- South Africa
Tambo Ernest
University of the Witwatersrand, Health Sciences, Department Member
- Public Health, Epidemiology, Cardiovascular disease, Community-based health interventions, Health policy in low- and middle-income countries, Surveillance Studies, and 6 moreCardiovascular, Suivi-évaluation, CONTRÔLE QUALITE, Surveillance Epidemiology, Community Resilience, and Urgence Sanitaireedit
COVID-19 pandemic remains a major public health and global health problem. It continues to have significant effects at different levels, and poses a significant threat to mental health. A cross-sectional analytical study on the influence... more
COVID-19 pandemic remains a major public health and global health problem. It continues to have significant effects at different levels, and poses a significant threat to mental health. A cross-sectional analytical study on the influence of
COVID-19 on the psycho-mental health of health professionals and patients was carried out at Laquintinie Hospital in
Douala during a period of 08 months from January 2021 to August 2021. Using the modified and pre-tested form of the
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), we collected data according to the WHO guide to psycho-mental health. A
questionnaire was implemented to assess the contribution of anxiety and depressive symptoms. After informed consent, a
group of 500 people was interviewed, including 158 health workers and 342 patients. The results show a high rate of anxiety,
depression and stress (17.3%; 29.63% and 47.57%) respectively among health workers and a rate of anxiety, depression and
stress (7.84%; 9.85% and 15.74%) respectively in patients. There is a high susceptibility to depression in subjects aged 51
years and over [OR (95% CI) 2.16 (1.18-3.96), P = 0.012], and a high susceptibility to anxiety over the department of
medicine [OR (95% CI) 3.73 (1.40-9.92) P = 0.005]; Have been associated risk factors in patients. On the other hand, among
health professional, males were more likely to be stressed [OR (95% CI) 2.04 (1.81-4.71), P = 0.022], married men [OR (95%
CI) %) 1.46 (1.31-1.62) P = 0.034] and the department of medicine [OR (95% CI) 5.73 (1.29-24.4) P = 0.011] had a higher
risk of have depression; in addition, the emergency-anesthesia and resuscitation department were at greater risk for anxiety.
In addition, correlation analyses showed a statistically significant link between professional and anxiety, lack of water, disinfectant points and suicide in health structures, respectively (P = 0.036 ; P = 0.010).There was a statistically significant relationship between depression and lack of social and mental support programs from those around him (P = 0.05); stress and the onset of COVID-19 in Cameroon, (P = 0.000). The establishment of a system of advice, assistance and / or specialized
psycho-mental health support in all district hospitals in Douala and its surroundings in the context of current and post pandemic
COVID-19 on the psycho-mental health of health professionals and patients was carried out at Laquintinie Hospital in
Douala during a period of 08 months from January 2021 to August 2021. Using the modified and pre-tested form of the
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), we collected data according to the WHO guide to psycho-mental health. A
questionnaire was implemented to assess the contribution of anxiety and depressive symptoms. After informed consent, a
group of 500 people was interviewed, including 158 health workers and 342 patients. The results show a high rate of anxiety,
depression and stress (17.3%; 29.63% and 47.57%) respectively among health workers and a rate of anxiety, depression and
stress (7.84%; 9.85% and 15.74%) respectively in patients. There is a high susceptibility to depression in subjects aged 51
years and over [OR (95% CI) 2.16 (1.18-3.96), P = 0.012], and a high susceptibility to anxiety over the department of
medicine [OR (95% CI) 3.73 (1.40-9.92) P = 0.005]; Have been associated risk factors in patients. On the other hand, among
health professional, males were more likely to be stressed [OR (95% CI) 2.04 (1.81-4.71), P = 0.022], married men [OR (95%
CI) %) 1.46 (1.31-1.62) P = 0.034] and the department of medicine [OR (95% CI) 5.73 (1.29-24.4) P = 0.011] had a higher
risk of have depression; in addition, the emergency-anesthesia and resuscitation department were at greater risk for anxiety.
In addition, correlation analyses showed a statistically significant link between professional and anxiety, lack of water, disinfectant points and suicide in health structures, respectively (P = 0.036 ; P = 0.010).There was a statistically significant relationship between depression and lack of social and mental support programs from those around him (P = 0.05); stress and the onset of COVID-19 in Cameroon, (P = 0.000). The establishment of a system of advice, assistance and / or specialized
psycho-mental health support in all district hospitals in Douala and its surroundings in the context of current and post pandemic
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Background Mosquito-borne diseases are rapidly spreading due to increasing international travel and trade. Routine mosquito surveillance and screening for mosquito-borne pathogens can be early indicators for local disease transmission and... more
Background Mosquito-borne diseases are rapidly spreading due to increasing international travel and trade. Routine mosquito surveillance and screening for mosquito-borne pathogens can be early indicators for local disease transmission and outbreaks. However, arbovirus detection in mosquito vectors has rarely been reported in Saudi Arabia. Methods A total of 769,541 Aedes and Culex mosquitoes were collected by Black Hole traps during routine mosquito surveillance in the first half of 2016. Culex. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti were the most prevalent species observed. Twenty-five and 24 randomly selected pools of Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus, respectively, were screened for arboviruses by RT-PCR. Results Dengue 2 (DENV-2) and four strains of insect-specific flaviviruses, including one of cell-fusing agent virus (CFAV) and three of Phlebotomus-associated flavivirus (PAFV) were detected in pools of Ae. aegypti. We also detected 10 strains of Culex flavivirus (CxFV) in pools o...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Implementing national to community-based 'One Health' surveillance approach for human, animal and environmental consequences mitigation offers great opportunities and value-added in sustainable development and wellbeing.... more
Implementing national to community-based 'One Health' surveillance approach for human, animal and environmental consequences mitigation offers great opportunities and value-added in sustainable development and wellbeing. 'One Health' surveillance approach global partnerships, policy commitment and financial investment are much needed in addressing the evolving threats and epidemics crises mitigation in African countries. The paper provides insights onto how China-Africa health development cooperation in promoting " One Health " surveillance approach in response advocacy and mitigation. China-Africa health development initiatives provide new prospects in guiding and moving forward appropriate and evidence-based advocacy and mitigation management approaches and strategies in attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Early and continuous quality and timely surveillance data collection and coordinated information sharing practices in malaria and other diseases are demonstrated in Comoros, Zanzibar, Ghana and Cameroon. Improvements of variety of access to contextual sources and network of data sharing platforms are needed in guiding evidence-based and tailored detection and response to unusual hazardous events. Moreover, understanding threats and diseases trends, frontline or point of care response delivery is crucial to promote integrated and sustainable targeted local, national " One Health " surveillance and response approach needs implementation. Importantly, operational guidelines are vital in increasing coherent financing and national workforce capacity development mechanisms. Strengthening participatory partnerships, collaboration and monitoring strategies in achieving global health agenda effectiveness in Africa. At the same enhancing surveillance data information streams reporting and dissemination usefulness in informing policies decisions, health systems programming and financial mobilization and prioritized allocation pre, during and post threats and epidemics crises programs strengths and weaknesses. Thus, capitalizing on " One Health " surveillance and response approach advocacy and mitigation implementation is timely in consolidating Africa Union 2063 agenda and Africa renaissance capabilities and expectations.
Research Interests:
In much of Africa, beliefs, religion and traditional medicine have historically gone hand in hand, but increasingly these elements have come into conflict with modern healthcare which is secular in nature and more heavily challenged.... more
In much of Africa, beliefs, religion and traditional medicine have historically gone hand in hand, but increasingly these elements have come into conflict with modern healthcare which is secular in nature and more heavily challenged. Indeed, the estimates are that about 70-80% of the population in developing countries depends on traditional medicine fo r their primary health care needs. There is a strong belief which purports that Ebola is contracted through a curse, or in some cases, that it is a white man's fabrication. Such perceptions inevitably lead to mistrust of foreigners and associated humanitarian protective equipments, and to modern medicine as a whole. Strengthening primary healthcare has an expanded coverage mandate to include legally permissible medical interventions which might violate religious norms and fuel furthe r tensions. This paper aims to: (1) identify the various ways in which African religion and healthcare intersect in issue of global health security; ...
Research Interests:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has proven to be tenacious and shows that the global community is still poorly prepared to handling such emerging pandemics. Enhancing global solidarity in emergency preparedness and response,... more
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has proven to be tenacious and shows that the global community is still poorly prepared to handling such emerging pandemics. Enhancing global solidarity in emergency preparedness and response, and the mobilization of conscience and cooperation, can serve as an excellent source of ideas and measures in a timely manner. The article provides an overview of the key components of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies at the early stages in vulnerable nations and populations, and highlight contextual recommendations for strengthening coordinated and sustainable RCCE preventive and emergency response strategies against COVID-19 pandemic. Global solidarity calls for firming governance, abundant community participation and enough trust to boost early pandemic preparedness and response. Promoting public RCCE response interventions needs crucially improving government health systems and security proactiveness, community to individual confinement, trust and resilience solutions. To better understand population risk and vulnerability, as well as COVID-19 transmission dynamics, it is important to build intelligent systems for monitoring isolation/quarantine and tracking by use of artificial intelligence and machine learning systems algorithms. Experiences and lessons learned from the international community is crucial for emerging pandemics prevention and control programs, especially in promoting evidence-based decision-making, integrating data and models to inform effective and sustainable RCCE strategies, such as local and global safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and mass immunization programs.
Research Interests: Epidemiology, Trust, Global Health, Governance, Response, and 3 morePublic Health, Vaccination, and Pandemic
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Increasing globalization, increasing intense urbanization and climate changes have been linked to communities’ hazards and disasters vulnerabilities reported across Africa. Less data and information are documented on national to community... more
Increasing globalization, increasing intense urbanization and climate changes have been linked to communities’ hazards and disasters vulnerabilities reported across Africa. Less data and information are documented on national to community disaster risk workforce readiness and resilience capacity in emergency humanitarian crises interventions. The lack of coherent and integrated disaster risk analysis and preparedness, response and recovery programs implementation is a major challenged in the region for decades. This paper highlights natural and man-made emergency hazards and disasters nature and exposure, potential approaches in Africa context. Our findings showed that man-made disasters events were the most documented, uneven in their nature, pattern and trend of occurrence and exposure consequences over time. Emerging and re-emerging outbreaks (Cholera, Polio, HIV, Ebola, Influenza, Rift Valley fever and Meningitis) were the most common, followed by conflicts and hunger, floods an...
Research Interests:
Background: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) economic block is the most affected region by HIV epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite programmatic interventions, HIV infections remain unprecedentedly high among... more
Background: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) economic block is the most affected region by HIV epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite programmatic interventions, HIV infections remain unprecedentedly high among female sex workers (FSW) in the region. This review assesses the HIV burden and the drivers associated with FSW in the SADC region. Methods: We systematically extracted and analyzed HIV burden and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) research data on FSW indexed in various journal platform and reports from governmental and nongovernmental organizations between 2003 and 2015. Meta-analysis technique was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of the HIV burden among FSW in the region. Results: Of the 192 peer-reviewed articles and reports addressing HIV burden, only 21 articles met eligibility criteria totaling 14998 FSW. The combined overall pool HIV prevalence was estimated at 42.0% (95% CI 0.41–0.43). The estimated pooled HIV prevalence ranged from 16% (95% CI 0.13–18) in Democratic Republic of Congo, 59% (95% CI 0.57–0.62) in South Africa and 71% (95% CI 0.65–0.76) in Malawi. The most common STIs reported were syphilis, Chlamydia, and gonorrhea with little emphasis on viruses. Structural factors such as stigma and discrimination, access to healthcare services and various socioeconomic and political barriers impeded treatment and prevention. Conclusion: The HIV prevalence among FSW was 5–30 times higher when compared to the overall female reproductive age population in the SADC region. This signifies and necessitates increase evidence based HIV/STIs research and programs among FSW in the SADC region.
Research Interests:
We evaluated the impact of man-made conflict events and climate change impact in guiding evidence-based community "One Health" epidemiology and emergency response practice against re-/emerging epidemics. Increasing evidence of... more
We evaluated the impact of man-made conflict events and climate change impact in guiding evidence-based community "One Health" epidemiology and emergency response practice against re-/emerging epidemics. Increasing evidence of emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases including recent Lassa fever outbreaks in almost 20 states in Nigeria led to 101 deaths and 175 suspected and confirmed cases since August 2015. Of the 75 laboratory confirmed cases, 90 deaths occurred representing 120% laboratory-confirmed case fatality. The outbreak has been imported into neighbouring country such as Benin, where 23 deaths out of 68 cases has also been reported. This study assesses the current trends in re-emerging Lassa fever outbreak in understanding spatio-geographical reservoir(s), risk factors pattern and Lassa virus incidence mapping, inherent gaps and raising challenges in health systems. It is shown that Lassa fever peak endemicity incidence and prevalence overlap the dry season (w...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the re-emerging Ebola virus disease (EVD) are closely intertwined and remain a persistent public health threat and global challenge. Their origin and rapid transmission and spread have similar... more
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the re-emerging Ebola virus disease (EVD) are closely intertwined and remain a persistent public health threat and global challenge. Their origin and rapid transmission and spread have similar boundaries and share overlapping impact characteristics, including related symptoms and other interactions. The controversies and global threat of these viruses require rapid response policy and evidence-based implementation findings. The constraints and dual burden inflicted by Ebola and HIV infections are highly characterized by similar socio-demographics, socio-economic and political factors. EVD has similar effects and burdens to HIV infection. This study seeks to understand EVD in the context of HIV epidemic despite the challenges in developing an effective vaccine against HIV and EVD. Our findings show that early understanding, prevention and treatment of these diseases a global health threat mainly in Africa is important and valuable. The lessons l...
Research Interests:
This review aims at providing synthetic information with scientific evidence on the trends in the malaria events from 1960 to 2011, with the hope that it will help policy makers to take informed decisions on public health issues and... more
This review aims at providing synthetic information with scientific evidence on the trends in the malaria events from 1960 to 2011, with the hope that it will help policy makers to take informed decisions on public health issues and intervention designs on malaria control towards elimination in both Sub-Sahara Africa and in the People's Republic of China by highlighting the achievements, progress and challenges in research on moving malaria from epidemic status towards elimination. Our findings showed that since 1960, malaria control programmes in most countries have been disjointed and not harmonized. Interestingly, during the last decade, the causal factors of the unprecedented and substantial decline in malaria morbidity and mortality rates in most vulnerable groups in these endemic areas are multifaceted, including not only the spread of malaria and its related effects but also political and financial willingness, commitment and funding by governments and international donor...
Research Interests:
A prospective study on 72 HIV infected and 33 HIV negative individuals undergoing malaria treatment with dihydroartemisinin (Cotecxin) was undertaken to compare CD4 cells count, viral load and parasite density at two time-points, a... more
A prospective study on 72 HIV infected and 33 HIV negative individuals undergoing malaria treatment with dihydroartemisinin (Cotecxin) was undertaken to compare CD4 cells count, viral load and parasite density at two time-points, a baseline visit and a 9-day post-treatment visit. CD4 count and viral load of the subjects were estimated using Dynabeads T4-T8 Quantification Protocol (Dyneal Biotech, Norway) and Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Test respectively (Roche, United Kingdom). There was a significant decrease in CD4 count at 9-day post-treatment when compared with baseline value (p < 0.05) in HIV infected individuals with CD4 < or =200 cells/microl. Also, the 9-day post-treatment viral load value was statistically higher than the baseline value (p < 0.05). In HIV positive patients with CD4 >200 cells/microl, a marked significant increase was obtained when the mean viral load at baseline was compared to the 9-day post-treatment visit value (p <0.05). The mean parasite dens...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
We conducted a pilot study to assess microbiological safety of chicken litter, an affordable organic and main fertilizer used in Cameroon and worldwide. A convenience sampling of 26 farms was done and a questionnaire was administered.... more
We conducted a pilot study to assess microbiological safety of chicken litter, an affordable organic and main fertilizer used in Cameroon and worldwide. A convenience sampling of 26 farms was done and a questionnaire was administered. Samples of litter were aseptically collected. E. coli and Salmonella spp. were isolated using CLSI standards. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the disc diffusion method and a micro broth dilution method for colistin. In broiler farms, 90% of participating farmers gave antibiotic prophylaxis. The prevalence of E. coli and Salmonella spp. was 59.1% and 15.5%, respectively. All E. coli isolates were multidrug resistant as well as 36.4% for Salmonella spp. No resistance was found against cefepime and imipenem. All Salmonella spp. tested were found sensitive to colistin while 26.7% of E. coli spp. were colistin resistant. Contamination of chicken litter may be an underestimated source of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) transmission towar...
Research Interests:
ABSTRACTStrengthening health systems and maintaining essential service delivery during health emergencies response is critical for early detection and diagnosis, prompt treatment, and effective control of pandemics, including the novel... more
ABSTRACTStrengthening health systems and maintaining essential service delivery during health emergencies response is critical for early detection and diagnosis, prompt treatment, and effective control of pandemics, including the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Health information systems (HIS) developed during recent Ebola outbreaks in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provided opportunities to collect, analyze, and distribute data to inform both day-to-day and long-term policy decisions on outbreak preparedness. As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the globe, HIS and related technological advancements remain vital for effective and sustained data sharing, contact tracing, mapping and monitoring, community risk sensitization and engagement, preventive education, and timely preparedness and response activities. In reviewing literature of how HIS could have further supported mitigation of these Ebola outbreaks and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 3 k...
Research Interests:
Background In 2015, a China-UK-Tanzania tripartite pilot project was implemented in southeastern Tanzania to explore a new model for reducing malaria burden and possibly scaling-out the approach into other malaria-endemic countries. The... more
Background In 2015, a China-UK-Tanzania tripartite pilot project was implemented in southeastern Tanzania to explore a new model for reducing malaria burden and possibly scaling-out the approach into other malaria-endemic countries. The 1,7-malaria Reactive Community-based Testing and Response (1,7-mRCTR) which is a locally-tailored approach for reporting febrile malaria cases in endemic villages was developed to stop transmission and Plasmodium life-cycle. The (1,7-mRCTR) utilizes existing health facility data and locally trained community health workers to conduct community-level testing and treatment. Methods The pilot project was implemented from September 2015 to June 2018 in Rufiji District, southern Tanzania. The study took place in four wards, two with low incidence and two with a higher incidence. One ward of each type was selected for each of the control and intervention arms. The control wards implemented the existing Ministry of Health programmes. The 1,7-mRCTR activitie...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Business, Community Resilience, Resilience, Community Engagement & Participation, Sustainable Development, and 9 morePoverty Reduction Strategies, Community engagement, Medicine, Community Based Participatory Research, community empowerment and leadership, communicable disease elimination, Community emergency preparedness and resilienc, social mobilisation and participation, and community education and awareness in conflict settings
There is exponential growth in the interest and implementation of genomics research in Africa. This growth has been facilitated by the Human Hereditary and Health in Africa (H3Africa) initiative, which aims to promote a contemporary... more
There is exponential growth in the interest and implementation of genomics research in Africa. This growth has been facilitated by the Human Hereditary and Health in Africa (H3Africa) initiative, which aims to promote a contemporary research approach to the study of genomics and environmental determinants of common diseases in African populations. The purpose of this article is to describe important challenges affecting genomics research implementation in Africa. The observations, challenges and recommendations presented in this article were obtained through discussions by African scientists at teleconferences and face-to-face meetings, seminars at consortium conferences and in-depth individual discussions. Challenges affecting genomics research implementation in Africa, which are related to limited resources include ill-equipped facilities, poor accessibility to research centers, lack of expertise and an enabling environment for research activities in local hospitals. Challenges re...
Research Interests:
Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein-1 (PvMSP1) gene codes for a major malaria vaccine candidate antigen. However, its polymorphic nature represents an obstacle to the design of a protective vaccine. In this study, we analyzed the... more
Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein-1 (PvMSP1) gene codes for a major malaria vaccine candidate antigen. However, its polymorphic nature represents an obstacle to the design of a protective vaccine. In this study, we analyzed the genetic polymorphism and natural selection of the C-terminal 42 kDa fragment within PvMSP1 gene (Pv MSP142) from 77 P. vivax isolates, collected from imported cases of China-Myanmar border (CMB) areas in Yunnan province and the inland cases from Anhui, Yunnan, and Zhejiang province in China during 2009-2012. Totally, 41 haplotypes were identified and 30 of them were new haplotypes. The differences between the rates of non-synonymous and synonymous mutations suggest that PvMSP142 has evolved under natural selection, and a high selective pressure preferentially acted on regions identified of PvMSP133. Our results also demonstrated that PvMSP142 of P. vivax isolates collected on China-Myanmar border areas display higher genetic polymorphisms than those ...
Research Interests:
Background: This paper explores telemonitoring/mhealth approaches as a promising real time and contextual strategy in overhauling HIV and TB interventions quality access and uptake, retention,adherence and coverage impact in endemic and... more
Background: This paper explores telemonitoring/mhealth approaches as a promising real time and contextual strategy in overhauling HIV and TB interventions quality access and uptake, retention,adherence and coverage impact in endemic and prone-epidemic prevention and control in sub-Sahara Africa. Methods: The scoping review method was applied in acknowledged journals indexing platforms including Medline, Embase, Global Health, PubMed, MeSH PsycInfo, Scopus and Google Scholar to identify relevant articles pertaining to telemonitoring as a proxy surrogate method in reinforcing sustainability of HIV/TB prevention/treatment interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. Full papers were assessed and those selected that fosters evidence on telemonitoring/mhealth diagnosis, treatment approaches and strategies in HIV and TB prevention and control were synthesized and analyzed. Results: We found telemonitoring/mhealth approach as a more efficient and sustained proxy in HIV and TB risk reduction strate...
Research Interests:
Evaluation of medication efficacy and safety is an essential guarantee to successful therapeutic outcome in public health practices. However, larger distribution chain supply in developing countries such as Cameroon is often challenged by... more
Evaluation of medication efficacy and safety is an essential guarantee to successful therapeutic outcome in public health practices. However, larger distribution chain supply in developing countries such as Cameroon is often challenged by counterfeit drugs, poor manufacturing, storage and degradation leading to health and patient adverse consequences. Yet, access to supply chain management in strengthening ARVs quality assurance and outcomes remains poorly documented. More than 53,000 patients have been enrolled on free ARVs medications, but little is documented on quality assurance and validity of safety for affected populations along the supply chain management since 2008. The cross sectional study was conducted in ARVs distribution units and centers in central, littoral and south west regions of Cameroon. ARVs drugs samples included Nevirapine, Efavirenz, and fixed dose combinations of Zidovudine + Lamivudine, Lamivudine + Stavudine and Zidovudine + Lamivudine + Nevirapine. Drugs...
Research Interests: Immunology, Developing Countries, Cameroon, Treatment Outcome, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and 15 moreMedicine, Quality Control, HIV, Medication Management, Humans, Medication Errors - Medication Safety, Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, Drug Packaging, Drug Industry, Cross Sectional Studies, Counterfeit drugs, Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, resistance advocacy, drug storage, and Drug labeling
In 2013, the World Health Organization released a new set of guidelines widely known as Option B+. Prior to that there were guidelines released in 2010. Option B+ recommends lifelong antiretroviral treatment for all pregnant and... more
In 2013, the World Health Organization released a new set of guidelines widely known as Option B+. Prior to that there were guidelines released in 2010. Option B+ recommends lifelong antiretroviral treatment for all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The study aimed at investigating challenges and opportunities in implementing Infant and Young Child Feeding in the context of Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) guidelines among HIV positive mothers of children aged 0-24 months. The study also examined implications presented by implementing the 2013 PMTCT consolidated guidelines in the transition phase from the 2010 approach in Zambia. A mixed methods approach was employed in the descriptive cross sectional study utilizing semi structured questionnaires and Focused Group Discussions. Further, data was captured from the Health Information Management System. During the PMTCT transition, associated needs and challenges in institution...
Research Interests: HIV and AIDS education, Adolescent, Zambia, Pregnancy, Humans, and 12 moreFemale, Young Adult, Infant, Newborn Infant, Adult, Public health systems and services research, Breast feeding, Cross Sectional Studies, Child preschool, HIV and breastfeeding option B, HIV nutritional programs, and HIV infections
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Geography, Climate Change, Medical Microbiology, Medicine, Niger, and 15 moreMali, Humans, Livestock, Animals, Weather, Clinical Sciences, Emergencies, Rift Valley Fever, Communicable disease control, Elsevier, Epidemics, outbreak of Rift Valley, Rapid emergency response, early risk cmmunication and tracing strategies, and Population surveillance
Research Interests:
Tackling emerging epidemics and infectious diseases burden in Africa requires increasing unrestricted open access and free use or reuse of regional and global policies reforms as well as timely communication capabilities and strategies.... more
Tackling emerging epidemics and infectious diseases burden in Africa requires increasing unrestricted open access and free use or reuse of regional and global policies reforms as well as timely communication capabilities and strategies. Promoting, scaling up data and information sharing between African researchers and international partners are of vital importance in accelerating open access at no cost. Free Open Access (FOA) health data and information acceptability, uptake tactics and sustainable mechanisms are urgently needed. These are critical in establishing real time and effective knowledge or evidence-based translation, proven and validated approaches, strategies and tools to strengthen and revamp health systems. As such, early and timely access to needed emerging public health information is meant to be instrumental and valuable for policy-makers, implementers, care providers, researchers, health-related institutions and stakeholders including populations when guiding heal...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) made a marked transformation for neglected and vulnerable communities in the developing countries from the start, but infectious diseases of poverty (IDoPs) continue to inflict a disproportionate... more
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) made a marked transformation for neglected and vulnerable communities in the developing countries from the start, but infectious diseases of poverty (IDoPs) continue to inflict a disproportionate global public health burden with associated consequences, thereby contributing to the vicious cycle of poverty and inequity. However, the effectiveness and large-scale coverage of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) have revolutionized malaria treatment just as the control of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and onchocerciasis have benefitted from harnessing the broad-spectrum effect of avermectin-based derivatives. The paradigm shift in therapeutic approach, effected by these two drugs and their impact on community-based interventions of parasitic diseases plaguing the endemic low- and middle-income countries (LIMCs), led to the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015. However, the story would not be complete without mentioning praziquantel. The hug...
Research Interests:
The number of surveillance networks for infectious disease diagnosis and response has been growing. In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, which has been endorsed by each... more
The number of surveillance networks for infectious disease diagnosis and response has been growing. In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, which has been endorsed by each of the 46 WHO African members since then. Yet, taming the dynamics and plague of the vicious Ebola virus disease (EVD) in African countries has been patchy and erratic due to inadequate surveillance and contact tracing, community defiance and resistance, a lack of detection and response systems, meager/weak knowledge and information on the disease, inadequacies in protective materials protocols, contact tracing nightmare and differing priorities at various levels of the public health system. Despite the widespread acceptance of syndromic surveillance (SS) systems, their ability to provide early warning alerts and notifications of outbreaks is still unverified. Information is often too limited for any outbreak, or emerging or otherwise unexpected dise...
Research Interests:
The epidemic of the Ebola virus infection in West Africa in 2014 has become a worldwide concern. Due to the nature of the disease, which has an extremely high mortality potential, this outbreak has received much attention from researchers... more
The epidemic of the Ebola virus infection in West Africa in 2014 has become a worldwide concern. Due to the nature of the disease, which has an extremely high mortality potential, this outbreak has received much attention from researchers and public health workers. An article entitled "Need of surveillance response systems to combat Ebola outbreaks and other emerging infectious diseases in African countries," published in the journal Infectious Diseases of Poverty in August 2014, concluded that a good surveillance system to monitor disease transmission dynamics is essential and needs to be implemented to combat the outbreak. Issues regarding the limitation of the passive surveillance system have been raised by Professor Viroj Wiwanitkit, who emphasizes the need for an active disease detection system such as mass screening in this letter to editor. The different function between passive and active surveillance system in combating the disease outbreak has been agreed upon by...
Research Interests:
Owing to the implementation of a national malaria elimination programme from 2010 to 2020, we performed a systematic review to assess research challenges in the People's Republic of China (P.R. China) and define research priorities in... more
Owing to the implementation of a national malaria elimination programme from 2010 to 2020, we performed a systematic review to assess research challenges in the People's Republic of China (P.R. China) and define research priorities in the next few years. A systematic search was conducted for articles published from January 2000 to December 2012 in international journals from PubMed and Chinese journals from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). In total, 2532 articles from CNKI and 308 articles from PubMed published between 2010 and 2012 related to malaria after unrelated references and review or comment were further excluded, and a set of research gaps have been identified that could hinder progress toward malaria elimination in P.R. China. For example, there is a lack of sensitive and specific tests for the diagnosis of malaria cases with low parasitemia, and there is a need for surveillance tools that can evaluate the epidemic status for guiding the elimination ...
Research Interests:
Babesiosis is a typical zoonotic, emerging disease caused by a tick-borne intraerythrocytic protozoan of Babesia spp. that also can be transmitted by blood transfusion. Babesiosis imposes an increasing public-health threat. We reviewed... more
Babesiosis is a typical zoonotic, emerging disease caused by a tick-borne intraerythrocytic protozoan of Babesia spp. that also can be transmitted by blood transfusion. Babesiosis imposes an increasing public-health threat. We reviewed and mapped epidemiological studies on Babesia in vectors and/or rodents in the People¿s Republic of China (P.R. China) and found that B. microti was the predominant species detected in the investigated regions such as Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Fujian provinces and Taiwan island. We reviewed a series of sporadic human babesiosis cases collected from 1940¿s to 2013, in Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Taiwan and Zhejiang and other regions including a main endemic area of malaria on the China-Myanmar border areas in P.R. China. Clinical manifestations of human babesiosis were also reviewed. Human babesiosis may have previously been overlooked in P.R. China due to a lack of medical awareness and the limitation of clinical diagnostic methods.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Malaria has affected human health globally with a significant burden of disease, and also has impeded social and economic development in the areas where it is present. In Africa, many countries have faced serious challenges in controlling... more
Malaria has affected human health globally with a significant burden of disease, and also has impeded social and economic development in the areas where it is present. In Africa, many countries have faced serious challenges in controlling malaria, in part due to major limitations in public health systems and primary health care infrastructure. Although China is a developing country, a set of control strategies and measures in different local settings have been implemented successfully by the National Malaria Control Programme over the last 60 years, with a low cost of investment. It is expected that Chinese experience may benefit malaria control in Africa. This review will address the importance and possibility of China-Africa collaboration in control of malaria in targeted African countries, as well as how to proceed toward the goal of elimination where this is technically feasible.
Research Interests:
Artemisinin-based combination antimalarials are currently considered effective alternatives for the treatment of malaria in Africa, but there are few studies of such combinations in Nigerian children. We assessed the safety, treatment... more
Artemisinin-based combination antimalarials are currently considered effective alternatives for the treatment of malaria in Africa, but there are few studies of such combinations in Nigerian children. We assessed the safety, treatment efficacy and effects on gametocyte carriage of the combination of artesunate plus amodiaquine and chloroquine plus pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine in children. We evaluated 153 children who were aged 12 years or younger who had uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Patients were randomly assigned a combination of artesunate (4 mg/kg of body weight daily for 3 days) plus amodiaquine (30 mg/kg over 3 days), or chloroquine (25 mg/kg over 3 days) plus pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine (25 mg/kg of the sulfadoxine component at presentation). The primary endpoints were the proportions of children with adequate clinical and parasitological response, late parasitological failure, late clinical failure and early treatment failure. The parasitological cure rates on days 14-28 were also used as the primary endpoints. Both regimens were well tolerated; no child was withdrawn because of drug intolerance. All children treated with artesunate plus amodiaquine had adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR), while all but five children treated with chloroquine plus pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine had similar response. Fever clearance times were similar in the two treatment groups. However, the proportion of patients whose parasitaemia cleared by day 2 was significantly higher (100 vs. 50%, P = 0.00001) and parasite clearance was significantly faster (1.7 +/- 0.4 vs. 2.5 +/- 0.8 days, P = 0.0001) in children treated with artesunate plus amodiaquine. The cure rates on days 21 (100%vs. 94%, P = 0.03) and 28 (100%vs. 90%, P = 0.003) were also significantly higher in children treated with artesunate plus amodiaquine than in those treated with chloroquine plus pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine. Overall, a significantly higher proportion of children treated with chloroquine plus pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine carried gametocytes at least once during follow-up compared with those treated with artesunate plus amodiaquine [5 of 50 (10%) vs. 1 of 103 (0.97%), P = 0.01]. The combination of artesunate plus amodiaquine is therapeutically superior to a combination of chloroquine plus pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine, and significantly reduced gametocyte carriage following treatment.
Research Interests: Clinical Trials, Nigeria, Humans, Child, Female, and 15 moreMale, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Infant, Sesquiterpenes, Pyrimethamine, Fever, Public health systems and services research, Plasmodium falciparum, Antimalarials, Combination drug therapy, Chloroquine, Amodiaquine, Good Clinical Practice in Clinical Trials, Child preschool, and Malaria Falciparum
Background Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) is becoming an alternative way of establishing quickly the diagnosis of malaria infections, by detecting specific malaria antigens in suspected patients’ blood between the China-Myanmar endemic... more
Background Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) is becoming an alternative way of establishing quickly the diagnosis of malaria infections, by detecting specific malaria antigens in suspected patients’ blood between the China-Myanmar endemic borders areas, towards achieving the National Malaria Elimination programme by 2020. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of CareStart™ Malaria Pf/Pan RDT kit for the diagnosis of malaria infections in suspected patients. Blood examination by microscopy was taken as gold standard to evaluate CareStart™ kit’s sensitivity, specificity and predictive value and corrected with PCR assay. Results Overall 126 of 241 (52.28%) malaria cases were detected by microscopy compared to 115 of 241(47.72%) CareStart™ kit and 128 of 241 (53.11%) PCR corrected assay. CareStart™ kit’s sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of malaria were 89.68% and 98.26% respectively, compared to standard microscopy, whereas the sensitivity and specificity for...
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Infectious disease epidemiology, Clinical Epidemiology, Medicine, Biological Sciences, Humans, and 13 moreChild, Female, Male, Communicable Disease Epidemiology and its Control, Infant, Common Cold, Prevalence, Plasmodium falciparum, Elsevier, Herpes Labialis, Child preschool, Malaria Falciparum, and Medical and Health Sciences
Increasing globalization, increasing intense urbanization and climate changes have been linked to communities' hazards and disasters vulnerabilities reported across Africa. Less data and information are documented on national to community... more
Increasing globalization, increasing intense urbanization and climate changes have been linked to communities' hazards and disasters vulnerabilities reported across Africa. Less data and information are documented on national to community disaster risk workforce readiness and resilience capacity in emergency humanitarian crises interventions. The lack of coherent and integrated disaster risk analysis and preparedness, response and recovery programs implementation is a major challenged in the region for decades. This paper highlights natural and man-made emergency hazards and disasters nature and exposure, potential approaches in Africa context. Our findings showed that man-made disasters events were the most documented, uneven in their nature, pattern and trend of occurrence and exposure consequences over time. Emerging and re-emerging outbreaks (Cholera, Polio, HIV, Ebola, Influenza, Rift Valley fever and Meningitis) were the most common, followed by conflicts and hunger, floods and land-sliding disproportionately spread across Africa. We also documented differential inadequacies in effective community risk assessment to emergency management, weak community disaster risk knowledge and attitudes to poorly integrated mitigation and recovery strategies. Leveraging on digital and social media network platforms advances coupled with existing fire, emergency facilities and proven effective hazard/disaster response lessons learnt and experiences are resources in strengthening laboratory capacity and laboratory networks, scaling up proactive displaced people/refugee security and safety standards support and best practice. Strengthening the national Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SDRRF) stewardship and investment (2015-2030) implementation is crucial in improving evidence-based, robust, and effective disaster risk reduction (DRR) community-based programs, in ensuring emergency public health readiness and resilient response capacities and ownership strategies in Africa.