 1904 (Mayotte), Eurysaspis transversalis Signoret, 1851 (Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mayotte), Gadarscama ebenaui Reuter, 1887 (Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mohéli, Mayotte), Lerida annulicornis (Signoret, 1861) (Anjouan, Mayotte), Neoacrosternum validum (Horváth, 1904) (Grand Comore, Mayotte), Nezara viridula (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mayotte), Piezodorus hybneri (Gmelin, 1790) (Mayotte), and Stenozygum mirabile (Signoret, 1861) (Mayotte); two species of Plataspidae-Brachyplatys hemisphaerica (Westwood, 1837) (Mayotte) and Coptosoma maculatum Westwood, 1837 (Mayotte); and one species of Scutelleridae-Hotea denticulata Stål, 1865 (Mayotte). The endemic pentatomine species Bathycoelia cuneifera Bergroth, 1893, syn.

Interventions to Enhance Facility Deliveries in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.

Objectives: The objectives of this review were to identify and map evidence of interventions to enhance facility deliveries in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: A search for all relevant existing reports in the literature was conducted in December 2020 using the following online bibliographic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL. A manual search of the reference lists of relevant systematic reviews and all identified studies was performed to identify additional studies.

Diagnosis and management of status epilepticus: improving the status quo.

Status epilepticus is a common neurological emergency that is characterised by prolonged or recurrent seizures without recovery between episodes and associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Prompt recognition and targeted therapy can reduce the risk of complications and death associated with status epilepticus, thereby improving outcomes. The most recent International League Against Epilepsy definition considers two important timepoints in status epilepticus: first, when the seizure does not self-terminate; and second, when the seizure can have long-term consequences, including neuronal injury.

The coping strategies employed by individuals with chronic low back pain: secondary qualitative analysis of data from diverse adult populations in two sub-Saharan African countries.

Introduction: The use and influence of coping mechanisms vary across cultures and evaluation methods. Limited research exists on coping mechanisms for non-specific chronic low back pain (CLBP) in African societies. This secondary qualitative study explored adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies used by adults with CLBP in Nigerian and Zambian communities.

Exploring key challenges for healthcare providers and stakeholders in delivering adolescent sexual and reproductive health services and information during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe: a qualitative study.

Introduction: This study aimed to explore the direct and indirect influences of COVID-19-related restrictions on adolescents and young people's (AYP's) sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with a focus on teenage pregnancy and access to and utilization of HIV testing and counselling services.

Methods: Thirty-four purposively sampled interviews that comprised of selected representatives of organizations involved in activities aimed at addressing adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR), teenage pregnancies, and HIV testing were conducted in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In Zambia, the study conducted an additional four group discussions with adolescents and young people.

Dynamics of the blood plasma proteome during hyperacute HIV-1 infection.

The complex dynamics of protein expression in plasma during hyperacute HIV-1 infection and its relation to acute retroviral syndrome, viral control, and disease progression are largely unknown. Here, we quantify 1293 blood plasma proteins from 157 longitudinally linked plasma samples collected before, during, and after hyperacute HIV-1 infection of 54 participants from four sub-Saharan African countries. Six distinct longitudinal expression profiles are identified, of which four demonstrate a consistent decrease in protein levels following HIV-1 infection.