Articles

How West African countries prioritize health

The goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is to ensure that everyone is able to obtain the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. UHC remains a mirage if government health expenditur...

Authors: Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Aishat Alaran, Abubakar Badmos, Adeola Oluwaseyi Bamisaiye, Nzeribe Emmanuella, Alison Ubong Etukakpan, Iyiola Olatunji Oladunjoye, Oladipo Oluwaseyifunmi, Shingin Kovona Musa, Temiwunmi Akinmuleya, Omotayo Carolyn Olaoye, Obafemi Arinola Olarewaju and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III

What sub-Saharan African countries can learn from malaria elimination in China

Malaria is one of the most devastating diseases plaguing the sub-Saharan African region since time immemorial. In spite of a global reduction in mortality rates, a significant proportion of deaths due to malar...

Authors: Abubakar Olaitan Badmos, Aishat Jumoke Alaran, Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Oumnia Bouaddi, Zainab Onibon, Adeniyi Dada, Xu Lin and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III

Correction to: Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with suspected COVID-19 admitted in Metro Manila, Philippines

Authors: Eumelia P. Salva, Jose Benito Villarama, Edmundo B. Lopez, Ana Ria Sayo, Annavi Marie G. Villanueva, Tansy Edwards, Su Myat Han, Shuichi Suzuki, Xerxes Seposo, Koya Ariyoshi and Chris Smith

Tuberculosis amidst COVID-19 pandemic in India: unspoken challenges and the way forward

India is home to the most significant number of tuberculosis (TB) cases around the globe. The COVID-19 crisis has deeply perturbed most of the essential TB services in India. Regulating TB is difficult in a de...

Authors: Mainak Bardhan, Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, Ishita Ray, Anusua Sarkar, Priyanka Chahal, Sudhan Rackimuthu and Mohammad Yasir Essar

Dual burden of Zika and COVID-19 in India: challenges, opportunities and recommendations

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in the world from last year, and any further insults like Zika virus will surely bring the apocalypse unto us. In July 2021, Zika began spreading in India, mainly in the...

Authors: Mainak Bardhan, Debolina Pramanik, Rizana Riyaz, Mohammad Mehedi Hasan and Mohammad Yasir Essar

Zika virus endemic challenges during COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

Zika virus remains endemic and opportunistic of high transmission in the tropical region of Africa, and the repeated cases of the Zika virus in Africa made it public health emergency in 2016. Amidst the COVID-...

Authors: Abdullahi Tunde Aborode, Mahnoor Sukaina, Harendra Kumar, Tahreem Farooqui, Samar Faheem, Priyanka Chahal, Luay Alkazmi, Helal F. Hetta and Gaber El-Saber Batiha

A survey of prevalence and phenotypic and genotypic assessment of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus bacteria isolated from ready-to-eat food samples collected from Tehran Province, Iran

Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria are considered among the major causes of foodborne diseases. This survey aims to assess genotypic and phenotypic profiles of antibiotic resistance in S. aureus

Authors: Arash Mesbah, Zohreh Mashak and Zohreh Abdolmaleki

Does attitude towards wife beating determine infant feeding practices during diarrheal illness in sub-Saharan Africa?

Inappropriate feeding practices of children during illness remains a public health problem globally, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). One strategy to improve child health outcomes is through women emp...

Authors: Betregiorgis Zegeye, Nicholas Kofi Adjei, Bright Opoku Ahinkorah, Edward Kwabena Ameyaw, Abdul-Aziz Seidu, Comfort Z. Olorunsaiye and Sanni Yaya

Including the voice of people living with viral hepatitis: lessons learned from Japan to accelerate progress towards global hepatitis elimination

Despite the growing momentum created by the WHO for eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, the global response is still slow and more actions are needed to meet the elimination goals, e...

Authors: Atsuko Yonezawa, Rebecca Grant and Yusuke Shimakawa

Prevalence of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae at a tertiary care hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal

Although carbapenem is the last-resort drug for treating drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections, prevalence of carbapenem-resistant bacteria has substantially increased worldwide owing to irrational...

Authors: Susil Pyakurel, Mehraj Ansari, Smriti Kattel, Ganesh Rai, Prasha Shrestha, Kul Raj Rai, Anil Kumar Sah and Shiba Kumar Rai

Food security and COVID-19 in Afghanistan: a two-sided battlefront

Food security is a major element for the sustainability, stability and development of a country. However, despite fundamental efforts in fighting poverty, Afghanistan continues to struggle with food insecurity...

Authors: Attaullah Ahmadi, Georges Gandour, Hujjatullah Ghaffari, Heba Sati, Anthony Abou Mrad, Serena Semaan, Yasir Ahmed Mohammed Elhadi, Sayed Hamid Mousavi, Shamim Arif, Shekiba Madadi and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III

Accelerating Indonesian COVID-19 vaccination rollout: a critical task amid the second wave

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has been spreading in every part of the world, putting nations at risk with its pandemic status, including Indonesia. COVID-19 vaccine has been deemed as one of the most effec...

Authors: Ryan Rachmad Nugraha, Adriana Viola Miranda, Attaullah Ahmadi and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III

Urogenital schistosomiasis burden in school-aged children in Tiko, Cameroon: a cross-sectional study on prevalence, intensity, knowledge and risk factors

This study aimed at determining urogenital schistosomiasis (UGS) prevalence, intensity, knowledge and risk factors in school-aged children (SAC) in the new endemic focus of Tiko, Cameroon.

Authors: Irene Ule Ngole Sumbele, Doris Bennen Tabi, Rene Ning Teh and Anne Longdoh Njunda

Recommendations for the urgent need to vaccinate school-aged and adolescent children against COVID-19 in the Asia–Pacific region

We recommend urgent expansion of a vaccination program for adolescents and school-age children against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Western Pacific region. Since July 2021, SARS-CoV-2 infections in children hav...

Authors: Jun Kobayashi, Rie Takeuchi, Fumiko Shibuya, Yuki Murata and Kenzo Takahashi

Association between physical activity and activity space in different farming seasons among rural Lao PDR residents

Southeast Asia is experiencing a health transition, where non-communicable diseases (NCD) are exceeding communicable diseases. Despite NCDs accounting for roughly 60–85% of deaths in the region, many developin...

Authors: Hongwei Jiang, Lin Lin, Daniel Anthony Yonto, Tiengkham Pongvongsa, Sengchanh Kounnavong and Kazuhiko Moji

Emergence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Nepal

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic in 70 countries worldwide. Nepal is considered non-endemic for CL and hence the control program is targeted to visceral leishmaniasis (VL) only. Here, we report the emer...

Authors: Kishor Pandey, Anup Bastola, Gong Haiyan, Uttam Raj Pyakurel, Basu Dev Pandey and Shyam Prakash Dumre

Silybum marianum ethanolic extract: in vitro effects on protoscolices of Echinococcus granulosus G1 strain with emphasis on other Iranian medicinal plants

Cystic echinococcosis (CE), is a parasitic zoonosis caused by Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus) larvae in liver and lungs of both humans and animals. Surgical intervention is the mainstay for CE treatment, ...

Authors: Ali Taghipour, Fatemeh Ghaffarifar, John Horton, Abdolhossein Dalimi and Zohreh Sharifi

Continuous diagnostic models for volume deficit in patients with acute diarrhea

Episodes of acute diarrhea lead to dehydration, and existing care algorithms base treatment around categorical estimates for fluid resuscitation. This study aims to develop models for the percentage dehydratio...

Authors: J. Austin Lee, Kexin Qu, Monique Gainey, Samika S. Kanekar, Meagan A. Barry, Sabiha Nasrin, Nur H. Alam, Christopher H. Schmid and Adam C. Levine

Emergence of highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 variants in Bangladesh: the need for systematic genetic surveillance as a public health strategy

Bangladesh, a low-middle-income country in South Asia is facing one of its worst public health emergencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in the number of cases from the disease, since the second h...

Authors: Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, Ian Christopher N. Rocha, Kimberly G. Ramos, Trisha Denise D. Cedeño, Ana Carla dos Santos Costa, Christos Tsagkaris, Md. Masum Billah, Shoaib Ahmad and Mohammad Yasir Essar

Diabetes mellitus and HIV infection among active tuberculosis patients in Northwest Ethiopia: health facility-based cross-sectional study

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing globally and its comorbidity with tuberculosis (TB) is re-emerging, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Authors: Begna Tulu, Eden Amsalu, Yohannes Zenebe, Melkamu Abebe, Yeshimebet Fetene, Manamnot Agegn, Alemayehu Abate, Keerati Ponpetch, Teshome Bekana, Balako Gumi and Gobena Ameni

Ebola and COVID-19 in Democratic Republic of Congo: grappling with two plagues at once

In February 2021, a new Ebola virus disease outbreak was confirmed amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although the country has successfully contained the outbreak amid its fight ag...

Authors: Fatima Muhammad Asad Khan, Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, Zohra Kazmi, Ana Carla dos Santos Costa, Abdullahi Tunde Aborode, Shoaib Ahmad and Mohammad Yasir Essar

The global molecular epidemiology of microsporidia infection in sheep and goats with focus on Enterocytozoon bieneusi: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Microsporidia is a zoonotic pathogen with health consequences in immunocompromised patients. Small ruminants are a potential reservoir of microsporidia for humans in their vicinity. Hence, we aimed to evaluate...

Authors: Ali Taghipour, Saeed Bahadory and Ehsan Javanmard

Correction to: Acceptance and willingness to pay for COVID-19 vaccine among school teachers in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia

Authors: Kegnie Shitu, Maereg Wolde, Simegnew Handebo and Ayenew Kassie

Scabies as a part of the World Health Organization roadmap for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030: what we know and what we need to do for global control

Scabies is an under-recognized global health problem with an unacceptably high prevalence in many settings worldwide. Fortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) has formally designated scabies as a negle...

Authors: Amal A. El-Moamly

Acceptance and willingness to pay for COVID-19 vaccine among school teachers in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia

Vaccination is one of the strategies to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and cost are important factors affecting its uptake. However, little is known about acceptance and willingness...

Authors: Kegnie Shitu, Maereg Wolde, Simegnew Handebo and Ayenew Kassie

Initial presenting symptoms, comorbidities and severity of COVID-19 patients during the second wave of epidemic in Myanmar

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a highly contagious virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 emerged in China at the end of 2019 and became a major threat to health around the...

Authors: Ye Minn Htun, Tun Tun Win, Aung Aung, Thant Zin Latt, Yan Naung Phyo, Thet Min Tun, Nyan Sint Htun, Kyaw Myo Tun and Khin Aung Htun

Correction to: Polarized nature of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: associations with population age structure and behaviours

Authors: Junko Okumura

Correction to: Epidemic of plague amidst COVID-19 in Madagascar: efforts, challenges, and recommendations

Authors: Abdullahi Tunde Aborode, Ana Carla dos Santos Costa, Anmol Mohan, Samarth Goyal, Aishat Temitope Rabiu, Christos Tsagkaris, Olivier Uwishema, Oumaima Outani, Shoaib Ahmad and Mohammad Yasir Essar

Background and descriptive features of rabies-suspected animals in Central Luzon, Philippines

The Philippines is one of the major endemic countries for canine rabies in Southeast Asia. However, detailed description and analysis of laboratory-confirmed animal rabies are limited. Highly accurate surveill...

Authors: Milagros R. Mananggit, Kazunori Kimitsuki, Nobuo Saito, Alyssa Marie G. Garcia, Patricia Mae T. Lacanilao, Joely T. Ongtangco, Cornelio R. Velasco, Maria Victoria D. Rosario, Maria Glofezita O. Lagayan, Kentaro Yamada, Chun-Ho Park, Satoshi Inoue, Motoi Suzuki, Mariko Saito-Obata, Yasuhiko Kamiya, Daria L. Manalo…

Correction to: Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the first 500 confirmed COVID-19 inpatients in a tertiary infectious disease referral hospital in Manila, Philippines

Authors: Kristal An Agrupis, Chris Smith, Shuichi Suzuki, Annavi Marie Villanueva, Koya Ariyoshi, Rontgene Solante, Elizabeth Freda Telan, Kelly Anne Estrada, Ann Celestyn Uichanco, Jocelyn Sagurit, Joy Calayo, Dorcas Umipig, Zita dela Merced, Fe Villarama, Efren Dimaano, Jose Benito Villarama…

Communicative health literacy in patients with non-communicable diseases in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Health literacy plays a prominent role in empowering individuals for prevention as well as management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, there is paucity of information on the health literacy of pat...

Authors: Desalew Tilahun, Abebe Abera and Gugsa Nemera

Epidemic of plague amidst COVID-19 in Madagascar: efforts, challenges, and recommendations

The plague has been wreaking havoc on people in Madagascar with the COVID-19 pandemic. Madagascar’s healthcare sector is striving to respond to COVID-19 in the face of a plague outbreak that has created a new ...

Authors: Abdullahi Tunde Aborode, Ana Carla dos Santos Costa, Anmol Mohan, Samarth Goyal, Aishat Temitope Rabiu, Christos Tsagkaris, Olivier Uwishema, Oumaima Outani, Shoaib Ahmad and Mohammad Yasir Essar

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody among individuals aged above 15 years and residing in congregate settings in Dire Dawa city administration, Ethiopia

Determining the extent of seropositivity of SARS-CoV-2 antibody has the potential to guide prevention and control efforts. We aimed to determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody among individuals aged...

Authors: Tamrat Shaweno, Ibrahim Abdulhamid, Lemlem Bezabih, Daniel Teshome, Behailu Derese, Hiwot Tafesse and Debebe Shaweno

Presence of dogs and proximity to a wildlife reserve increase household level risk of tungiasis in Kwale, Kenya

Tungiasis is a ectopic skin disease caused by some species of fleas in the Tunga genus, most notably T. penetrans. The disease afflicts poor and marginalized communities in developing countries. Transmission of t...

Authors: Peter S Larson, Masanobu Ono, Mwatasa Changoma, Kensuke Goto, Satoshi Kaneko, Kazuhiko Moji and Noboru Minakawa

Utilization of deworming medication and its associated factors among pregnant married women in 26 sub-Saharan African countries: a multi-country analysis

Deworming is one of the strategies to reduce the burden of anemia among pregnant women. Globally, pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa are more affected by anemia. Therefore, this study examined both the cover...

Authors: Betregiorgis Zegeye, Mpho Keetile, Bright Opoku Ahinkorah, Edward Kwabena Ameyaw, Abdul-Aziz Seidu and Sanni Yaya

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plant species used by communities around Mabira and Mpanga Central Forest Reserves, Uganda

Medicinal plants form an integral part of many health care systems in Uganda. This study aimed at documenting the therapeutic importance of plant species used in primary health care among communities living ad...

Authors: Savina Asiimwe, Jane Namukobe, Robert Byamukama and Betty Imalingat

The use of antibiotics in COVID-19 management: a rapid review of national treatment guidelines in 10 African countries

Antimicrobial resistance is a hidden threat lurking behind the COVID-19 pandemic which has claimed thousands of lives prior to the emergence of the global outbreak. With a pandemic on the scale of COVID-19, an...

Authors: Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Nafisat Dasola Jimoh, Isaac Olushola Ogunkola, Theogene Uwizeyimana, Alaka Hassan Olayemi, Nelson Ashinedu Ukor and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III

Risk factors associated with mechanical ventilation, autonomic nervous dysfunction and physical outcome in Vietnamese adults with tetanus

Tetanus remains common in many low- and middle-income countries, but as critical care services improve, mortality from tetanus is improving. Nevertheless, patients develop severe syndromes associated with auto...

Authors: Rachel Davies-Foote, Truong Ngoc Trung, Nguyen Van Thanh Duoc, Du Hong Duc, Phung Tran Huy Nhat, Vo Thi Nhu Trang, Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, Pham Thi Lieu, Duong Bich Thuy, Nguyen Thanh Phong, Nguyen Thanh Truong, Pham Ba Thanh, Dong Thi Hoai Tam, Tran Thi Diem Thuy, Pham Thi Tuyen, Thanh Tran Tan…

Antibacterial, antioxidant, and sun protection potential of selected ethno medicinal plants used for skin infections in Uganda

Rural populations in Uganda rely heavily on medicinal plants for the treatment of bacterial skin infections. However, the efficacy of these medicinal plants for their pharmacological action is not known. The s...

Authors: Jane Namukobe, Peter Sekandi, Robert Byamukama, Moses Murungi, Jennifer Nambooze, Yeremiah Ekyibetenga, Christine Betty Nagawa and Savina Asiimwe

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the first 500 confirmed COVID-19 inpatients in a tertiary infectious disease referral hospital in Manila, Philippines

The Philippines has been one of the most affected COVID-19 countries in the Western Pacific region, but there are limited data on COVID-19-related mortality and associated factors from this setting. We aimed t...

Authors: Kristal An Agrupis, Chris Smith, Shuichi Suzuki, Annavi Marie Villanueva, Koya Ariyoshi, Rontgene Solante, Elizabeth Freda Telan, Kelly Anne Estrada, Ann Celestyn Uichanco, Jocelyn Sagurit, Joy Calayo, Dorcas Umipig, Zita dela Merced, Fe Villarama, Efren Dimaano, Jose Benito Villarama…

G6PD deficiency among malaria-infected national groups at the western part of Myanmar with implications for primaquine use in malaria elimination

Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDd) plays a central role in readiness assessment for malaria elimination in Myanmar by 2030 that includes primaquine (PQ) use. The risk of hemolysis in G6PDd in...

Authors: Kay Thwe Han, Zay Yar Han, Kyin Hla Aye, Khin Thet Wai, Aung Thi, Liwang Cui and Jetsumon Sattabongkot

The improvement of functional handwashing facilities during COVID-19: the perspective of Tanzania

Fighting against coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) goes hand in hand with the provision of proper water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. In this case, proper handwashing with soap and water plays a ...

Authors: Magdalena Shao, Vivian Mushi, Luco Mwelange and Anyitike Mwakitalima

Determinants of institutional delivery in Sub-Saharan Africa: findings from Demographic and Health Survey (2013–2017) from nine countries

Institutional delivery is a major concern for a country’s long-term growth. Rapid population development, analphabetism, big families, and a wider range of urban-rural health facilities have had a negative imp...

Authors: Shewayiref Geremew Gebremichael and Setegn Muche Fenta

Spatial and temporal analysis of hospitalized dengue patients in Bandung: demographics and risk

Bandung, the fourth largest city in Indonesia and capital of West Java province, has been considered a major endemic area of dengue, and studies show that the incidence in this city could increase and spread r...

Authors: Lia Faridah, I. Gede Nyoman Mindra, Ramadhani Eka Putra, Nisa Fauziah, Dwi Agustian, Yessika Adelwin Natalia and Kozo Watanabe

The correlation between three teleconnections and leptospirosis incidence in the Kandy District, Sri Lanka, 2004–2019

Leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonosis. Leptospirosis incidence (LI) in Sri Lanka is high. Infected animals excrete leptospires into the environment via their urine. Survival of leptospires in the environment u...

Authors: N. D. B. Ehelepola, Kusalika Ariyaratne, A. M. S. M. C. M. Aththanayake, Kamalanath Samarakoon and H. M. Arjuna Thilakarathna

Characteristics and biomarkers of patients with central nervous system infection admitted to a referral hospital in Northern Vietnam

Laboratory facilities for etiological diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) infection are limited in developing countries; therefore, patients are treated empirically, and the epidemiology of the pathogens...

Authors: Cuong Chi Ngo, Shungo Katoh, Futoshi Hasebe, Bhim Gopal Dhoubhadel, Tomoko Hiraoka, Sugihiro Hamaguchi, Anh Thi Kim Le, Anh Thi Hien Nguyen, Anh Duc Dang, Chris Smith, Lay-Myint Yoshida, Cuong Duy Do, Thuy Thi Thanh Pham and Koya Ariyoshi

Community-based geographical distribution of Mycobacterium ulcerans VNTR-genotypes from the environment and humans in the Nyong valley, Cameroon

Genotyping is a powerful tool for investigating outbreaks of infectious diseases and it can provide useful information such as identifying the source and route of transmission, and circulating strains involved...

Authors: Francis Zeukeng, Anthony Ablordey, Solange E. Kakou-Ngazoa, Stephen Mbigha Ghogomu, David N’golo Coulibaly, Marie Thérèse Ngo Nsoga, Wilfred Fon Mbacham, Jude Daiga Bigoga and Rousseau Djouaka

Risk factors for cutaneous leishmaniasis in a high-altitude forest region of Peru

American cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease typically associated with men working in remote, sylvatic environments. We sought to identify CL risk factors in a highly deforested region...

Authors: Justin T. Lana, Andrés Mallipudi, Ernesto J. Ortiz, Jairo H. Arevalo, Alejandro Llanos-Cuentas and William K. Pan

Community distribution of oxygen: a unique COVID-19 intervention

The rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world has exposed some long-standing deficiencies in health systems, particularly in environments with low financial and medical resources. Most patients ill with COVID-...

Authors: Nelson Ashinedu Ukor, Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Theogene Uwizeyimana, Attaullah Ahmadi, Osmond C. Ekwebelem, Precious Fadele and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III

Polarized nature of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: associations with population age structure and behaviours

Although the scale of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was relatively small in Japan compared with the rest of the world, the polarisation of areas into high- and low-COVID-19-incidence areas was ob...

Authors: Junko Okumura