Outbreak of Cholera Due to Cyclone Idai in Central Mozambique (2019)

Idai was a strong tropical cyclone in Central Mozambique, causing over 1000 deaths, destroying schools, hospitals, roads, and more than 239,731 houses, displacing thousands of people to 136 accommodation sites, and leaving people in need for assistance. The resulting precarious hygienic conditions caused outbreaks of diseases such as malaria and cholera. This communication summarizes the onset of cholera outbreak in Sofala province and its response. It was declared on 27 March, and the number of cases raised up to 6766 and 8 confirmed deaths, with the highest incidence in the city of Beira. The government and partners made integrated efforts to control the disease, establishing treatment centers and units and improving sanitation and hygiene and surveillance. Furthermore, 800,000 people were immunized, and the results seemed satisfactory considering the response. Although cyclones are rare, Mozambique has a very limited capacity to handle their impact, and this urges the country to keep a contingency fund for future disasters

Aflatoxins in Mozambican Online Mainstream Press

Aflatoxins gained increased recognition in Mozambique due to their negative impact on health, food security, and trade. Most contamination occurs in peanuts, maize, and their products. Nevertheless, there is little awareness, probably because the press and mass media do not disseminate enough information. This study analyzed the quantity and quality of information on aflatoxins in Mozambique’s leading online newspapers between 2009 and 2018. After analyzing articles using Atlas.ti, the information was synthesized and compared to scholarly sources. Mozambique requires more press and media coverage of aflatoxin research and development activities. Awareness campaigns should be reinforced, distribute information to multiple organizations, and use multiple means, including online mainstream press, spreading information to reach a broad range of people, given the diversity of cultures and villages’ remoteness. Organizations providing information, including universities, need to translate the highly technical information published in scientific journals to help reporters understand the research’s implications. Furthermore, there is a need to identify groups that do not receive messages from current campaigns and appropriate methods for reaching those populations

An Update on Cholera Studies in Mozambique

Cholera is endemic in Mozambique and, together with other diarrheic diseases, is a major cause of infant death. There are yearly outbreaks in the northern provinces. The last major review of cholera in the country was published in 2013, but there have been major events since then, such as the 2015 outbreak in central and northern Mozambique and others in the following years. Plenty of related information were shared during the XVI National Health Journeys, 17–20 September 2018, in Maputo City. This chapter aims to summarize and discuss the most relevant information on cholera from the journeys, and other recent publications, in order to update the information from the latest major review. Regarding etiology, new strains of V. cholerae irradiating from several areas have been replacing the original from the Indian subcontinent. Water and sanitation are major challenges but, in some instances, sociocultural features play a significant role in people’s reluctance to use untreated water, even when they have access to potable sources, and mistrust toward government interventions. Vaccination campaigns seemed effective but there is a need to promote more adherence and collaboration from people at risk, perhaps by involving more the local government and religious and traditional authorities

Comprehensive Description of Fusarium graminearum Pigments and Related Compounds

Several studies have explored in depth the biochemistry and genetics of the pigments present in Fusarium graminearum, but there is a need to discuss their relationship with the mold’s observable surface color pattern variation throughout its lifecycle. Furthermore, they require basic cataloguing, including a description of their major features known so far. Colors are a viable alternative to size measurement in growth studies. When grown on yeast extract agar (YEA) at 25 °C, F. graminearum initially exhibits a whitish mycelium, developing into a yellow-orange mold by the sixth day and then turning into wine-red. The colors are likely due to accumulation of the golden yellow polyketide aurofusarin and the red rubrofusarin, but the carotenoid neurosporaxanthin also possibly plays a major role in the yellow or orange coloration. Torulene might contribute to red tones, but it perhaps ends up being converted into neurosporaxanthin. Culmorin is also present, but it does not contribute to the color, though it was initially isolated in pigment studies. Additionally, there is the 5-deoxybostrycoidin-based melanin, but it mostly occurs in the teleomorph’s perithecium. There is still a need to chemically quantify the pigments throughout the lifecycle, and analyze their relationships and how much each impacts F. graminearum’s surface color

Influence of population density and access to sanitation on Covid-19 in Mozambique

In 2020, as COVID-19 spread through the world, prestigious entities published faulty predictions about the level of dissemination, especially when describing African countries and others with “weak healthcare systems.” How could the best fall so short, even when using well-known epidemiological variables to predict the behavior of a hygiene-related malady? It might have been due to insufficient data since COVID-19 was a novelty, still poorly understood. The current study aimed to analyze how two variables – population density and percentage of people with access to improved sanitation – affected the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mozambique by February 2021, almost one year since the country's first case. All data were publicly available: population density in Census 2017, access to sanitation in the Mozambique Public Expenditure Review 2014, and the number of COVID-19 cases in the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 daily bulletin (no. 332). JASP 0.13.1.0 allowed correlating all variables, and Microsoft Excel™ was the choice to perform fitting analysis to model the algebraic relationship between the number of cases and the other variables. The cases showed a positive correlation (r = 0.663) with density, and their relationship was consistent with a cubic function. Sanitation coverage also showed a positive correlation (r = 0.679), but the most straightforward algebraic representation was a quadratic function. The impact of population density on the number of COVID-19 cases was intuitive, but the logic points towards the highest number of cases where sanitation facilities lacked the most. Perhaps the influence of other factors outweighed the effect of sanitation, or people tend to be careless before the sense of security where the sanitation is better. These findings can support predictions and decision-making, and the population needs to abide by the Government’s recommendations

The Use of Colors as an Alternative to Size in Fusarium graminearum Growth Studies

Size-based fungal growth studies have limitations. For example, the growth in size stops in closed systems once it reaches the borders and poorly describes metabolic status, especially in the stationary phase. This might lead mycotoxin studies to unrealistic results. Color change could be a viable alternative, as pigments result from a mold's metabolic activity. This study aimed to verify the possibility of using gray values and the RGB system to analyze the growth of Fusarium graminearum. It consisted of color and area measurements using ImageJ software for specimens grown in yeast extract agar (YEA). The results suggest the utility of color and gray values as reliable tools to analyze the growth of F. graminearum

A Glance at Aflatoxin Research in Mozambique

In Mozambique, aflatoxin research started in the 1960’s and has been carried through apparently unrelated efforts according to opportunities. However, they can be grouped in two sets: early epidemiological studies and recent agricultural research. Early investigators found a strong correlation between aflatoxin contamination and primary liver cancer. Since then, there have been efforts to examine the extent of contamination, especially in groundnuts and maize. More recent investigations and interventions aimed mostly to reduce the level of contamination, enough to allow such commodities to gain acceptance in the international market. The current status of knowledge is still marginal but the increasing involvement of local authorities, academia, and international organizations seems promising