Spatial patterns of zooplankton distribution and abundance in relation to phytoplankton, fish catch and some water quality parameters at Shirati bay, lake victoria-Tanzania

Spatial patterns and abundance of zooplankton in aquatic habitats are important determinants for production of fish species, invertebrates and availability of phytoplankton. Weekly monitoring for zooplankton abundance was conducted in Shirati Bay, Lake Victoria, to explore their spatial patterns in relation to phytoplankton, fish catch and some water quality parameters. The vertical distribution of zooplankton was generally higher close to the bottom as compared to surface waters of the lake. Zooplankton vertical distribution positively correlated with water transparency (r = 0.680, p = 0.011). The horizontal abundance of zooplankton was not significantly different amongst the three stations (p = 0.5143). While Copepoda was the dominant group in terms of composition, Rotifera had the highest diversity indices of all the zooplankton groups obtained. The abundance of nauplius larvae was significantly higher than that of the copepodites (p = 0.022). Nile perch, Lates niloticus dominated the total catches (47%) followed by Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (29%) and haplochromines (21%). The abundance of haplochromines and juvenile fishes correlated significantly with the abundance of zooplankton (r = 0.856, p = 0.002 and r = 0.58, p = 0.038, respectively). The current study revealed that zooplankton vertical distribution at Shirati Bay is mainly controlled by water transparency and predation by juvenile Nile perch, Nile tilapia and haplochromines.Keywords: chlorophyll-a; calanoid; cyclopoid; nauplius larvae; juvenile fis

Asthma Prevalence, Knowledge, and Perceptions among Secondary School Pupils in Rural and Urban Costal Districts in Tanzania.

Asthma is a common chronic disease of childhood that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of asthma among secondary school pupils in urban and rural areas of coast districts of Tanzania. The study also aimed to describe pupils' perception towards asthma, and to assess their knowledge on symptoms, triggers, and treatment of asthma. A total of 610 pupils from Ilala district and 619 pupils from Bagamoyo district formed the urban and rural groups, respectively. Using a modified International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, a history of "diagnosed" asthma or the presence of a wheeze in the previous 12 months was obtained from all the studied pupils, along with documentation of their perceptions regarding asthma. Pupils without asthma or wheeze in the prior 12 months were subsequently selected and underwent a free running exercise testing. A >= 20% decrease in the post-exercise Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) values was the criterion for diagnosing exercise-induced asthma. The mean age of participants was 16.8 (+/-1.8) years. The prevalence of wheeze in the past 12 months was 12.1% in Bagamoyo district and 23.1% in Ilala district (p < 0.001). Self-reported asthma was found in 17.6% and 6.4% of pupils in Ilala and Bagamoyo districts, respectively (p < 0.001). The prevalence of exercise-induced asthma was 2.4% in Bagamoyo, and 26.3% in Ilala (P < 0.002). In both districts, most information on asthma came from parents, and there was variation in symptoms and triggers of asthma reported by the pupils. Non-asthmatic pupils feared sleeping, playing, and eating with their asthmatic peers. The prevalence rates of self-reported asthma, wheezing in the past 12 months, and exercise-induced asthma were significantly higher among urban than rural pupils. Although bronchial asthma is a common disease, pupils' perceptions about asthma were associated with fear of contact with their asthmatic peers in both rural and urban schools

The risk factors for human cysticercosis in Mbulu District, Tanzania

The objective of this study was to explore the reasons for the persistence of human cysticercosis (HCC) transmission in Mbulu District, northern Tanzania. The study was carried out in 25 villages, whereby five major risks were identified. The risks were indiscriminate defaecation and improper use of toilets; a free-range system of keeping pigs; indiscriminate or unregulated slaughtering and inadequate meat hygiene and inspection; consumption of undercooked and porcine cysticerci infected pork; and social structure and roles. All of the identified risks were backed up by the immanent lifestyles of the community involved. These findings are important for the development of intervention strategies in the study area

Seroprevalence of circulating taeniid antigens in pigs and associated risk factors in Kongwa district, Tanzania

The aim of this study was to investigate exposure to porcine cysticercosis (PC) and asso-ciated risk factors in the Kongwa District, eastern-central Tanzania. For thefirst time across-sectional investigation of the seroprevalence in pigs using a commercial genusspecific cysticercosis enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (apDia Ag-ELISA) was under-taken in eastern-central Tanzania. Moreover, the identity of suspectedT. soliumcysts frompigs in the study area were confirmed by sequencing parasites’mitochondrialcox1gene.Structured questionnaires and direct observations were used to investigate risk factorsassociated with parasite transmission. A total of 102 pig-keeping households were sur-veyed during the dry season between July and August 2017 and 126 households in therainy season between March and April 2018. Of the 447 examined pigs, 77 (17%, 95% C.I.14%e20%) tested positive in the ELISA. Seroprevalence was higher in pigs examined duringthe rainy (21%, 95% C.I. 16%e26%) than dry (12%, 95% C.I. 7%e17%) season (p¼0.019). Eightcyst-positive-pigs were confirmed to be infected withT. soliumby sequencing. Risk factorsassociated with PC seropositivity included origin of piglets or pigs (OR¼0.27, 95% C.I. 0.13e0.42, p¼0.001), socioeconomic factors and pig production system (OR¼0.22, 95% C.I.0.07e0.37, p¼0.005) and sanitation and hygiene practices (OR¼0.19, 95% C.I. 0.04e0.34,p¼0.014). This study has recorded a highTaeniaspp. seroprevalence in pigs in Kongwasuggesting the presence of people in the community carrying the adult parasite,Taeniasolium. Ourfindings also suggest risk of infection byT. soliumto people in urban centresand cities consuming pigs from rural areas in Kongwa. The high seroprevalence in Kongwacalls for further studies on taeniasis and cysticercosis in the human population in order todetermine suitable control strategies

Population Biology of the Metazoan Parasites Infecting Fishes from Lakes Uba

Out of the 48 fishes examined, 40 (83.3%) were infected by 759 parasites, which comprise of trematodes, monogeneans, crustaceans and acanthocephalans. Acanthocephalans and strigeid trematodes were the majority, 23 (47.9%) of all the parasites, while crustaceans, Ergasilus was the minority (20.8%). Fish with length size greater than 160 mm were infected (prevalence 100%). Strigeids showed the highest prevalence (83.3%) and mean intensity (24.7) in fish of total length 160- 189 mm while those greater than 219 mm had the least prevalence (20%) and mean intensity (2). Acanthocephalan showed the highest prevalence (87.5%) and mean intensity (15.7) in fish of total length 190- 219 mm and least prevalence (30.4%) and mean intensity (5.6) in those with 130- 159 mm in total length. Generally male fish had higher prevalence (88.5%) and mean intensity (21.6) than female fish. However, statistically these were not significant (P&gt; 0.05). A total of 9 parasite taxa were recovered; 5 from Oreochromis urolepis, 4 from Citharinus congicus, 2 from Clarias gariepinus and Synodontis maculipinna. Three groups of parasites were common in Oreochromis urolepis, these include Dactylogyrus, Acanthocephala, and strigid. Ergersilus lamelifer was common in Citharinus congicus and Clarias gariepinus. Nematodes, Procamalanus laevionchu

Fatty Acid Composition and Levels of Selected Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Four Commercial Important Freshwater Fish Species from Lake Victoria, Tanzania

Fatty acids (FAs) particularly ω3 and ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play important role in human health. This study aimed to investigate the composition and levels of selected ω3 PUFAs in four commercial fish species, Nile perch (Lates niloticus), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), Tilapia zillii, and dagaa (Rastrineobola argentea) from Mwanza Gulf in Lake Victoria. The results indicated that 36 types of FAs with different saturation levels were detected. These FAs were dominated by docosahexaenoic (DHA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosapentaenoic (DPA), and eicosatetraenoic acids. O. niloticus had the highest composition of FAs (34) compared to L. niloticus (27), T. zillii (26), and R. argentea (21). The levels of EPA differed significantly among the four commercial fish species (F=6.19,  P=0.001). The highest EPA levels were found in R. argentea followed by L. niloticus and O. niloticus and the lowest in T. zillii. The DPA levels showed no significant difference among the four fish species studied (F=0.652,  P=0.583). The study concluded that all four commercial species collected from Mwanza Gulf are good for human health, but R. argentea is the best for consumption because it contains higher levels of ω3 FAs, mainly EPA

Clinicopathological Characteristics and Outcomes of Anal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients With and Without HIV Infection in Sub-Saharan Africa

PURPOSEIn the past 20 years, the burden of anal cancer (AC) increased by 60% in the United States and over three-fold in Africa. Rates of AC have increased by 20× in people living with HIV and the highest (50×) in men with HIV who have sex with men. However, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where HIV is endemic, data on clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of patients with AC are lacking. To address this, we have investigated AC disease presentation, treatment outcomes, and its predictors in a cohort of patients who were either HIV-infected or HIV-uninfected in SSA.METHODSWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) treated at Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from January 2014 to December 2019. Associations between the study outcomes and their predictors were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis models.RESULTSA total of 59 patients with anal SCC were retrieved and had at least 2-year follow-up. The mean age was 53.9 (standard deviation ±10.5) years. While none of the patients presented with stage I disease, 64.4% had locally advanced disease. HIV infection was the major comorbidity (64.4%). The rate of complete remission at the end of treatment was at 49% while the 2-year overall survival (OS) and local recurrence-free survival were 86.4% and 91.3%, respectively. Despite high HIV coinfection in the cohort, AC treatment outcomes were not significantly associated with HIV status. Disease stage (P = .012) and grade (P = .030) were significantly associated with 2-year OS.CONCLUSIONPatients with anal SCC in Tanzania present mainly with locally advanced disease associated with high HIV prevalence. In this cohort, the SCC grade was independently associated with treatment outcomes unlike other factors such as HIV coinfection

Undiagnosed and diagnosed diabetes mellitus among hospitalised acute heart failure patients in Botswana

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the burden of diagnosed and undiagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus among patients hospitalised with acute heart failure in Botswana. Methods: The study enrolled 193 consecutive patients admitted with acute heart failure to the medical wards at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone. Patients were classified as previously known diabetics, undiagnosed diabetics (glycated haemoglobin ≥ 6.5%) or as non-diabetics (glycated haemoglobin < 6.5%). Data on other comorbid conditions such as hypertension, atrial fibrillation, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and renal failure were also collected. Results: The mean (SD) age of the participants was 54.2 (17.1) years and 53.9% were men. The percentage of known and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus was 15.5% and 12.4%, respectively. Diabetic patients were significantly more likely to have hypertension (77.8% vs 46.0%, p < 0.001), ischaemic heart disease (20.4% vs 5.0%, p < 0.001), chronic kidney disease (51.3% vs 23.0%, p  < 0.001), and stroke (20.4% vs 5.8%, p  < 0.01). In addition, diabetics were older than non-diabetics (61.0 years vs 51.6 years, p  < 0.001). Conclusion: About 27.9% of patients admitted with acute heart failure in Botswana had diabetes, and almost half of them presented with undiagnosed diabetes. These findings indicate that all hospitalised patients should be screened for diabetes