Is aging raw cattle urine efficient for sampling Anopheles arabiensis Patton?

Background: To ensure sustainable routine surveillance of mosquito vectors, simple, effective and ethically acceptable tools are required. As a part of that, we evaluated the efficiency of resting boxes baited with fresh and aging cattle urine for indoor and outdoor sampling of An. arabiensis in the lower Moshi rice irrigation schemes. Methods: A cattle urine treatment and re-treatment schedule was used, including a box with a piece of cloth retreated with urine daily, and once after 3 and 7 day. Resting box with piece of black cloth not treated with urine was used as a control. Each treatment was made in pair for indoor and outdoor sampling. A 4 by 4 Latin square design was used to achieve equal rotation of each of the four treatments across the experimental houses. Sampling was done over a period of 6 months, once per week. Results: A total of 7871 mosquitoes were collected throughout the study period. 49.8% of the mosquitoes were collected from resting box treated with urine daily; 21.6% and 20.0% were from boxes treated 3 and 7 days respectively. Only 8.6% were from untreated resting box (control). The proportion collected indoors was similar to 2 folds greater than the outdoor. Of all mosquitoes, 12.3% were unfed, 4.1% full fed, 34.2% semi-gravid and 49.4% gravid. Conclusion: Fresh and decaying cattle urine odour baited resting boxes offer an alternative tool for sampling particularly semi-gravid and gravid An. arabiensis. Evaluation in low density seasons of An. arabiensis in different ecological settings remains necessary. This sampling method may be standardized for replacing human landing catch

A scoping review establishes need for consensus guidance on reporting health equity in observational studies.

To evaluate the support from the available guidance on reporting of health equity in research for our candidate items and to identify additional items for the Strengthening Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology-Equity extension. We conducted a scoping review by searching Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Methodology Register, LILACS, and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information up to January 2022. We also searched reference lists and gray literature for additional resources. We included guidance and assessments (hereafter termed "resources") related to conduct and/or reporting for any type of health research with or about people experiencing health inequity. We included 34 resources, which supported one or more candidate items or contributed to new items about health equity reporting in observational research. Each candidate item was supported by a median of six (range: 1-15) resources. In addition, 12 resources suggested 13 new items, such as "report the background of investigators". Existing resources for reporting health equity in observational studies aligned with our interim checklist of candidate items. We also identified additional items that will be considered in the development of a consensus-based and evidence-based guideline for reporting health equity in observational studies

Effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines against invasive pneumococcal disease among children under five years of age in Africa: A systematic review

Contains fulltext : 202653.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Despite the widespread implementation of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Streptococcus pneumoniae remains the leading cause of severe pneumonia associated with mortality among children less than 5 years of age worldwide, with the highest mortality rates recorded in Africa and Asia. However, information on the effectiveness and prevalence of vaccine serotypes post-roll out remains scarce in most African countries. Hence, this systematic review aimed to describe what is known about the decline of childhood invasive pneumococcal disease post-introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Africa. METHODS: This systematic review included articles published between 2009 and 2018 on the implementation of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Africa. We searched PubMed, Scopus and African Index Medicus for articles in English. Studies on implementation programmes of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 10/13, with before and after data from different African countries, were considered eligible. The review followed the procedures published in PROSPERO (ID = CRD42016049192). RESULTS: In total, 2,280 studies were identified through electronic database research, and only 8 studies were eligible for inclusion in the final analysis. Approximately half (n = 3) of these studies were from South Africa. The overall decline in invasive pneumococcal disease ranged from 31.7 to 80.1%. Invasive pneumococcal diseases caused by vaccine serotypes declined significantly, the decline ranged from 35.0 to 92.0%. A much higher decline (55.0-89.0%) was found in children below 24 months of age. Of all vaccine serotypes, the relative proportions of serotypes 1, 5 and 19A doubled following vaccine roll out. INTERPRETATION: Following the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, a significant decline was observed in invasive pneumococcal disease caused by vaccine serotypes. However, data on the effectiveness in this region remain scarce, meriting continued surveillance to assess the effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccination to improve protection against invasive pneumococcal disease

Improving social justice in observational studies: protocol for the development of a global and Indigenous STROBE-equity reporting guideline.

Addressing persistent and pervasive health inequities is a global moral imperative, which has been highlighted and magnified by the societal and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Observational studies can aid our understanding of the impact of health and structural oppression based on the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, age and other factors, as they frequently collect this data. However, the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guideline, does not provide guidance related to reporting of health equity. The goal of this project is to develop a STROBE-Equity reporting guideline extension. We assembled a diverse team across multiple domains, including gender, age, ethnicity, Indigenous background, disciplines, geographies, lived experience of health inequity and decision-making organizations. Using an inclusive, integrated knowledge translation approach, we will implement a five-phase plan which will include: (1) assessing the reporting of health equity in published observational studies, (2) seeking wide international feedback on items to improve reporting of health equity, (3) establishing consensus amongst knowledge users and researchers, (4) evaluating in partnership with Indigenous contributors the relevance to Indigenous peoples who have globally experienced the oppressive legacy of colonization, and (5) widely disseminating and seeking endorsement from relevant knowledge users. We will seek input from external collaborators using social media, mailing lists and other communication channels. Achieving global imperatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., SDG 10 Reduced inequalities, SDG 3 Good health and wellbeing) requires advancing health equity in research. The implementation of the STROBE-Equity guidelines will enable a better awareness and understanding of health inequities through better reporting. We will broadly disseminate the reporting guideline with tools to enable adoption and use by journal editors, authors, and funding agencies, using diverse strategies tailored to specific audiences