Challenges of addressing neglected tropical diseases amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa:A case of Chagas Disease

Chagas Disease (CD) is an infectious, neglected tropical disease (NTD) that has affected over 1.7 billion people worldwide. Unfortunately, most countries usually put little effort into mitigating the spread of NTDs, having weak public health approaches, diagnostic delays, and ineffective clinical management guidelines and resources. However, the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, exacerbates the impact of NTDs. In this review, we examine the subsequent changes that have been imposed on CD prevention and treatment. Articles from Google Scholar and PubMed were extracted which satisfied our inclusion criteria. From our data, we gather that COVID-19 has — from preventive measures to treating patients — greatly affected every stage in the fight against CD. For instance, co-infection of CD and COVID-19 puts patients at higher risk for cardiomyopathy (i.e., atrial fibrillation, chronic heart failure), yet no clinical guidelines were established for co-infected patients. To mitigate the spread of CD during the COVID-19 pandemic, further investigations on the impacts of co-infections and vaccines that can be developed to treat such conditions are warranted

Anthrax outbreak amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa:Challenges and possible solutions

Anthrax and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are both notable zoonoses that have high morbidity and mortality, not to mention adverse socio-economic and health consequences on the communities they ravage. Anthrax wreaks disease amongst mammalian species worldwide and has an endemic distribution in Africa and Asia. Kenya, for example, records an average of 10 outbreaks annually. In 2014 and 2017, it held anthrax attack rates of 15% and 29%, respectively, and case fatality rates of 1–5%. As with COVID-19, effective surveillance, containment, and vaccination programs are crucial in the fight against anthrax. While there is no evidence of direct, human-to-human transmission of anthrax currently, Bacillus anthracis remains a disease of public health concern that serves to fuel the devastating effects of SARS-CoV-2 in African communities. In this commentary, we examine anthrax spread in Africa amidst COVID-19, the challenges faced by these simultaneous zoonoses, and the efforts put to combat both equally

The life of Professor Norman McOmish Dott – Scottish pioneer in modern neurosurgery

Modern neurosurgical practices have been largely influenced by an established, celebrated history of Scottish innovation and influence. Scottish neurosurgery has a long and illustrious history; from the foundations laid by Sir William Macewan, a pioneer of contemporary surgery on the brain deemed the ‘father of neurosurgery’ and the development of the Glasgow Coma Scale by Dr Bryan Jennett and Dr Graham Teasdale being a select few examples, Scotland continues to enrich surgical academia globally. Such advances are evident to this day. These visionaries are detailed extensively in the current literature. We draw attention to one other such figure, Professor Norman McOmish Dott, a Scottish neurosurgeon born on August 26th, 1897, in Edinburgh, credited with establishing contemporary neurosurgical practise in Scotland and for his contributions to intracranial aneurysm, transsphenoidal, and craniopharyngioma surgery. We pay reverential tribute to the life and work of Professor Norman McOmish Dott through this literature review

Addressing the challenges of prevention and control of West Nile virus in Africa: A correspondence

West Nile virus (WNV) is primarily diagnosed via serological testing, detecting antibodies against WNV in the blood, and the cerebrospinal fluid. Practically, the majority of patients are no longer viraemic at the time of symptom onset due to brief viraemic phases and the low viral load present in the blood of affected persons

Hepatitis A virus outbreak in Lebanon:Is it a matter of concern?

Lebanon has been grappling with hepatitis A virus (HAV) outbreaks for 3 decades, to an extent that it has been now termed an endemic zone for HAV. However, the rise in cases above the annual average concerns a potential outbreak in the North, and the Bekaa governorates of Lebanon must be highlighted. Although the Lebanese health authorities have ordered a probe into the possible causes of the outbreak, it has been speculated that the immigration of Syrian refugees has overburdened public health services. Reduced seroprevalence of HAV immunoglobulin G has also led to an epidemiological shift from child to adult populations. The current economic crisis affecting Lebanese society is another significant problem that could have contributed to the rise in incidents. This article examines Lebanon's current HAV outbreak and epidemiological status, offering suggestions for the future. In the event of an outbreak, the infrastructure for water sanitation and sewage is known to allow HAV to spread via the faecal-oral pathway. Maintaining personal hygiene, early detection, and vaccination have all been recommended as significant regional and individual control measures

Leishmaniasis control in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease, endemic to Africa, Asia, and South America due to inadequate access to medication and underreporting of leishmaniasis cases. Leishmaniasis has two forms: cutaneous and visceral. The fight against leishmaniasis has been greatly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that impacted resource distribution and access to medication. Continuous effort in vaccine development and affordable therapeutics are necessary to eliminate leishmaniasis in low-income countries. Further research is necessary to determine molecular drug resistance markers in leishmaniasis patients. In this analysis, we focus on the effect of COVID-19 on leishmaniasis in Africa

Leptospirosis outbreak in Tanzania:An alarming situation

On July 5, 2022, the Tanzanian Ministry of Health (MoH) announced the re-emergence of leptospirosis after reporting 20 confirmed symptomatic cases and 3 mortalities. Leptospirosis is caused by a spirochete bacterium that lives in an animal's renal tubule and spreads to individuals through contact with contaminated animal urine. Unsupervised agricultural practices, urban development, wildlife infiltration, and a lack of sanitation have all been proposed as potential environmental causes of the present outbreak. The MoH is taking the necessary steps to halt the spread of said outbreak with assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO). This article examines the risk factors, etiology, number of confirmed cases, and subsequent case index to analyse the epidemiology of the current leptospirosis outbreak in Tanzania's southern Linda region. In light of these findings, this research further details recent recommendations made by the WHO, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and MoH to mitigate such an alarming situation. These recommendations include early detection and isolation, contact tracing, and chemoprophylaxis using doxycycline. The article concludes by outlining suggestions for individuals and governments, including the launch of public awareness campaigns, immunisation, increased surveillance, rapid detection testing, and the installation of suitable purification systems, to help contain future leptospirosis outbreaks

Spider venom neurotoxin based bioinsecticides: A novel bioactive for the control of the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera)

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is a key vector of the phloem-limited bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) associated with huanglongbing (HLB), the most serious and currently incurable disease of citrus worldwide. Here we report the first investigation into the potential use of a spider venom-derived recombinant neurotoxin, ω/κ-HxTx-Hv1h (hereafter HxTx-Hv1h) when delivered alone or when fused to snowdrop lectin (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) to control D. citri. Proteins, including GNA alone, were purified from fermented transformed yeast Pichia pastoris cultures. Recombinant HxTx-Hv1h, HxTx-Hv1h/GNA and GNA were all orally toxic to D. citri, with Day 5 median lethal concentrations (LC 50) derived from dose-response artificial diet assays of 27, 20 and 52 μM, respectively. Western analysis of whole insect protein extracts confirmed that psyllid mortality was attributable to protein ingestion and that the fusion protein was stable to cleavage by D. citri proteases. When applied topically (either via droplet or spray) HxTx-Hv1h/GNA was the most effective of the proteins causing >70 % mortality 5 days post treatment, some 2 to 3-fold higher levels of mortality as compared to the toxin alone. By contrast, no significant mortality or phenotypic effects were observed for bumble bees (Bombus terrestris L.) fed on the recombinant proteins in acute toxicity assays. This suggests that HxTx-Hv1h/GNA has potential as a novel bioinsecticide for the management of D. citri offering both enhanced target specificity as compared to chemical pesticides and compatibility with integrated pest management (IPM) strategies