Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine

Schistosomiasis has been endemic in Malawi since 1947. Despite the longevity of endemicity of the disease, it still maintains a high burden in Malawi. This could be attributed to insufficient coverage of preventive and therapeutic mass drug administration (MDA) which mainly targets school-aged children, leaving out adults who also bear a high burden of the disease. Additionally, despite well documented impact of community involvement in boosting up the effectiveness of health programmes, there is minimal community involvement in schistosomiasis control and prevention programmes...

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) is believed to have spread from East Africa, but its burden is still unknown in less privileged regions of Ethiopia. Indigestion is an upset stomach, upper abdomen discomfort, heartburn, and bloating. This study evaluated the burden and risk factors for H. pylori infection among government employees who clinically complained of indigestion but allergic diseases in five public health institutions in Southeastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A health facilities-based cross-sectional survey study was conducted in Southeastern Ethiopia from March to November 2022, employing cluster sampling...

Fasciola hepatica is a trematode parasite distributed worldwide. It is known to cause disease in mammals, producing significant economic loses to livestock industry and burden to human health. After ingestion, the parasites migrate through the liver and mature in the bile ducts. A better understanding of the parasite's immunopathogenesis would help to develop efficacious therapeutics and vaccines. Currently, much of our knowledge comes from in vitro and in vivo studies in animal models. Relatively little is known about the host-parasite interactions in humans...

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to determine the baseline seroprevalence of leptospirosis, a zoonotic and neglected disease, in people living with HIV (PWH) in Maputo, Mozambique, and to evaluate the relationship between selected HIV-related factors that might influence risk of coinfection with leptospirosis, such as degree of immunosuppression, as assessed by CD4 cell count, World Health Organization (WHO) HIV/AIDS clinical stage and antiretroviral therapy (ART) intake. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional analysis of 157 PWH, aged over 18 years old, admitted to the Maputo Central Hospital, in Maputo, Mozambique, between March 2020 and October 2021...

BACKGROUND: Dapsone is an antibiotic used in the management of leprosy. Following the worldwide adoption of the dapsone-containing multidrug therapy for treating leprosy, an upsurge in the reported frequency of dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome (DHS) has been observed. DHS is associated with a high fatality rate among patients from low-resourced settings and patients with syndrome-associated hepatitis. CASE PRESENTATION: This is a case of a Ghanaian male who, while being treated for leprosy with the multidrug therapy, developed exfoliative dermatitis and signs of liver damage, 6 weeks after treatment initiation...

Neonatal sepsis causes significant global morbidity and mortality, with the highest burden in resource-limited settings where 99% of neonatal deaths occur. There are multiple challenges to achieving successful treatment of neonates in this setting. Firstly, reliable and low-cost strategies for risk identification are urgently needed to facilitate treatment as early as possible. Improved laboratory capacity to allow identification of causative organisms would support antimicrobial stewardship. Antibiotic treatment is still hampered by availability, but also increasingly by antimicrobial resistance - making surveillance of organisms and judicious antibiotic use a priority...

Lack of awareness, access to insulin and diabetes care can result in high levels of morbidity and mortality for children with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Improvements in access to insulin and diabetes management have improved outcomes in some settings. However, many people still present in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in parallel to misdiagnosis of children with T1DM in contexts with high rates of communicable diseases. The aim of this study was to highlight the complexity of diagnosing pediatric T1DM in a healthcare environment dominated by infectious diseases and lack of adequate health system resources...

Malawi is a small landlocked country in Southern Africa, which faces a number of development challenges. It is one of the world's poorest nations and over 70% of the population live below the International Poverty Line of $2.15 per day. Health inequalities are a well-documented problem and those most affected are women and children. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a vital role in supplementing government efforts to provide health services to vulnerable people in areas that are difficult to reach...

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a infection caused by the thermodimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides spp. (P. lutzii and, mainly, P. brasiliensis ). This infection predominantly affects rural male workers aged between 30 and 50 years old who deal with soil on daily activities. Clinically, the disease is classified as acute/subacute phase, which evolves rapidly, secondary to dissemination of the fungus through to the phagocytic-mononuclear system, leading to fever, weight loss, and anorexia, associated with hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy, which can be complicated with suppuration and fistulization; and chronic phase, which corresponds to 74% to 95% of symptomatic cases, with a common pulmonary involvement...

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease endemic primarily to low- and middle-income countries, for which there has been inadequate development of affordable, safe, and efficacious therapies. Clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis range from self-healing skin lesions to lethal visceral infection with chances of relapse. Although treatments are available, secondary effects limit their use outside the clinic and negatively impact the quality of life of patients in endemic areas. Other non-medicinal treatments, such as thermotherapies, are limited to use in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis but not with visceral infection...

BACKGROUND: Even though podoconiosis can cause physical, financial, and social impairments, it is commonly overlooked by organizations, and one-fourth of the predicted worldwide burden will fall on Ethiopia. In spite of this, there are only a few attempts for prevention and control in certain areas in Ethiopia. Updated statistics on prevalence and contributing factors could make local efforts at prevention, control, and rehabilitation more effective. Thus, this study was aimed to assess the prevalence of podoconiosis and its associated factors among Ilu Aba Bor zone residents, South West Ethiopia...

INTRODUCTION: In 2019, the East African Community (EAC) lost 12,048,918 disability-adjusted life-years (DALY) across all ages from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The specific objectives of the study reported in the paper were to estimate for EAC the monetary value of DALYs sustained by all ages from NTDs, and the potential productivity losses within the working age bracket of 15 years and above. METHODS: The EAC total monetary value of DALYs lost from all 20 NTDs is the sum of each partner state's monetary value of DALYs lost from all 20 NTDs...

BACKGROUND: Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne protozoan infection that has a wide clinical spectrum in the tropics and subtropics. Kidney damage is frequently associated with increased morbidity and mortality in visceral leishmaniasis ( VL ) patients. However, up to date, there is a very limited report on the effect of visceral leishmaniasis on kidney function profiling in Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the renal function profile in human visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) patients...

Chagas disease is the most important protozoan infection in the Americas, and constitutes a significant public health concern throughout the world. Development of new medications against its etiologic agent, Trypanosoma cruzi , has been traditionally slow and difficult, lagging in comparison with diseases caused by other kinetoplastid parasites. Among the factors that explain this are the incompletely understood mechanisms of pathogenesis of T. cruzi infection and its complex set of interactions with the host in the chronic stage of the disease...

Neurocysticercosis, due to the localization of Taenia solium larvae in the Central Nervous System, is a neglected tropical disease still endemic in much of Latin America, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The therapeutic management of NC has gradually improved with the establishment of neuroimaging studies (CT and MRI) in endemic countries and with the demonstration of the efficacy of albendazole and praziquantel in the 1980s. But the morbidity and mortality of this preventable disease remain an unacceptable fact...

The development and application of treatment for Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) remains complicated as there is no current standard treatment and many barriers to research exist. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes serious global health implications due to its socioeconomic impact and high morbidity rates. In research, treatment through natural and pharmaceutical techniques is being evaluated for their efficacy and effectiveness. Natural treatment options, such as homeopathy and physiotherapy, give patients a variety of options for how to best manage acute and chronic symptoms...

Loa loa loiasis was considered an anecdotal disease 30 years ago. Its spread in Equatorial Africa and the side effects associated with mass drug administration programs against filariasis in co-endemic areas have drawn the attention of the international research community. Progress in research conducted to date has provided insight into the immunobiology of this parasite. An interesting finding reported in several studies is that 70% of individuals with loiasis do not carry microfilariae in their blood, and 30% are microfilaremic, suggesting the involvement of several immunological mechanisms, as shown by elevated specific IgG4 and IgE levels signifying a potential cross-linking mechanism between the two isotypes via L...

Chagas disease (CD) is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi , and it is endemic in Central, South America, Mexico and the South of the United States. It is an important cause of early mortality and morbidity, and it is associated with poverty and stigma. A third of the cases evolve into chronic cardiomyopathy and gastrointestinal disease. The infection is transmitted vertically and by blood/organ donation and can reactivate with immunosuppression. Case identification requires awareness and screening programmes targeting the population at risk (women in reproductive age, donors, immunocompromised patients)...

Background: Infection with malaria in humans involves liver cell destruction, which alters the levels of liver enzymes and lipid profiles. A number of studies have been conducted to address the impact of malaria on liver enzymes and lipid profiles but no studies were addressed after antimalarial treatment in Ethiopia. This study is intended to fill this gap. Methods: An observational cohort study was conducted at Dembia Primary Hospital and Teda Health Center, from June to August 2020...

While typhoid fever has largely been eliminated in high-income regions which have developed modern water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, it remains a significant public health burden resulting in morbidity and mortality among millions of individuals in resource-constrained settings. Prevention and control efforts are needed that integrate several high-impact interventions targeting facilities and infrastructure, including those addressing improvements in sanitation, access to safe water, and planned urbanization, together with parallel efforts directed at effective strategies for use of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCV)...