Characterization of envelope function of transmitted viruses circulating in Mbeya, Tanzania, and its impact on disease progression

An understanding of the biological characteristics of transmitted viruses provides important insights into HIV pathogenesis and informs vaccine development. The aim of the study was to characterize env function of transmitted viruses and its role in disease progression

Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic : A review of the nature of the virus, impacts and implications for preparedness

Background: COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in different countries across the world, claiming thousands of lives, increasing morbidity and disrupting lifestyles. The global scientific community is in urgent need of relevant evidence, to understand the challenges and knowledge gaps, as well as the opportunities to contain the spread of the virus. Considering the unique socio-economic, demographic, political, ecological and climatic contexts in Africa, the responses which may prove to be successful in other regions may not be appropriate on the continent. This paper aims to provide insight for scientists, policy makers and international agencies to contain the virus and to mitigate its impact at all levels. Methods: The Affiliates of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), came together to synthesize the current evidence, identify the challenges and opportunities to enhance the understanding of the disease. We assess the potential impact of this pandemic and the unique challenges of the disease on African nations. We examine the state of Africa’s preparedness and make recommendations for steps needed to win the war against this pandemic and combat potential resurgence. Results: We identified gaps and opportunities among cross-cutting issueswhich must be addressed or harnessed in this pandemic. Factors such as the nature of the virus and the opportunities for drug targeting, point of care diagnostics, health surveillance systems, food security, mental health, xenophobia and gender-based violence, shelter for the homeless, water and sanitation, telecommunications challenges, domestic regional coordination and financing. Conclusion: Based on our synthesis of the current evidence, while there are plans for preparedness in several African countries, there are significant limitations. A multi-sectoral efforts from the science, education, medical, technology, communication, business, and industry sectors, as well as local communities, must work collaboratively to assist countries in order to win this fight

Features of recently transmitted HIV-1 clade C viruses that impact antibody recognition : implications for active and passive immunization.

CAPRISA, 2016.Abstract available in PDF file

Community health care workers in South Africa are at increased risk for tuberculosis

Many sub-Saharan African countries face a severe shortage of qualified HCWs as a result of the dual HIV/TB epidemic, which has triggered task shifting to a range of lay community health care workers (CHWs) – for example, home-based care workers, lay counsellors and adherence supporters, for both TB and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). CHWs may experience a considerable occupational TB risk; however, their risk of TB disease and HIV prevalence has never been documented

Community health care workers in South Africa are at increased risk for tuberculosis

Many sub-Saharan African countries face a severe shortage of qualified HCWs as a result of the dual HIV/TB epidemic, which has triggered task shifting to a range of lay community health care workers (CHWs) – for example, home-based care workers, lay counsellors and adherence supporters, for both TB and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). CHWs may experience a considerable occupational TB risk; however, their risk of TB disease and HIV prevalence has never been documented

Quantitating the Multiplicity of Infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype C Reveals a Non-Poisson Distribution of Transmitted Variants▿ †

Identifying the specific genetic characteristics of successfully transmitted variants may prove central to the development of effective vaccine and microbicide interventions. Although human immunodeficiency virus transmission is associated with a population bottleneck, the extent to which different factors influence the diversity of transmitted viruses is unclear. We estimate here the number of transmitted variants in 69 heterosexual men and women with primary subtype C infections. From 1,505 env sequences obtained using a single genome amplification approach we show that 78% of infections involved single variant transmission and 22% involved multiple variant transmissions (median of 3). We found evidence for mutations selected for cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte or antibody escape and a high prevalence of recombination in individuals infected with multiple variants representing another potential escape pathway in these individuals. In a combined analysis of 171 subtype B and C transmission events, we found that infection with more than one variant does not follow a Poisson distribution, indicating that transmission of individual virions cannot be seen as independent events, each occurring with low probability. While most transmissions resulted from a single infectious unit, multiple variant transmissions represent a significant fraction of transmission events, suggesting that there may be important mechanistic differences between these groups that are not yet understood