Effects of maternal and infant co-infections, and of maternal immunisation, on the infant response to BCG and tetanus immunisation.

Some vaccines show poor efficacy in tropical countries. Within a birth cohort in Uganda, we investigated factors that might influence responses to BCG and tetanus immunisation. Whole blood assay responses to crude culture filtrate proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (cCFP)) and tetanus toxoid (TT) were examined among 1506 and 1433 one-year-olds, respectively. Maternal Mansonella perstans infection was associated with higher interleukin (IL)-10 responses to both immunogens but no reduction in gamma interferon (IFN-γ), IL-5 and IL-13 responses; other maternal helminth infections showed little effect. Tetanus immunisation during pregnancy was associated with higher infant responses to TT; maternal BCG scar (from past immunisation) with lower infant IL-5 and IL-13 responses to cCFP. IFN-γ, IL-5 and IL-13 to TT were reduced in HIV-exposed-uninfected infants; infant malaria and HIV were associated with lower IFN-γ, IL-5 and IL-13 responses to both immunogens. We conclude that maternal helminth infections are unlikely to explain poor vaccine efficacy in the tropics. Effects of maternal immunisation on infant responses to vaccines should be explored. Prevention of infant malaria and HIV could contribute to effectiveness of immunisation programmes

Mapping the medical outcomes study HIV health survey (MOS-HIV) to the EuroQoL 5 Dimension (EQ-5D-3L) utility index

10.1186/s12955-019-1135-8Health and Quality of Life Outcomes1718

Art as social practice: transforming lives using sculpture in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in Uganda.

This paper explores the possibilities of art as social practice in the context of the fight against HIV/AIDS. It is inspired by notions of art as having the capacity to move beyond the spaces of galleries into an expanded field, and thus beyond the visual and into the social. The paper examines the potential for sculpture to play a transformative role in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and in transforming the gender relations that shape the dynamics of the spread of the disease. These ideas are developed through discussion of research conducted in Uganda and in the UK, which sought to develop forms of sculptural practice for HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in Uganda. The paper explores the ways in which a series of soap sculptures are an effective tool in the fight against the disease, particularly in communities with high rates of illiteracy and in which discussion of sex and sexuality remains largely taboo. The paper contends that countering taboo and facilitating dialogue between women and men, thus encouraging attitudinal and behavioural change, are perhaps the most significant impacts that this form of sculpture can make. This is because while awareness of the disease in Uganda is often high, having the capacity to discuss and act upon this awareness is often problematic, largely because of fear, stigma and taboo, and the unequal gender relations that determine the nature of men and women’s sexual lives. The paper concludes that the transformative effects of the soap sculptures are revealed in the ways in which they challenge taboos, tackle fear and stigma, and facilitate dialogue between men and women

Public-making in a pandemic: the role of street art in East Africa

Street artists around the world have been prominent in depicting issues concerning COVID-19, but the role of street art in public-making during the pandemic is unexplored. Despite burgeoning street art scenes in many African countries since the early 2000s, African street art is relatively neglected in critical street art scholarship. In response, this paper examines street art created during the pandemic in East African countries, principally Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and explores the ways in which it is engaged in highly distinctive forms of public-making. Drawing primarily on qualitative online interviews with East African artists creating street art, and image analysis using online search tools, the paper argues that street art in urban areas is attempting to create knowledgeable publics through countering disinformation about the pandemic, to responsiblize publics through public health messaging and, through community activism, to build resilient publics. The paper concludes that street art is potentially an important tool in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in East African countries due to the proximity, and mutual constitution of, creative practices and publics, which emerge from the embedding of street art within the social spaces of cities and everyday experiences of the pandemic

Scholars Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences Prevalence of Trypanosomiasis among Zebu Cattle in Mulanda, Tororo District, Eastern Uganda

Abstract: Trypanosomiasis remains a major constraint to the development of livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa and a big part of Africa is rendered unsuitable for the production of livestock due to the presence of tsetse flies. A cross sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of trypanosomosis in Mulanda Sub County, Tororo district in Eastern Uganda during the month of April 2014. Whole blood samples were collected from 300 animals and examined for trypanosomes using micro-haemotocrit centrifugation and microscopic examination. The results showed an overall point prevalence of trypanosome infection at 5% with the highest prevalence observed in animals aged 7-9 years (10.7%). The prevalence of T.vivax was higher than that of T. congolense and other species. In conclusion, point prevalence of trypanosomiasis in the study area was generally low and there existed no significant association between disease prevalence and age but PCVs. Hence it can be recommended that the farmers should continue using long acting drugs for treatment of their cattle. In addition, the integrated trypanosomiasis control approaches should be extended to the traditionally tsetse free zones