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Leishmaniasis
No full textLeishmaniasis is a poverty-related disease with two main clinical forms: visceral leishmaniasis and cutaneous leishmaniasis. An estimated 0·7-1 million new cases of leishmaniasis per year are reported from nearly 100 endemic countries. The number of reported visceral leishmaniasis cases has decreased substantially in the past decade as a result of better access to diagnosis and treatment and more intense vector control within an elimination initiative in Asia, although natural cycles in transmission intensity might play a role. In east Africa however, the case numbers of this fatal disease continue to be sustained. Increased conflict in endemic areas of cutaneous leishmaniasis and forced displacement has resulted in a surge in these endemic areas as well as clinics across the world. WHO lists leishmaniasis as one of the neglected tropical diseases for which the development of new treatments is a priority. Major evidence gaps remain, and new tools are needed before leishmaniasis can be definitively controlled
Alternative sputum collection methods for diagnosis of childhood intrathoracic tuberculosis: a systematic literature review
No full textWe regret that this articles is behind a paywall.Diagnosis of intrathoracic tuberculosis (ITB) is limited in children partly by their difficulty to produce sputum specimen
Population-level HIV incidence estimates using a combination of synthetic cohort and recency biomarker approaches in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
No full textThere is a notable absence of consensus on how to generate estimates of population-level incidence. Incidence is a considerably more sensitive indicator of epidemiological trends than prevalence, but is harder to estimate. We used a novel hybrid method to estimate HIV incidence by age and sex in a rural district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Reactive and pre-emptive vaccination strategies to control hepatitis E infection in emergency and refugee settings: A modelling study
No full textHepatitis E Virus (HEV) is the leading cause of acute viral hepatitis globally. Symptomatic infection is associated with case fatality rates of ~20% in pregnant women and it is estimated to account for ~10,000 annual pregnancy-related deaths in southern Asia alone. Recently, large and well-documented outbreaks with high mortality have occurred in displaced population camps in Sudan, Uganda and South Sudan. However, the epidemiology of HEV is poorly defined, and the value of different immunisation strategies in outbreak settings uncertain. We aimed to estimate the critical epidemiological parameters for HEV and to evaluate the potential impact of both reactive vaccination (initiated in response to an epidemic) and pre-emptive vaccination
Knowledge, attitude and practices of snakebite management amongest health workers in Cameroon: Need for continuous training and capacity building
No full textSnakebite has only recently been recognized as a neglected tropical disease by the WHO. Knowledge regarding snakebites and its care is poor both at the population level, and at the health care staff level. The goal of this study was to describe the level of knowledge and clinical practice regarding snakebite among health care staff from Cameroon
Evaluation of NCD service integrated into a general OPD and HIV service in Matsapha, Eswatini, 2017
No full textInternal reportBackground: Swaziland faces a growing noncommunicable disease (NCD) burden alongside HIV and TB epidemics. MSF provided primary care services, HIV and TB programmes at Matsapha MOH comprehensive clinic from 2011 to 2018. With MOH collaboration, MSF integrated NCD care into general outpatient (OPD), HIV and TB services in April 2016. A retrospective analysis of routine clinical and programmatic data was undertaken to examine programme processes, effectiveness and costs in order to strengthen the service, facilitate handover and inform MSF and MOH policy and scale-up. The specific objectives were to: 1) describe the care model; 2) examine its effectiveness; 3) examine predictors of NCD treatment outcomes, including HIV status; and 4) determine incremental total and unit service costs. \ud
Methods: We undertook a retrospective evaluation of routine data from Matsapha Comprehensive Care Clinic, located outside Manzini, Eswatini’s largest city. This comprised: care model description; routine cohort data analysis to investigate effectiveness of care and predictors of reaching clinical targets; and incremental costing analysis. Enrolment criteria included: a diagnosis of established cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM) types 1 or 2, chronic respiratory disease; and committing to regular attendance. Routine clinical data of adults aged 18 or over, enrolled from July 2016 to July 2017, were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression modelling. A costing analysis from the providers’ perspective utilised routine accounting, service and consumption data. \ud
Results: Model of care description: We implemented: staff training; locally adapted protocols; chronic care files; a revised appointment system and patient flow; and a new database. Doctors reviewed patients at first visit, and saw complex or unstable patients monthly, resulting in significant workload. Nurses reviewed stable patients three-monthly; patients requiring treatment initiation/adjustment, ad hoc blood testing or external referral were referred back to doctors. Thus, task sharing to nurses did not occur as intended. Specific health literacy, adherence support groups or lay counsellor involvement were lacking. Integrating NCD care resulted in longer consultation times. Repeated medication stock outs occurred despite MSF’s efforts to support the MOH supply chain. Routine cohort data analysis: Of 895 enrolled patients, mean age was 55 years (IQR 5.3 to 10.6); 66% were women, of whom 54.6% were obese. Mean follow-up was 8 months; 16.3% defaulted during the study period. The most common diagnoses at enrolment were: hypertension (85.7%) and DM type 2 (37.4%), asthma (3.8%) and DM type 1 (1.2%). 3 patients had known CVD; none had known chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. At last visit, 60.4% (n=608) of hypertensive patients and 63.3% (n=289) of diabetics were at target. Obesity and HIV positivity were weakly associated with an increased risk of uncontrolled hypertension. Descriptive costing analysis: Total 2016 incremental financial costs were: INT 448.52) were similar to those reported for chronic HIV programmes. \ud
Conclusions and Lessons Learned: NCD care can be integrated into a HIV department and OPD setting in an MSFsupported primary care centre by utilising pre-existing structures, and can achieve acceptable intermediate clinical outcomes and retention rates at a cost that is similar to HIV programmes. The current model of NCD care is complex and time consuming, resulting in significant doctor workload. Streamlined, algorithm-driven protocols and work with the local government to extend prescribing rights for NCD medications to nurses may facilitate task sharing and decentralisation of care. Drug supply chain strengthening is required and advocacy around drug prices could reduce programme costs. Inclusion of specific treatment support and adherence counselling, learning lessons from HIV and TB care, is also essential to integrating NCD care into pre-existing services
The incubation period of hepatitis E genotype 1: insights from pooled analyses of travellers
No full textWe regret that this article is behind a paywall.Hepatitis E virus genotype 1 (HEV G1) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa and Asia. HEV G1's natural history, including the incubation period, remains poorly understood, hindering surveillance efforts and effective control. Using individual-level data from 85 travel-related HEV G1 cases in England and Wales, we estimate the incubation period distribution using survival analysis methods, which allow for appropriate inference when only time ranges, rather than exact times are known for the exposure to HEV and symptom onset. We estimated a 29.8-day (95% confidence interval (CI) 24.1-36.0) median incubation period with 5% of people expected to develop symptoms within 14.3 days (95% CI 10.1-21.7) and 95% within 61.9 days (95% CI 47.4-74.4) of exposure. These estimates can help refine clinical case definitions and inform the design of disease burden and intervention studies
Morbidity, healthcare needs and barriers to\ud access medical care amongst local and\ud displaced populations in west Dar’aa and\ud Quneitra, Southern Syria
No full textConducted in Dar’aa and Quneitra,during a cease fire in 2017, this study attempted to provide a baseline of health care needs and barriers to accessing health care. By triangulating information sources, we have attempted to cover important health care subjects from different perspectives