Immediate pressor response to oral salt and its assessment in the clinic: a time series clinical trial

Background: High blood pressure (BP) is associated with high-salt consumption especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the pressor efect of salt is viewed as a chronic efect, some studies suggest that a salty meal may increase BP immediately in some individuals, and that this efect may cause endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, the aim of our research was to study the immediate pressor response to oral salt (IPROS) and its determinants, with the expectation that a simple methodology may be devised to diagnose it in the clinic or in low-resource environments. Methods: We conducted a time series trial at Livingstone Central Hospital. We present data in 127 normotensive participants who ingested 2g of sodium chloride; their BP was monitored for 120minutes in intervals of 10minutes. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analyses of data. Results: Median age was 30 years (interquartile range, 22–46 years) and 52% were female patients. An increase of ≥10mmHg in mean arterial pressure (MAP), considered a clinically signifcant IPROS, was present in 62% of participants. Systolic BP 30minutes after the salt load was a signifcant predictor of IPROS, avoiding the need to calculate MAP in the clinic setting. Conclusions: We confrm the presence of an IPROS in a high proportion (62%) of otherwise normotensive participants. The average time course for this response was 30minutes and its duration was sustained for the 120-minutes period of study in most of the participants. Prediction of IPROS by ∆SBP (change in systolic blood pressure) at 30minutes allows for easy assessment of possible responder status in the clinic. Our data indicate that the IPROS to oral saltloads in the range currently consumed by the Western world and African populations in single meals may increase the 24-hour BP load, which is a risk factor for hypertension and target organ damage. The relevance of our fndings indicates the need to include dietary sodium assessment in the diagnosis, prevention, and management of high BP

Towards a competency-based doctoral curriculum at the University of Zambia: lessons from practice

We describe a collaborative, iterative, and participatory process that we undertook to develop and adopt a competency-based doctoral curriculum framework at the University of Zambia. There needs to be more than the traditional unstructured apprenticeship of PhD training in a knowledge-based economy where PhD graduates are expected to contribute to industry problem-solving. The lack of industry-driven competencies and, to some extent, limited skills possessed by PhD graduates relative to the demands of employers has led to the misclassification of doctoral degrees as mere paper certificates. Further, under traditional PhD training without specific core competencies, it has led to criticisms of such PhD studies as a waste of resources. The calls to rethink doctoral development in broader employment contexts led many countries to redesign their PhD programs. Training has increasingly introduced industrial linkages and industry-defined research projects to increase the attractiveness of doctoral students. Whereas developed countries have made significant reforms towards competency-based PhD training, little or nothing has been done in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This against the demands that Africa needs more than 100,000 PhDs in the next decade to spur economic development. Against this background, the University of Zambia has developed an industry-driven structured competency-based PhD curriculum framework. The framework will guide and support the development of standardized program-specific PhD curricula, delivery, and assessment of competencies at the University of Zambia, ensuring that doctoral students acquire skills and demonstrate core competencies that are transferable and applicable in industry settings. This framework focuses on the development of specific competencies that are necessary for successful PhD completion. The competencies are divided into three main categories: research, teaching, and professional development. Each category is then broken down into ten core competencies from which respective doctoral programs will develop sub-competencies. It is from these core competencies and sub-competencies that learning outcomes, assessment methods, and teaching activities are developed. It is envisioned that this new competency-based doctoral curriculum framework will be a helpful tool in training a cadre of professionals and researchers who benefit the industry and contribute to economic and societal development

Rotavirus breakthrough infections responsible for gastroenteritis in vaccinated infants who presented with acute diarrhoea at University Teaching Hospitals, Children's Hospital in 2016, in Lusaka Zambia.

BackgroundIn Zambia, before rotavirus vaccine introduction, the virus accounted for about 10 million episodes of diarrhoea, 63 000 hospitalisations and 15 000 deaths in 2015, making diarrhoea the third leading cause of death after pneumonia and malaria. In Zambia, despite the introduction of the vaccine acute diarrhoea due to rotaviruses has continued to affect children aged five years and below. This study aimed to characterise the rotavirus genotypes which were responsible for diarrhoeal infections in vaccinated infants aged 2 to 12 months and to determine the relationship between rotavirus strains and the severity of diarrhoea in 2016.MethodsStool samples from infants aged 2 to 12 months who presented to the hospital with acute diarrhoea of three or more episodes in 24 hours were tested for group A rotavirus. All positive specimens that had enough sample were genotyped using reverse transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). A 20-point Vesikari clinical score between 1-5 was considered as mild, 6-10 as moderate and greater or equal to 11 as severe.ResultsA total of 424 stool specimens were tested of which 153 (36%, 95% CI 31.5% to 40.9%) were positive for VP6 rotavirus antigen. The age-specific rotavirus infections decreased significantly (p = 0.041) from 2-4 months, 32.0% (49/118) followed by a 38.8% (70/181) infection rate in the 5-8 months' category and subsequently dropped in the infants aged 9-12 months with a positivity rate of 27.2%. 38.5% of infants who received a single dose, 34.5% of those who received a complete dose and 45.2% (19/42) of the unvaccinated tested positive for rotavirus. The predominant rotavirus genotypes included G2P[6] 36%, G1P[8] 32%, mixed infections 19%, G2P[4] 6%, G1P[6] 4% and G9P[6] 3%.Discussion and conclusionResults suggest breakthrough infection of heterotypic strains (G2P[6] (36%), homotypic, G1P[8] (32%) and mixed infections (19%) raises concerns about the effects of the vaccination on the rotavirus diversity, considering the selective pressure that rotavirus vaccines could exert on viral populations. This data indicates that the rotavirus vaccine has generally reduced the severity of diarrhoea despite the detection of the virus strains

Detection and Characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 in Eastern Province of Zambia: A Retrospective Genomic Surveillance Study

Mutations have driven the evolution and development of new variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with potential implications for increased transmissibility, disease severity and vaccine escape among others. Genome sequencing is a technique that allows scientists to read the genetic code of an organism and has become a powerful tool for studying emerging infectious diseases. Here, we conducted a cross-sectional study in selected districts of the Eastern Province of Zambia, from November 2021 to February 2022. We analyzed SARS-CoV-2 samples (n = 76) using high-throughput sequencing. A total of 4097 mutations were identified in 69 SARS-CoV-2 genomes with 47% (1925/4097) of the mutations occurring in the spike protein. We identified 83 unique amino acid mutations in the spike protein of the seven Omicron sublineages (BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.1.14, BA.1.18, BA.1.21, BA.2, BA.2.23 and XT). Of these, 43.4% (36/83) were present in the receptor binding domain, while 14.5% (12/83) were in the receptor binding motif. While we identified a potential recombinant XT strain, the highly transmissible BA.2 sublineage was more predominant (40.8%). We observed the substitution of other variants with the Omicron strain in the Eastern Province. This work shows the importance of pandemic preparedness and the need to monitor disease in the general population

Additional file 1 of Immediate pressor response to oral salt and its assessment in the clinic: a time series clinical trial

Additional file 1 Table S1. Preintervention blood pressures over 40 minutes, from onset of experiment until baseline. Table S2. Proportion of participants with MAP and SBP exceeding cutoffs at each time interval. Table S3. Strength of association between IPROS and BP response categorie