Pan African Medical Journal

ABSTARCTO_ST_ABSBackgroundC_ST_ABSThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is far from over, although appreciable progress has been made to limit the devastating effects of the pandemic across the globe. Adequate knowledge and risk perception is a critical assessment that is required to ensure proper preventive measures. This study assessed these among Nigerians. MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional assessment of 776 consenting Nigerian adults that were distributed across the 6 geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory. Online pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire were used to obtain the socio-demographic data and assessed the knowledge and risk perception of the participants to COVID-19. The knowledge of COVID-19 was assessed based on the number of accurate responses given in comparison to average scores. Chi-square analysis was computed to analysis the association between socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge of COVID-19 and risk perception. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 21, the level of significance was set at value p<0.05 at 95% confidence interval. ResultsMajority of the participants were male 451 (58.1%), there was a good knowledge of COVID-19 among 90.3% of respondents with 57% having positive risk perception. There was a statistically significant relationship between good knowledge and positive risk perception of COVID-19 (p < 0.001). Annual income (p =0.012) and the perception that "vaccines are good" significantly predict positive risk perception of COVID-19 among the respondents. ConclusionA good knowledge of COVID-19 and vaccination against the virus were the two most important factors that determined risk perception among the population. This may be because of the widespread advocacy, and it portends a good omen at combating COVID-19 menace.

IntroductionHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains one of the neglected infectious diseases. Children infected with HBV are at higher risk of becoming chronic carriers. Barriers to measures against HBV in children is attributed to inadequate knowledge by some health professionals. This study assessed knowledge and treatment practices of HBV in children among health professionals. MethodsA cross sectional survey was conducted among health practitioners (185) in three districts in Krachi using structured questionnaire. Stata version 15 was used to analyze participants responses on awareness, knowledge and treatment practices. Pearsons Product Moment correlation was used to determine the relationship between knowledge, treatment and preventive practices. Multivariate regression analysis assessed the relationships between variables at p<0.05 and 95% confidence interval. Results64% of the participants were nurses. 80% were aware of HBV in children and 85% had only fair knowledge about HBV in children. Only 29% indicated good knowledge and management practices of HBV in children. There was a positive relationship between knowledge, and treatment (r (183) = .67, p < .001) and preventive (r (183) = .54, p < .001) practices. A unit increase in awareness of HBV in children leads to 1.42 units increase in knowledge (p < .01, 95% CI; .543, 2.296), while a unit increase in knowledge result in 1.3 units increase in treatment ((p < .01, 95% CI;.912, 1.680) practice of HBV in children. ConclusionParticipants demonstrated only fair knowledge about HBV in children. Seminars and workshops on HBV in children for health professionals must intensify.

IntroductionHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causal agent for Acquired I Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the worlds greatest severe public health and development contest. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 38 million of people are living with HIV/AIDS and 1.7 million people newly infected with HIV. Increased availability and accessibility of ART has essentially improved the survival rate, through lowering the incidence of OIs among peoples living with HIV/AIDS. Risk of developing Opportunistic infections in HIV patients depend on experience to potential pathogens, virulence of pathogens, degree of host immunity and the use of antimicrobial prophylaxis. In Ethiopia, however remarkable decline of new infection (81%) for decades, since 2008 HIV incidence rate began to rise by 10% and number of new infection diagnosed each year increased by 36% among all ages and doubled among adult. There is a limited studies describing the spectrum of opportunistic infection and associated factors in the study settings. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the spectrum of Opportunistic infections in the study area. MethodsA Facility based retrospective cross-sectional study was employed from 2015-2019 G.C. The sample size was computed using single population proportion formula. Accordingly, four hundred ninety seven (497) medical records of study participants were reviewed. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the participants included in this study. Data were extracted from the ART follow up data-base and medical records of the patients by using a standardized check list, which was adapted from Federal ministry Of Health HIV ART. The contents of check list include: Socio-demographic characteristics and clinical informations. Data had entered Epi data version and analyzed using SPSS version 5.3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bivariate analysis with p-value <0.2 was done to see the association between outcome variable & independent variables. Variables with p < 0.2 in bivariate analysis were entered for multiple logistic regressions. At 95% confidence interval, explanatory variables with P <0.05 in multiple logistic regression analysis were considered as significantly association. ResultThe study found that, an overall prevalence of OIs was 62%. The finding of our study documented, from deferent HIV related OIs among patients on ART follow up at Nekemte Specialized Hospital ART clinic, the common types of OIs were; Pulmonary Tuberculosis (15.7%), Oral candidiasis (14.3%), Herpes Zoster (11.3%), Cryptococcus meningitides (5.9%), upper respiratory infection (5.8%, Persistent diarrhea (5.2%), and Extra pulmonary tuberculosis (3.8%). The occurrence of OIs on adult PLHIV patients who were with baseline WHO stage of I were 53% lower as compared to those who were with advanced baseline WHO stage of II and more {AOR: 0.468, 95 % CI (0.305-0.716). Moreover, Participants of Urban residents were 1.6 times more likely to develop OIs than those rural residents. Baseline WHO clinical staging and residence were identified as independent predictors of OIs among adult HIV infected patients. ConclusionAn overall prevalence of OIs was 62%. The prevalence of OIs is still high namely Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Oral candidiasis and Herpes Zoster are leading OIs among adult HIV infected patients. Baseline WHO clinical staging and residence were identified as independent predictors of OIs among adult HIV infected patients RecommendationsHaving skilled health professionals, early diagnosis of OIs among HIV infected patients and having equipped laboratory diagnostic setup are mandatory to be able to deal with specific diagnosis and management of OIs. Further study is recommended to determine the relationship between residence and developing OIs among HIV patients on ART follow

IntroductionJaundice is the commonest presenting features of hepatitis and it is a common clinical condition in Bangladesh. As a country of the Asia Pacific region Bangladesh is considered to be a high risk country for developing hepatitis by different hepatotropic viruses. This studyrepresents the patterns and types ofviruses among the patients admitted in a tertiary care hospitals inBangladesh who were presented with jaundice. MethodsPresent cross sectional observational study done during a one year study period from July 2022 to June 2023 in a tertiary care hospital, Chattogram, Bangladesh among 114 patients. All patients who had clinical jaundice or having serum bilirubin > 2 mg/dl were recruited in the study. Clinical data were collected from all of them and viral serology were also done by ICT or ELISA. Informed written consent were taken from all patients and permission for the study were taken from ERB of the medical college. ResultsAmong 114 study subjects, male were 73(64%) and female were 41(36%) and male to female ratio was 1: 0.56. Among all, maximum were in the age range of <20 years and 21- 30 years which were 46(40.4%) and 44(38.6%) respectively. Regarding clinical features, 109(95.6%) had jaundice and 89(78.1%) had fever and 74(64.9%) had nausea and these were three dominant clinical features found. Viral serology study revealed frequency of HAV, HBV, HCV and HEV infection were 43(37.7%), 9(7.9%), 1(0.9%) and 26(22.8%) respectively. There were viral coinfections with (HAV+HEV), (HAV+HBV) and (HBV + HEV) and it were 8(7.0%), 4(3.5%) and 3(2.6%) respectively. Among all 20(17.5%) cases were tested negative for hepatotropic viruses. Again 6(5.3%) had Anti HBc Positivity and 2(1.8%) cases were found coinfected with HIV. ConclusionsIn a year round, HAV and HEV are two common viral infection causing jaundice among the locality. HBV had a significant level of infection with low level HCV causing jaundice. Two HIV coinfection is an alarming condition found among the jaundice patients which need further exploration and risk factor evaluations.

IntroductionHepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are the global public health challenge. Family members of the HBV and HCV infected patients have a higher risk of exposure to many blood-borne diseases including Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C viral infections as well. So the objectives of the present study was to evaluate seropositivity of HBV and HCV among family members of. chronic viral hepatitis patients. MethodsThis study was conducted 80 family members of 50 patients with chronic HBV and HCV infection. After ethical clearance and written consent, 1st degree family members of those chronically infected hepatitis patients were explained about the objectives of the study and a standard questionnaire were introduced and recorded. Venous blood samples was taken from every participant with universal precautions and was tested by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Hepatitis B surface antigen, anti HCV. Data analysis was done later by SPSS. ResultsEighty family members of 50 HBV and HCV positive cases where screened where HBV infection(45;90%) was more then HCV infection(5;90%). Male were 45(56.3%) and female were 35 (43.8%) male to male ratio 1.28:1. Total 23 (28.8%) subjects were vaccinated against HBV. One subject had history of blood transfusion and dental procedure each, extramarital sex activity was found in 2 (2.5%), and sleeping in the same room was found in 31(38.6%) subjects. History analysis revealed, 3(3.8%) were positive for HBV, 29 (36.3%) were found negative and 48(60%) were unaware of their status; again 77 (96.3%) are unaware of their anti HCV status. HBsAg and Anti HCV screening status of the relatives revealed HBsAg and anti HCV was found positive in 4 (5%) and 1 (1.3%) cases respectively. ConclusionRelatives of the HBV and HCV infected patients are also at risk. So they should take proper preventive measures and should be vaccinated.

BackgroundCOVID-19 devastated the routine life of all human kind since its discovery in Wuhan, China in 2019 and caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) infections. Vaccination is an effective means for controlling the communicability of the disease and every effort has to be done to increase the proportion of vaccinated people against COVID-19. ObjectiveThe main objective of this study was to assess the willingness of teachers to receive COVID-19 vaccine and its associated factors in dambi dollo town, 2022. MethodsSchool based cross sectional study design was applied. The data were collected self-administered questionnaire and analysed by SPSS version 23.0. Variables which showed association with dependent variable in the bivariate analyses at 0.25 were entered into multiple stepwise logistic regression model. P-Value 0.05 was considered statistically significant in this study. Adjusted Odds ratios together with corresponding 95% confidence intervals was used to interpret the findings. ResultsAbout 92% of the teachers in dambi dollo town have heard covid-19 vaccine and 67.2% of them know that the vaccine can prevent the COVID-19 disease. On the other hand 51 %(95%CI: 44.8, 57.2) of the respondents had good knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine. From the total 247 participants who have responded to our inquiry on their willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, 68.4% (95%CI: 62.5, 74.3) of them were willing to receive the vaccine immediately while the remaining were either not willing or not ready at the time of data collection. Those participants having good knowledge of the vaccine were about six times more willing to get vaccinated, (AOR=5.85, 95%CI: 2.74, 12.47) in comparison with those having poor knowledge of the vaccine. ConclusionIn conclusion, the level of willingness to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine was 68.4% and relatively low in the current study population and participants religion and knowledge status are the two variables significantly associated with willingness to receive the vaccine.

BackgroundCOVID-19, one of the worst pandemics in humankinds history on December 2019. Clinical presentations of COVID-19 patients are varied and being closely similar to those of seasonal flu, its difficult to differentiate it on first presentation as COVID. Clinical scenario and demographic characteristics provide important guideline in the management of COVID. Materials and MethodsThe objective of this cross-sectional study was to explore the demographic characteristics and clinical features of COVID-19 patients admitted in a Combined Military Hospital of Bangladesh. Data were collected from treatment records of patients of the CMH Bogura during the period of June 2020 to August 2020. Total 219 RT-PCR positive admitted patients were included as study population. ResultAmong 219 patients, 78.6% were male and 21.5% female. Mean age of patients was 34.3 {+/-} 12.2. Highest percentages (67.2%) of patients were from age group 21-40 years. 85.4% of the patients had no comorbidities, and hypertension (10.1%) was the most common comorbidity. Most (83.1%) of the admitted patients were diagnosed as mild cases. 96.4% cases were symptomatic and fever (84.5%) was the most common symptoms of COVID, followed by dry cough (46.6%), sore throat (19.6%), headache (18.3%), bodyache (17.8%), loss of appetite (15.5%), tiredness (15.5%) and anorexia (14.2%). ConclusionThis single center study revealed younger age, male predominance, less presence of comorbidites, mild cases, high proportion of symptomatic patients, and fever and cough as the most common presenting features among the admitted COVID-19 patients in CMH Bogura.

BackgroundCOVID-19 total cases have reached 1,083,071 (83.5%) in the top 10 infected African countries (South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, and Cote dIvoire) from Feb 14 to Sep 6, 2020. Then, this study aimed to model and forecast of COVID-19 new cases in these top 10 infected African countries. MethodsIn this study, the COVID 19 new cases data have been modeled and forecasted using curve estimation regression and time series models for these top 10 infected African countries from Feb 14 to Sep 6, 2020. ResultsFrom July to August, the prevalence of COVID-19 cumulative cases was declined in South Africa, Cote d{square}Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Cameron, Nigeria, and Algeria by 31%, 26%, 22%, 20%, 14%, 12%, and 4%, respectively. But, it was highly raised in Ethiopia and Morocco by 41%, and 38% in this period, respectively. In Kenya, it was raised only by 1%. In this study, the cubic regression models for the ln(COVID-19 new cases) data were relatively the best fit for Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. And, the quadratic regression models for the data were the best fit for Cameroon, Cote d{square}Ivoire and Ghana. The Algeria data was followed the logarithmic regression model. In the time series analysis, the Algeria, Egypt, and South Africa COVID-19 new cases data have fitted the ARIMA (0,1,0), ARIMA (0,1,0), and ARIMA (0,1,14) models, respectively. The Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, and Nigeria data have fitted the simple exponential smoothing models. The Ethiopia, Kenya, and Morocco data have followed the Damped trend, Holt, and Brown exponential smoothing models, respectively. In the analysis, the trends of COVID-19 new cases will be declined for Algeria and Ethiopia, and the trends will be constantan for Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Ghana and Nigeria. But, it will be raised slightly for Egypt and Kenya, and significantly for Morocco and South Africa from September 7 to October 6, 2020. ConclusionThis study was conducted with the current measures; the forecasts and trends nobtained may differ from the number of cases that occur in the future. Thus, the study finding should be useful in preparedness planning against further spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in African countries. And, the researcher recommended that as many countries continue to relax restrictions on movement and mass gatherings, and more are opening their airspaces, and the countries other public and private sectors are reopening. So, strong appropriate public health and social measures must be instituted on the grounds again.

Health systems of low-to-middle-income countries may have fewer buffering resources and capacity against shocks from a pandemic. This study assessed the effects of COVID-19 on essential health care services and its mitigation strategies employed in Benishangul Gumuz Region in the Assosa district of western Ethiopia. Institutional based cross-sectional study design with multilevel triangulated mixed approach was used. Purposively selected health facilities and key informant or in-depth interviewee from different facilities were involved. Document review from health facilities reports and case registration logs were used to access the service utilizations per- and -post the pandemic. The study showed that there was a significant decrement in antenatal care (ANC) visits, family planning new acceptors, family planning repeated acceptors, skilled delivery, and in postnatal care within 7 days of delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was an increase in home delivery, teenage pregnancy and still births. There was also a significant reduction in the vaccination coverage for almost all vaccines. During the pandemic, children treated for diarrheal disease and the number of people screened for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), new HIV-positive individuals, and new HIV-positive individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy have decreased significantly. There has been a statistically significant increase in the number of people with elevated blood sugar during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on essential health services, most notably in Benishangul Gumuz Region. Groups of individuals considered to be at higher risks of morbidity and mortality are the most significantly affected. Mitigation strategies have been implemented to address the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and improve health care delivery in the regions highly affected areas. Urgent and comprehensive action is needed to mitigate the future (long-term) impact of Covid-19 on the health of community in the region.

BackgroundThalassemia patients need regular blood transfusion which saves their lives but increases the risk of acquiring viral infections like hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Objective(s)This study aimed to screen out the HCV and HBV infections in Thalassemia patients receiving regular blood in three centers of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan. Materials and MethodsIt was a cross sectional, multicenter study involving 224 Thalassemia patients. The study was carried out from August 2019 to January 2020 in Thalassemia centers of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zaid hospital Rawalakot, District Headquarters hospital (DHQ) Palandari, and Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Muzaffarabad, AJK. A total of 224 patients were screened out for HCV and HBV. Indirect ELISA was carried out to detect anti HCV antibodies while direct ELISA was carried out to detect the HBsAg from all the samples using commercially available ELISA kits. ResultsOverall, 12 patients (5.36%) were found to be positive for HBV while 63 (28.1%) were positive for HCV. HBV positive patients included 7 (5.69%) males and 5 (4.95%) females while HCV positive patients included 26 (41.27%) males and 37 (58.73%) female patients. Both the viruses were more common among elder patients as compared to younger patients. ConclusionPrevalence of HCV is very high and that of HBV is moderately high among Thalassemia patients of AJK.

BackgroundThe Corona Virus Disease -19 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global health emergency that requires the adoption of unprecedented measures to control its rapid spread. Tanzanians adherence to control measures is affected by their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards the disease. This study was carried out to investigate knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 among residents in Tanzania during the April - May 2020 period of the epidemic. MethodsThis cross-sectional study analyzes responses of self-selected Tanzanians who responded to an invitation to complete an online questionnaire. Survey Monkey tool was used to develop the questionnaire used for data collection. The survey assessed demographic characteristics of participants as well as their knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19. A Chi-square analysis was used to compare proportions. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine differences among age groups, whereas results were considered significant if the p-value was <0.05 ResultsFour hundred residents completed the survey. The mean age of study participants was 32 years, and the majority was female (n= 216,54.0%). There were no significant differences in demographic variables). Participants with a bachelors degree or above (n= 241, 60.3%) had higher scores. Overall, 84.4% (n=338) of participants had good knowledge, which was significantly associated with education level (p=0.001). Nearly all participants (n=384, 96.0%) had confidence that COVID-19 will be eliminated. The majority of respondents (n=308, 77.0%) did not go to a crowded place in recent days. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that males, age-group 16-29 years, and education of secondary or lower (OR = 1.2, CI = 1.3-1.5) were significantly associated with lower knowledge score. ConclusionsOur findings revealed good knowledge, optimistic attitudes, and appropriate practices towards preventing COVID-19 infection. Suggesting that community-based health education programs about COVID-19 is helpful and necessary to control the disease.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the spatiotemporal prevalence of bovine babesiosis in cattle population (n=376) of District Layyah, South Punjab, Pakistan as affected by location, age, breed, gender and seasons. Blood samples were collected aseptically and assessed for babesiosis through microscopy and PCR, and through automated analyzer for hematological attributes. Overall results of prevalence as attained through PCR in cattle population showed a significantly (P[&le;]0.05) lower prevalence of 19.4% (n=72/376) as compared to 37.2% (n=140/276) through microscopy. None of the studied cattle from Cholistani breed were Babesia-positive. However, significantly (P[&le;]0.05) higher prevalence was noticed for crossbred cattle (46.7%, n= 50/107) followed by that in Friesian (16.1%, n= 10/62), Jersey (7%, n= 5/71) and Sahiwal (6.9%, n= 7/101) cattle breeds. Female cattle (19.5%, n= 55/281) and age group 1 (Up to 2 years) (40%, n= 42/105) had higher prevalence of Babesia as ascertained through PCR in comparison to their counterpart groups. Significantly (P[&le;]0.05) higher prevalence of 35.9% (n=60/167) was shown in summer as compared to that in winter season (5.7%, n= 12/209). All the positive samples produced the 490bp amplicons specific and typical for Babesia bigemina. Regarding hematology, hemoglobin concentration, erythrocytic count, hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume were significantly (P[&le;]0.05) lower in babesia-positive cattle as compared to healthy ones. In a nutshell, indigenous cattle breeds are tick-resistant hardy breeds and do not show severe signs of babesiosis as compared to exotic and crossbred cattle. Furthermore, Southern Punjab area of Pakistan has a different spatiotemporal distribution of babesiosis with bigemina being predominant.

BackgroundHepatitis B and C virus infections are serious blood borne diseases with global health concern particularly in developing countries. The association between survey participants knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) about HBV and HCV infection is rarely studied, particularly among migrants seeking resettlement. Libya is a main transient station for migrants northward toward Europe and the flow is increasing into Al Kufra from neighboring countries that have endemic intermediate and high HBV and HCV prevalence. The purpose of this exploratory descriptive study in Al Kufra was to assess the level of participating migrants KAP, regarding cause, transmission, prevention, and treatment of viral hepatitis due to HBV and HCV. MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted among 674 sub-Saharan African migrants in Al Kufra, Libya from January to October 2021. Migrants KAP about HBV and HCV infection was assessed by interview questionnaire. Statistical and data analysis used SPSS version of 25. ResultsOut of 700 questionnaires distributed, 674 were returned with a response rate of 96.3%. The study population included 580 (86.1%) males, mean age of 29.6 {+/-} 7.2 SD years. A majority, 508 (75.4%) were illiterate and elementary level, 8 2.483+.232, respectively. Positive significant linear correlations were found between knowledge-attitude (r = 0.524, p < 0.01) knowledge-practice (r = 0.123, p < 0.01) and attitude-practice (r = 0.278, p < 0.01). Ethnicity and education variables were significantly associated with mean KAP. Gender identity and marital status were both significantly associated with mean knowledge and attitude. ConclusionThe migrant population from the neighboring and sub-Saharan African countries have inadequate KAP about HBV and HCV to limit infection.

BackgroundFollowing the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic and the report of index case in Africa, the number of countries in Africa with confirmed cases of the infection has grown tremendously with disease now being reported in almost all countries on the continent, with the exemption of Lesotho after 75 days. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the disease outcomes among the African countries as the situation unfolds for early identification of best practices for adoption. MethodsIn this study, COVID-19 disease outcomes (confirmed cases, deaths and recoveries), testing capacities and disease management approaches among African countries were evaluated. The relationship between COVID-19 infections in African countries and their performance on global resilient indices including the Human Development Index (HDI), performance on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Risk Index (GRI) were also examined. Data acquired from various standard databases were evaluated over a period of 75 days from the date of reporting the index case. ResultsThis study has revealed compelling spatial differences in the incidence, deaths and recoveries from COVID-19 among African countries. Egypt, South Africa, Morocco and Algeria were clustered as countries with highest values of COVID-19 disease outcomes on the continent during the 75-day period of observation. The cluster analysis and comparison of countries in terms of percentage recovered cases of confirmed infections revealed that Mauritius, Mauritania, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Togo and Uganda had the highest scores. Comparative analysis of COVID-19 across the world revealed that the parameters were relatively inconsequential in Oceania and Africa continents, while Europe, North America and Asia had significantly higher cases of disease outcomes. For COVID-19 testing capacities, South Africa, Ghana and Egypt are leading in total number of tests carried out. However when the number of tests carried out were related to population number of the countries, Djibouti, Mauritius, Ghana and South Africa are found to be the leading countries. With respect to management of the disease in Africa, all the countries adopted the WHO protocols, personal hygiene, economic palliatives and social distancing measures. Only three countries in Africa (Madagascar, Togo and Burkina Faso) had a state supported initiative to utilise traditional medicines or herbs as alternatives to control COVID-19. Additionally, most of the countries are providing prompt treatment of the patients with a range of drugs especially Hydroxychloroquine, Chloroquine and Chloroquine-Azithromycin combination. The study found that no strong relationship currently exists between the global resilient indicators (HDI, SDG and GRI) and COVID-19 cases across Africa. ConclusionsThis study has revealed compelling spatial differences in disease outcomes among African countries and also found testing capacities for COVID-19 to be abysmally low in relation to the population. During the 75 days of observation, African countries have recorded significantly low number of deaths associated with COVID-19 and relatively high recovery rates. Countries in Africa with higher rate of recovery from the disease were found to have adopted strict adherence to some of WHO protocol to contain the disease, isolate all those who test positive to the disease and provide prompt treatment of the patients with a range of drugs especially Hydroxychloroquine, Chloroquine and Chloroquine-Azithromycin combination. The study recommends that the approaches adopted by the African countries which achieved high recovery rates from COVID-19 should be integrated into healthcare management plans for the disease across the continent even as the situation unfolds.

BackgroundCoronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that is caused by the SARS-CoV-2virus. The objective of this study was to determine SARS COV-2 Mortality and its associated factors in East Shewa Zone Treatment centers, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2022. The study of these types of viral infection will add new insight into the most common causes of mortality in SARS-CoV-2infection and the most common co-morbidities associated with the disease in the East Shewa Zone. MethodsThe study was conducted on patients who were admitted to Adama Hospital medical college and Modjo Primary Hospital for SARS-COV 2 treatment. Data used for the study were collected from March 2020-April 2022 GC. The study population was SARS-COV 2 patients who come to Adama Hospital and Medical College and Modjo Primary Hospital for treatment. All eligible SARS-CoV-2 patients data were collected from Both Adama and Modjo treatment center SARS-CoV-2 accession registration book and medical record card. ResultA total of 409 patient data were collected from which 199 were from Adama Hospital and Medical College and 210 samples were collected from Modjo Primary Hospital Treatment center. The study design was a retrospective Cross-sectional study. The most affected age group in terms of mortality was the age group between 60-69 years old which suffers a 45.28% death rate. The major sign symptoms identified include cough (80.4%), Shortness of breath (66.7%) followed by fever (43.2%). SARS-CoV-2 Comorbidity was detected in 152 (37.2%) patients. Pneumonia was identified as the major comorbid disease to be recorded with 89(21.8%) cases. Other major comorbidities include Hypertension (16.9%) and Diabetes Mellites (13.9%). The least identified comorbidities were anemia (0.2%), Rectal cancer (0.2%), breast cancer (0.5%), and Chronic liver disease. ConclusionNearly one in four (22.7%) SARS-COV 2 patients admitted for treatment to Adama Hospital and Medical College and Modjo Primary Hospital did not make their way out of treatment Hospitals alive. Pneumonia was identified as the major comorbid disease to be recorded with 89(21.8%) cases

BackgroundHepatitis B and C viruses affect the liver and can cause wider range of disease outcomes. Chronic HBV and/or HCV infection leaves a person susceptible to major liver diseases such liver cirrhosis or hepatic cell cancer later in life. They bear the greater portion of the mortality and morbidity associated with hepatocellular carcinomas and liver cirrhosis. MethodsA retrospective laboratory record review was conducted at Ambo General Hospital from January 2018 to December 2021. The retrieved data included the date of examination, age, sex and laboratory results of the HBV and HCV. Data were summarized and presented in the form of tables, figures, and frequencies to present the results. The data were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. ResultsOver the course of 4 years, a total of 5675 individuals were examined for hepatitis at Ambo general hospital. Of the total individuals examined, 365(6.4%) and 15(2.1%) were positive for HBV and HCV respectively. HBV and HCV mixed infections accounted for 0.6% of the cases. HBV was highest prevalent in males (12.1%) than females (5.72%), while among seropositive of HCV, 7(5.7%) were males and 4(1.0%) were females. HBV and HCV were more prevalent among individuals aged from 45-54 years old 11(11.6%) and 35-44 years old 4(5.6%) respectively. A high percentage of HBV (7.1%) and HCV (5.5%) were seen in the years of 2018 and 2020 respectively. ConclusionAccording to WHO criteria, the total prevalence of hepatitis B and C in our study is moderate, and the prevalence of HBV is significantly higher than that of HCV. Although, there are annual fluctuations in the prevalence. As a result, it is critical to improve coverage of services in healthcare facilities and raise community awareness regarding the means of transmission, prevention and control of hepatitis B and C virus infection.

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a pandemic, and the infection due to SARSCoV-2 has now spread to more than 200 countries3. Surveillance systems form the foundation stone of active case finding, testing and contact tracing, which are the key components of the public health response to this novel, emerging infectious disease4. There is uncertainty about the true proportion of patients who remain asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic at a given time. As per the WHO-China Joint Monitoring Mission Report, and an analysis of 21 published reports, anywhere between 5 and 80 per cent of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients have been noted to be asymptomatic5, 6 Whereas in India 4197563 cases are positive, in which in West Bengal total 180788 cases(4.04% of Cases of India) positive of COVID 19. In Paschim Medinipur (West Medinipur) district contributing total 5489 cases (3.03% cases of West Bengal)9,10,11. In this scenario, we want to know the status of IgG seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic general population, so that we can determine the extent of infection of SARS-CoV-2 in general population. ObjectivesPrimary Objective:- To estimate the seroprevalence for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the general asymptomatic population at Paschim Medinipur District. Secondary Objectives-To estimate age and sex specific seroprevalence. To determine the socio demographic risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection; To determine the other risk factors like comorbidities, vaccination status, travel history, contact history etc.; To determine the durability of Immunity (IgG) conferred by natural infection of SARS-CoV-2 in individuals previously RTPCR positive. MethodologyIt was a cross sectional 30 cluster study among the population of Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal conducted in last week of July and 1st week of August 2020 among 458 asymptomatic general population and 30 RTPCR positive cases in 30 villages or wards of municipalities. 30 clusters were chosen from list of COVID 19 affected villages/wards of municipality as per PPS (Probability Proportional to Size) method. ResultsOf the 458 asymptomatic general population,19 asymptomatic people found to be seropositive IgG for SARS-CoV-2 with Mean or average total seropositivity rate of 4.15%. 19 Out of 30 (63.33%) RTPCR positive patients found Seronegative. Median of Days between RTPCR test and sero negativity found was 60 with minimum 28 days to maximum 101 days and Range of 73 days and a standard deviation of 19.46. Among risk factors, the risk of having IgG is more in persons having Travel history with odds ratio of 2.99-95%CI (1.17-7.65) with p-value-0.02. Hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis with Odds ratio of 8.49-95% CI(1.59-45.19) with p value - 0.003. Occupation as migrant labour with Odds ratio of 5.08-95% CI(1.96-13.18) with p value of 0.001. H/O Chicken pox with Odds ratio of 2.15-95% CI(0.59-7.79) with p value of 0.017. Influenza vaccinated with Odds ratio of 8.07 with 95% CI (0.8-81.48) with a p value of 0.036. ConclusionOf the 458 asymptomatic general population,19 asymptomatic people found to be seropositive IgG for SARS-CoV-2 with Mean or average total seropositivity rate of 4.15%. 19 Out of 30 (63.33%) RTPCR positive patients found Seronegative. Median of Days between RTPCR test and sero negativity found was 60 with minimum 28 days to maximum 101 days and Range of 73 days and a standard deviation of 19.46. Those having Travel History and having occupation as Migrant Labourer - have significantly higher probability of getting infected with SARS-CoV-2. No role has been found of Hydroxychloroquine Medicines as Chemoprophylactic. No durable immunity conferred by natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 -mean time to become seronegative after positive RTPCR test 60 days. So there is a chance of reinfection after average 2 months.

Despite counselling has been in practice for quite a long time not yet an essential ingredient in leprosy control programmes especially in India nor a standardised system is available for prevention of mental disorders. With the broad objective to fulfil this need an action research was carried out to explore the unfulfilled needs of leprosy affected that are creating crisis situations lead to mental health issues while experimenting a practicably affective process of counselling system and document the essential stages to be involved in carrying out inter-personal counselling on each ones unique problems. The study was conducted by the Psych-social counselling and Guidance Centre of Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation on 146 leprosy affected. Counselling provided by trained counsellors in every monthly visit for MDT till declared RFT or afterwards. ResultsSystematic process of counselling needs to be caried out in the following five essential stages viz Rapport Establishment, Identification of Crisis Situation, Psycho-Social Diagnosis, Prescription of Counselling Elements and Fulfilment of counselling elements Majority or psychological problems initially develop due to cognitive issues of affected individuals, their family members, society members, work place, institutions and treatment centres etc. If not attended at initial stage result to treatment compliance issues leading to deformity which accelerates adjustment problems in the family, society, workplace, educational and other institutions thus in turn lead in to unemployment, stigmatization of the patient from family and all sorts of mental disorders.. prior to reaching the stage of needing treatment. The study concludes that a systematic counselling addressing the issues at the cognitive level also including decision makers in the family, along with leprosy treatment can be a successful method to prevent the mental health problems and throw light towards zero stigma

BackgroundJob satisfaction is currently considered to be a measure that should be included in quality improvement programs thus it is very important to assess it among healthcare workers who are mostly exposed to work stress thus this research is going to have different consideration on health care workers working on hard-to-reach areas and low-level facilities since there is lack of enough evidence and limited studies done under this area. MethodsThis was a cross section study conducted among healthcare workers found in sengerema and it was conducted from 27/02/2023 to 10/03/2023 whereby it include 356 health care workers employed and working at sengerema district as participants found in the health facilities Statistical method used was descriptive analysis by assessing frequency of variables in terms percentages. The results were presented in form of tables and bar graphs. ResultsA total of 356 health care professionals were included in the study, female participants were more occupying 55.6% while the male were 44.4%. In the study more of the participants were married than those single with percentages of 68.5% and 31.5% respectively. Most of the health care workers were at the dispensary level were satisfied at their job (55%0 but among the health care workers working at the health center most of them were not satisfied (52%). But among married workers most of them were not satisfied with their job (50.5%) as compared to single workers who were most satisfied (56%). ConclusionBased on our research, the prevalence of job satisfaction among health care workers in Sengerema district is generally high by 53.9% which shows that most workers are satisfied with their jobs. Most health care workers have good relationship with each other and can depend on each other and they get their benefit as health care workers.

Estimation of antibody development against SARS-CoV-2 is essential means for understanding the immune response against the virus. We reported IgG antibody development status against Nucleocapsid protein of the virus and compared with lifestyle (health and food habits), co-existing diseases, vaccination and COVID-19 infection status. ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay) was performed to assess IgG antibodies targeted against the Nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 in participants (n=500). In this seroprevalence study, serological data were estimated for a period of 10 months in the participants who were aged 10 years and above. Sociodemographic and risk factors related data were collected through a written questionnaire and chi-square test was performed to determine the association with seropositivity. The overall seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among the study subjects was 47.8%. Estimates were highest among the participants of 21-40 years old (55.1%), and lowest in older aged (>60 years) participants (39.5%). Among the Sinopharm vaccinated individuals 81.8% had developed anti-Nucleocapsid antibody. Physical exercise and existence of comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes were the distinguishing factors between seropositive and seronegative individuals. Seropositivity rate largely varied among symptomatic (67%) and asymptomatic (33.1%) COVID-19 infected participants. The findings suggest that residents of Dhaka city had a higher prevalence of anti-nucleocapsid antibody in the second year of the pandemic. This indicates the improvement of immunological status among the population. Finally, the study emphasizes on maintaining active and healthy lifestyle to improve immunity. However, the absence of IgG antibodies in many cases of COVID-19 infected individuals suggests that antibodies wane with time. Key messagesO_LIThe overall seroprevalence of anti-Nucleocapsid IgG among the study subjects was determined to be 47.8%. C_LIO_LIAge, regular physical exercise, existence of comorbidities were the identified parameters associated with seroprevalence. C_LIO_LIThis study observed lower prevalence of Anti-Nucleocapsid antibody among asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 infected individuals compared to symptomatic cases. C_LI