Influenza surveillance in 15 countries in Africa, 2006-2010

BACKGROUND: In response to the potential threat of an influenza pandemic, several international institutions and governments, in partnership with African countries, invested in the development of epidemiologic and laboratory influenza surveillance capacity in Africa. METHODS: We used a standardized form to collect information on influenza surveillance system characteristics, the number and percent of influenza-positive patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) or severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and virologic data. RESULTS: Between 2006 and 2010, the number of ILI and SARI sites in 15 African countries increased from 21 to 127 and from 2 to 98, respectively. Influenza was detected in 22% of ILI cases and 10% of SARI cases. Children 0-4 years accounted for 48% all ILI and SARI cases of which 20% and 10 respectively were positive for influenza. Influenza peaks were generally discernible in North and South Africa. Substantial co-circulation of influenza A and B occurred most years. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza is a major cause of respiratory illness in Africa, especially in children. Further strengthening influenza surveillance, along with conducting special studies on influenza burden, cost of illness, and role of other respiratory pathogens will help detect novel influenza viruses and inform and develop targeted influenza prevention policy decisions in the region.The work presented in this manuscript was funded completely or in part by host governments, Institute Pasteur, and cooperative agreements with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and/or the U.S. Department of Defense.http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/jid/currenthb2013ay201

Correlates of Bullying Victimization among School-Going Adolescents in Algeria: Results from the 2011 Global School-Based Health Survey

Introduction: Literature establishes negative public health impact of bullying. Bullies and bully-victims are more likely to engage in a cluster of other delinquent behaviors. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine correlates of bullying victimization among school-going adolescents in Algeria. Materials and Methods: The study analyzed data from the 2011 Global School-Based Health Survey conducted among in-school adolescents in Algeria. Logistic regression analyzes were used to estimate associations between bullying victimization and selected variables. Results: A total of 4532 students participated in the survey of which 48.1% were males. Bullying victimization was estimated at 51.1% (47.2% among males and 54.9% among females). Males were 28% less likely to be bullied compared to females. Overall, adolescents aged \u3c13 years were 14% less likely to be bullied compared to those aged 16 years or older. Adolescents who reported hunger most of the time or always were 21% more likely to be bullied compared with those who were hungry less frequently. While students who smoked cigarettes were 24% more likely to report having been bullied, those who smoked marijuana were 21% less likely to report having been bullied compared to students who did not smoke. Adolescents who were involved in physical fighting were 67% more likely to be bullied compared to those who were not involved in fighting. While males who were involved in physical activity were 4% more likely to be bullied, females were 10% less likely to bullied compared with adolescents who were not involved in physical activity. Sedentary students were 10% more likely to experience bullying victimization compared to those who did not have a sedentary lifestyle. Conclusion: Bullying victimization is frequent among Algerian in-school adolescents. This calls for a concerted effort to prevent and control bullying behavior using interventions that are gender sensitive

Correlates of Zika Virus Infection Specific IgG in North-Western Province of Zambia: Results From a Population-based Cross-sectional Study

© Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) have become significant public health problems, with the emergency and re-emergency of arboviral diseases nearly worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and the risk factors for Zika virus infection in North-Western Province of Zambia. A cross-sectional study using a standardised questionnaire was used. Bivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to obtain odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals. In total, 1,755 survey participants were recruited. Overall, 48.8% of the survey participants were males. Males tended to have higher education levels than females, with 37.4% of males and 26.0% of females having attained secondary or higher levels of education (p \u3c 0.001). Altogether, 1.8% of participants had Zika virus infection, with no sex difference (2.1% of males and 1.4% of females, p = 0.957). Visiting Angola was the only factor that was significantly associated with Zika virus infection. Participants who visited Angola were 2.82 (95% CI [1.82, 4.38]) times more likely to have Zika virus infection compared to participants who had not visited Angola. Zika virus infection is prevalent among residents of North-Western Province in Zambia. Strengthening of disease surveillance, clinical management of cases and laboratory diagnostic capacities are necessary to curb the infection

The adult prevalence of HIV in Zambia: results from a population based mobile testing survey conducted in 2013-2014

To estimate the adult prevalence of HIV among the adult population in Zambia and determine whether demographic characteristics were associated with being HIV positive. A cross sectional population based survey to asses HIV status among participants aged 15 years and above in a national tuberculosis prevalence survey. Counselling was offered to participants who tested for HIV. The prevalence was estimated using a logistic regression model. Univariate and multivariate associations of social demographic characteristics with HIV were determined. Of the 46,099 individuals who were eligible to participate in the survey, 44,761 (97.1 %) underwent pre-test counselling for HIV; out of which 30,605 (68.4 %) consented to be tested and 30, 584 (99.9 %) were tested. HIV prevalence was estimated to be 6.6 % (95 % CI 5.8-7.4); with females having a higher prevalence than males 7.7 % (95 % CI 6.8-8.7) versus 5.2 % (95 % CI 4.4-5.9). HIV prevalence was higher among urban (9.8 %; 95 % CI 8.8-10.7) than rural residents (5.0 %; 95 % CI 4.3-5.8). The risk of HIV was double among urban dwellers than among their rural counterparts. Being divorced or widowed was associated with a threefold higher risk of being HIV positive than being never married. The risk of being HIV positive was four times higher among those with tuberculosis than those without tuberculosis. HIV prevalence was lower than previously estimated in the country. The burden of HIV showed sociodemographic disparities signifying a need to target key populations or epidemic drivers. Mobile testing for HIV on a national scale in the context of TB prevalence surveys could be explored further in other setting

Prevalence and Correlates for Smoking among Persons Aged 25 Years or Older in Two Rural Districts of Zambia

Smoking is a major risk factor for lung cancer and is the most widely recognized modifiable risk factor for this disease. No studies have been conducted on correlates for smoking in rural areas of Zambia where smoking rates may be higher than in urban settings. A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of smoking and its correlates in two rural districts of Zambia, namely Kaoma and Kasama. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent correlates for smoking. In total, 895 participants from Kaoma and 1198 participants from Kasama took part in the survey. Of the 886 participants in Kaoma and 1,195 from Kasama with recorded gender, 40.3% and 42.8% were males, respectively. Sex, body mass index and alcohol consumption were independently associated with smoking in both districts. Male participants were more likely to smoke than females (AOR=2.38; 95% CI [1.92, 2.95] in Kaoma and AOR = 2.62; 95% CI [2.13, 3.22] in Kasama). Participants who were lean were more likely to smoke than those who were overweight or obese (AOR=2.85, 95% CI [1.76, 4.60] in Kaoma, and AOR=2.36, 95% CI [1.59, 3.50] in Kasama). Other factors associated with smoking were alcohol use, low education (in Kaoma district) and older age (45 years or older). The findings reveal that smoking is prevalent among rural residents in Kaoma and Kasama, Zambia. Smoking is positively associated with older age, male gender, alcohol use, low BMI. Effective preventive strategies are needed to halt the growing trend of smoking

Bullying Victimization in Benin: Prevalence and its Correlates among in-School Adolescents

Bullying victimization is a serious problem among in-school adolescents. Because of limited reports on bullying among adolescents in Benin, a study was conducted to determine the prevalence and correlates for bullying victimization among school-going adolescents in Benin. Secondary analysis of data was conducted using the 2009 Benin Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) data. Logistic regression analyses were done to estimate associations between selected explanatory variables and the outcome (bullying victimization). Out of 2,690 in-school adolescents, 49.3% were of age 16 years or older, 66.9% were males and 40.1% reported having been bullied at least once in the previous 30 days to the survey (39.2% among boys versus 42.0% among girls). Male adolescents were 11% (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.89; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88–0.90) less likely to be bullied compared to female adolescents. Participants who drank alcohol were 45% more likely to be bullied than those who did not drink alcohol (AOR=1.45; 95% CI 1.43-1.47). Adolescents who smoked cigarettes were 24% (AOR = 1.24; 95% CI 1.21–1.28) more likely to be bullied compared to non-smokers. Those who reported being involved in physical fighting were 77% more likely to be bullied than those who were not involved in physical fighting (AOR=1.77; 95% CI 1.75-1.79). Adolescents who had parental supervision were 10% (AOR=0.90; 95% CI 0.89, 0.91) less likely to be bullied than those who did not have parental supervision. Efforts to prevent and control bullying should take into consideration the factors identified in this study

Impaired Fasting Glucose Level and Diabetes in Kaoma and Kasama Rural Districts of Zambia: Prevalence and Correlates in 2008-2009 Population Based Surveys

Background: Impaired fasting glucose level has been associated with increased incidence of Type 2 Diabetes mellitus, and diabetes is becoming a major public health problem in developing countries. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and correlates for impaired fasting glucose level/diabetes in Kaoma and Kasama rural districts of Zambia. Methods and Findings: A cross sectional study using modified World Health Organization (WHO) global non communicable diseases (NCD) surveillance initiative NCD STEPwise approach was used in the study. Proportions were compared using the Yates’ corrected Chi-square test, and a result yielding a p value of less than 5% was considered statistically significant. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. Factors that were statistically significantly associated with the outcome in bivariate analyses were considered in a multivariate logistic regression analysis using a backward variable selection method. Odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) have been reported. Totals of 895 participants from Kaoma and 1198 from Kasama took part in the surveys. Overall, 4.1% of the participants in Kaoma and 1.8% of the participants in Kasama (p=0.004) had impaired fasting glucose level/diabetes, with no significant differences between sex in both districts. Respondents who were aged less than 45 years were less likely to have impaired glucose level/diabetes compared to those who were aged 45 years or older (OR=0.56, 95% CI [0.39, 0.81] in Kaoma and OR=0.55, 95% CI [0.33, 0.89] in Kasama). Conclusions: Prevalence of impaired fasting glucose level/diabetes may have been underestimated because impaired glucose test was not conducted. The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose level/diabetes varied between the two rural districts studied. Impaired fasting glucose level/diabetes was associated with age. Interventions to control diabetes should be district specific and targeted at younger age groups in order to curtail the prevalence of diabetes in older age groups

Prevalence and Correlates for Smoking among Persons Aged 25 Years or Older in Two Rural Districts of Zambia

Smoking is a major risk factor for lung cancer and is the most widely recognized modifiable risk factor for this disease. No studies have been conducted on correlates for smoking in rural areas of Zambia where smoking rates may be higher than in urban settings. A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of smoking and its correlates in two rural districts of Zambia, namely Kaoma and Kasama. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent correlates for smoking. In total, 895 participants from Kaoma and 1198 participants from Kasama took part in the survey. Of the 886 participants in Kaoma and 1,195 from Kasama with recorded gender, 40.3% and 42.8% were males, respectively. Sex, body mass index and alcohol consumption were independently associated with smoking in both districts. Male participants were more likely to smoke than females (AOR=2.38; 95% CI [1.92, 2.95] in Kaoma and AOR = 2.62; 95% CI [2.13, 3.22] in Kasama). Participants who were lean were more likely to smoke than those who were overweight or obese (AOR=2.85, 95% CI [1.76, 4.60] in Kaoma, and AOR=2.36, 95% CI [1.59, 3.50] in Kasama). Other factors associated with smoking were alcohol use, low education (in Kaoma district) and older age (45 years or older). The findings reveal that smoking is prevalent among rural residents in Kaoma and Kasama, Zambia. Smoking is positively associated with older age, male gender, alcohol use, low BMI. Effective preventive strategies are needed to halt the growing trend of smoking