African health sciences
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African health sciences · Sep 2022
Observational StudyFrequency of transfusion transmissible infections among blood donors of Rawalpindi District, Pakistan.
Transmissible Infections (TTI's) are a cause of significant burden on health care facilities by imposing a threat of infection transmission through disease reservoirs in asymptomatic donors. This eventually leads to a serious challenge in acquiring blood bags in a country like Pakistan where transfusion dependent disease are of high prevalence. The objective of this study is to determine the seroprevalence of TTI's in blood donors in Rawalpindi District through a multi-center approach. ⋯ In conclusion, our study suggests that the risk of transmission through transfusion is still considerable. Targeting donors with a low-risk profile, a screening questionnaire, an ample supply of quality screening tests, and awareness campaigns for the diseases in question must be carried to further decrease the risk of transmission of TTIs in Pakistan.
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African health sciences · Sep 2022
Aspergillus-specific IgM/IgG antibody serostatus of patients hospitalized with moderate-critical COVID-19 in Uganda.
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is known to complicate the coronavirus diseases-2019 (COVID-19), especially those with critical illness. We investigated the baseline anti-Aspergillus antibody serostatus of patients with moderate-critical COVID-19 hospitalized at 3 COVID-19 Treatment Units in Uganda. All 46 tested patients, mean age 30, and 11% with underlying respiratory disease had a negative serum anti-Aspergillus IgM/IgG antibody immunochromatographic test on day 3 (mean) of symptom onset (range 1-26), but follow up specimens to assess seroconversion were not available.
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African health sciences · Sep 2022
Ivermectin treatment response in two rural villages with a high prevalence of onchocerciasis and epilepsy, Mahenge Tanzania.
Despite 20 years of ivermectin mass distribution in the Mahenge area, Tanzania, the prevalence of onchocerciasis and epilepsy has remained high in rural villages. ⋯ Our study reports a decrease in microfilarial density following ivermectin treatment in most individuals. Optimizing ivermectin coverage will address the ongoing onchocerciasis transmission in Mahenge.
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African health sciences · Sep 2022
Compliance of patients to DOTS tuberculosis treatment strategy in a South-East Nigeria Teaching Hospital.
Tuberculosis ranks the second highest cause of adult mortality after HIV in the world. The Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) strategy is aimed at following up on patients' adherence to treatment regimen. ⋯ The study reflected poor to average compliance to DOTS. There is a need for creation of more DOTS centres; regular surveys and updates on DOTS TB strategy should be the norm rather than the exception.
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African health sciences · Sep 2022
Sexual coercion at sexual debut and associated factors among young females in rural areas of Boset District, Eastern Ethiopia: a mixed method study.
Assess the prevalence and associated factors of sexual coercion at sexual debut among young females in rural areas of Boset district, Oromia Region, Eastern Ethiopia. ⋯ Sexual coercion at sexual debut is a major public health problem among young females in the study community. The emerging program interventions need to take this problem into consideration.