Analysis of secondary data from Mycobacterium vaccae tuberculosis clinical trial

Background: Sputum culture conversion at two months is an important indicator for the effectiveness of treatment and the infectivity of a patient with pulmonary TB. This study aimed at investigating factors that are associated with tuberculosis culture conversion at two months as well as investigating whether sputum culture conversion at two months is a reliable predictor of relapse. Methods: The study makes use of data obtained from 347 newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients who participated in a randomized placebo controlled immunotherapy trial at King George V hospital in Durban. Above objectives were met by carrying out statistical analysis of the secondary data. Chi-square tests for categorical explanatory variables such as HIV status and smoking status and (b) t-tests for continuous variables such as age were used for investigating factors associated with 2-month culture conversion. Multivariate models were used to find the most important variables for predicting 2-month culture conversion. Kaplan Meier curves were used for investigating whether culture conversion at two months is a reliable predictor of relapse. Findings: Of the 347 tuberculosis patients, 34 % were HIV sero-positive. Age, body mass index (BMI), smoking status and gender were found to be important variables that affect sputum culture conversion at two months. At 5 % significance level there was no evidence that those who culture convert at two months were less likely to relapse than those who had not culture converted at two months (p=0.1165). However the trend shown is striking to report as it may be of clinical significance. Among those who had not culture converted at two months, more people (40) than expected (34) relapsed an among those who had culture converted at to months, less people (19) than expected (24) relapsed. Interpretation and recommendations: Some behavioral and biological factors affect two month tuberculosis culture conversion therefore successful tuberculosis management need to take into account the effect of these factors. This study did not show that the sterilizing potential of an anti-tuberculosis regimen can be obtained by evaluation of the culture conversion rates at two months and this may be due to small sample size

Zimbabwe’s COVID- 19 vaccination roll-out: Urgent need to rethink strategies to improve the supply chain

No abstract

Zimbabwe’s COVID19 vaccination roll-out : urgent need to rethink strategies to improve the supply chain

No abstract available.http://www.samj.org.zaSchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

COVID-19 : comparison of the response in Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact worldwide with regions experiencing varying degrees of severity. African countries have mounted different response strategies eliciting varied outcomes. Here, we compare these response strategies in Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe and discuss lessons that could be shared. In particular, Rwanda has a robust and coordinated national health system that has effectively contained the epidemic. South Africa has considerable testing capacity, which has been used productively in a national response largely funded by local resources but affected negatively by corruption. Zimbabwe has an effective point-of-entry approach that utilizes an innovative strategic information system. All three countries would benefi t having routine meetings to share experiences and lessons learned during the COVD-19 pandemic.http://mediccreview.orgam2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

The landscape of COVID-19 vaccination in Zimbabwe : a narrative review and analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the programme

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges for the population. The advent of national COVID-19 vaccination programmes was therefore welcome as a key control strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidence has shown that vaccination is the best strategy to reduce the adverse individual and population level adverse outcomes associated with infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Zimbabwe rolled out its vaccination programme in February 2021 with an ambitious target to vaccinate at least 60% of its eligible population by December 2021. However, by that time, the country was still to reach that target. To move the vaccination programme towards achieving this target, it is crucial to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the programme. We, therefore, with this narrative review, discuss some of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the programme since its rollout in February 2021. Though the programme has several strengths and opportunities to leverage on, we argue that among other challenges, the emergence of new variants of concern poses one of the biggest threats to local, regional and international vaccination programmes and requires concerted multistakeholder efforts to deal with. Additionally, addressing vaccine hesitancy remains as important as availing the vaccines to the population, to obtain the most benefits out of the programme.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccinesdm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Diminished health and social outcomes among men who have sex with men who use drugs in Zimbabwe

No abstract available

Optimising COVID-19 vaccination policy to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission within schools in Zimbabwe

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the learning of millions of children across the world. Since March 2020 when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Zimbabwe, the country, like many others, has gone through periods of closing and re-opening of schools as part of the national COVID-19 control and mitigation measures. Schools promote the social, mental, physical, and moral development of children. With this viewpoint, the authors argue that schools should not be closed to provide a measured and efficient response to the threats posed by the COVID-19 epidemic. Rather, infection prevention and control strategies, including vaccination of learners and teachers, and surveillance in schools should be heightened. The use of multiple prevention strategies discussed in this viewpoint has shown that when outbreaks in school settings are adequately managed, the transmission usually is low. The information presented here suggests that schools should remain open due to the preponderance of evidence indicating the overriding positive impacts of this policy on the health, development, and wellbeing of children.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccinesdm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Optimising COVID-19 Vaccination Policy to Mitigate SARS-CoV-2 Transmission within Schools in Zimbabwe

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the learning of millions of children across the world. Since March 2020 when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Zimbabwe, the country, like many others, has gone through periods of closing and re-opening of schools as part of the national COVID-19 control and mitigation measures. Schools promote the social, mental, physical, and moral development of children. With this viewpoint, the authors argue that schools should not be closed to provide a measured and efficient response to the threats posed by the COVID-19 epidemic. Rather, infection prevention and control strategies, including vaccination of learners and teachers, and surveillance in schools should be heightened. The use of multiple prevention strategies discussed in this viewpoint has shown that when outbreaks in school settings are adequately managed, the transmission usually is low. The information presented here suggests that schools should remain open due to the preponderance of evidence indicating the overriding positive impacts of this policy on the health, development, and wellbeing of children

Conducting research among key populations in settings with discriminatory laws, policies, and practice : the case of men who have sex with men in Zimbabwe

No abstract available.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/public-health-in-practicehj2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH