Tropical Medicine and Health

BACKGROUND: Owing to the global health workforce crisis, more funding has been invested in strengthening human resources for health, particularly for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria control; however, little is known about how these investments in training are evaluated. This paper examines how frequently HIV, malaria, and TB healthcare provider training programs have been scientifically evaluated, synthesizes information on the methods and outcome indicators used, and identifies evidence gaps for future evaluations to address...

BACKGROUND: Schistosome infection and soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are major public health problems in many developing countries where they contribute to the suffering of populations living in poor settings. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four rural villages in central region of Kenya to provide information on the status of schistosome and STH infections. Previous studies conducted in the area among primary school children showed that there were high STH and Schistosoma mansoni infections...

BACKGROUND: Vanuatu was formerly highly endemic for lymphatic filariasis (LF), caused by Wuchereria bancrofti and transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. After a baseline survey showing 4.8% antigen prevalence in 1998, the country conducted nationwide (in one implementation unit) annual mass drug administration (MDA) with albendazole and diethylcarbamazine citrate from 2000 to 2004 and achieved prevalence of 0.2% by 2006 in a representative nationwide cluster survey among all age groups...

BACKGROUND: Malaria in Cameroon was previously known to be caused solely by Plasmodium falciparum but today, evidence points to other Plasmodium species including P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae. The purpose of this study was to identify the Plasmodium species in clinical samples from children residing in five epidemiological strata of malaria in Cameroon, so as to advise control policies. METHODS: One thousand six hundred nine febrile children (≤15 years) were recruited from five epidemiological strata of malaria including the Sudano-sahelian (SS) strata, the High inland plateau (HIP) strata, the South Cameroonian Equatorial forest (SCEF) strata, the High western plateau (HWP) strata and the Coastal (C) strata...

BACKGROUND: There is very limited data available on the prevalence of Bancroftian filariasis in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Considerable attempts to eliminate the disease had occurred in the Pacific region by the year 2003, and the prevalence in FSM was thought to be sufficiently low that the region was considered non-endemic. However, a survey conducted in 2003 on an isolated atoll of FSM, Satawal Island, challenged that assumption. METHODS: Participants on Satawal Island were recruited and their blood tested for Wuchereria bancrofti antigen by the filariasis immunochromatographic test (ICT) card and circulating microfilaria by Knott's concentration technique...

BACKGROUND: Lymphatic filariasis (LF) occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes. The filarial worms affect the lymphatic system which leads to abnormal enlargement of body parts, chronic pain, disability, and social discrimination. In 1999, a commitment was made to eliminate LF from the Pacific Region by 2010. The Pacific Program to Eliminate LF began, with Vanuatu being one of the 16 endemic countries included in this program. METHODS: In 1997/1998 a LF prevalence baseline survey was conducted to determine the need for mass drug administration (MDA) in Vanuatu...

BACKGROUND: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a parasitic infection (also called kala-azar in South Asia) caused by Leishmania donovani that is a considerable threat to public health in the Indian subcontinent, including densely populated Bangladesh. The disease seriously affects the poorest subset of the population in the subcontinent. Despite the fact that the incidence of VL results in significant morbidity and mortality, its environmental determinants are relatively poorly understood, especially in Bangladesh...

Neglected intestinal helminth infections afflict the marginalized communities in Asia. Since 2004, growing body of evidence in Myanmar indicated high prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) infections (30-40%) among school children. Co-existence of STH (23%) with food-borne trematodes was noted among 383 pregnant women in a selected township in 2012-2014 followed by molecular verification of very low prevalence of schistosome infection (<5%) in the same study site in 2016. The success of transmission elimination plans may depend upon sensitive diagnostic tools to detect persistent infections and polyparasitism...

BACKGROUND: Chronic illnesses are a major public health problem in low-income countries. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), few data are available, especially in palliative care. In this context, the present study aimed at describing the patterns of diseases in Kinshasa hospitals as well as risk factors associated with patients' evolving status and length of hospital stay. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in ten hospitals of Kinshasa, over a 1-year period...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to present data of the diagnostic capacity of Kenyan laboratories to diagnose a number of human pathogens. The study is based on the data obtained from a biosecurity survey conducted in Kenya in 2014/2015 and data from the Statistical Abstract of Kenya for 2015. The biosecurity survey has previously been published; however, the survey also included information on laboratory capacity to handle a number of pathogens, which have not been published. METHODS: Data were retrieved from the survey on 86 laboratory facilities...

Rotavirus gastroenteritis is an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in Kenya. In July 2014, Kenya introduced the rotavirus vaccine into her national immunization program. Although immunization coverage is crucial in assessing the real-world impact of this vaccine, variability in the vaccine coverage across the country is likely to occur. In view of this, we estimated the extent of coverage for the rotavirus vaccine at two socio-economically different sub-counties using the administrative data...

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasmosis is caused by an intracellular obligatory parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, and it has global distribution. The purposes of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to evaluate the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in Iranian pregnant women, and girls and women of childbearing age, and identify potentially preventable risk factors. METHODS: Between November 2014 and February 2017, nine electronic databases that reported data on the T. gondii seroprevalence in Iranian women were searched...

BACKGROUND: Tungiasis (sand flea disease) is caused by the penetration of female sand fleas (Tunga penetrans, Siphonaptera) into the skin. It belongs to the neglected tropical diseases and is prevalent in South America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. Tungiasis predominantly affects marginalized populations and resource-poor communities in both urban and rural areas. In the endemic areas, patients do not have access to an effective and safe treatment. A proof-of-principle study in rural Kenya has shown that the application of a two-component dimeticone (NYDA®) which is a mixture of two low viscosity silicone oils caused almost 80% of the embedded sand fleas to lose their viability within 7 days...

BACKGROUND: The development of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique for species identification among patients presenting leishmaniasis allowed to better determine the main circulating species in French Guiana. METHODS: A descriptive study of the Leishmania species was identified, and their spatiotemporal distribution was conducted using patient records between 2006 and 2013, with 1017 new cases of leishmaniasis diagnosed...

BACKGROUND: Dams are important to ensure food security and promote economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. However, a poor understanding of the negative public health consequences from issues such as malaria could affect their intended advantages. This study aims to compare the malaria situation across elevation and proximity to dams. Such information may contribute to better understand how dams affect malaria in different eco-epidemiological settings. METHODS: Larval and adult mosquitoes were collected from dam and non-dam villages around the Kesem (lowland), Koka (midland), and Koga (highland) dams in Ethiopia between October 2013 and July 2014...

BACKGROUND: Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) is a public health problem worldwide and particularly in Africa with high disease burden. This study characterized Salmonella isolates from humans in Ghana to determine serovar distribution, phage types, and antimicrobial resistance. Further, the clonal relatedness among isolates was determined. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-seven Salmonella isolates (111 clinical and 26 public toilet) were characterized using standard serotyping, phage typing, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods...

BACKGROUND: In Cameroon, poverty-related diseases (PRDs) are a major public health concern. Research and policies addressing PRDs are based on a particular understanding of the interaction between poverty and disease, usually an association between poverty indicators and health indicators for a specific country or region. Such indicators are useful but fail to explain the nature of the linkages between poverty and disease or poverty and health. This paper presents results of a study among university students, unravelling how they perceive diseases, the linkages with poverty, their responses to diseases and the motivations behind reported responses...

BACKGROUND: Birth weight and length have seasonal fluctuations. However, it is uncertain which meteorological element has an effect on birth outcomes and which timing of pregnancy would explain such effect. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine temperature effects during pregnancy and which timing of pregnancy has effects on size at birth. METHODS: A large, randomized, controlled trial of food and micronutrient supplementation for pregnant women was conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh (MINIMat Study), where women were enrolled from November 2001 to October 2003...

BACKGROUND: Diarrheal disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among under-five children worldwide. Every day, more than 4000 children lose their lives due to diarrhea. In Ethiopia, diarrhea is the second killer of under-five children next to pneumonia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence of under-five diarrhea and socioeconomic factors among the nomadic people in Hadaleala District. A total of 704 under-five children were included in this study, and subjects were recruited by the multistage cluster sampling technique...

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of enteric pathogens has not been well studied in Kenya because of wide disparities in health status across the country. Therefore, the present study describes the prevalence of enteropathogenic bacteria, their seasonal variation, and antibiotic resistance profiles among hospitalized diarrheic children in a suburban region of central Kenya. METHODS: Fecal samples were collected between July 2009 and December 2013 from a total of 1410 children younger than 5 years, hospitalized with acute diarrhea in Kiambu County Hospital, Kenya...