Hepatitis C subtyping assay failure in UK patients born in Sub-Saharan Africa: implications for global treatment and elimination

The newly developed direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have revolutionised the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), where cohort studies have shown that cure rates as high as 98% can be achieved. Whilst genome sequencing has demonstrated that some subtypes of HCV naturally harbour drug resistance associated substitutions (RAS), these have not been considered important as previous molecular epidemiological studies have suggested that such difficult-to-treat subtypes are rare. Therefore, to optimise and streamline molecular detection and sequence-based typing of diverse RAS-containing subtypes, a novel panel of single round PCR assays was applied to HCV derived from 146 individuals, whose likely source of infection was from regions of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Partial NS5A and NS5B sequences were obtained from 135 HCV-positive patients born in 19 different countries from SSA but attending clinics in the UK. Virus subtype assignments were determined by pairwise-distance analysis and compared to both diagnostic laboratory assignments and free-to-use online typing tools. We determined that routine clinical diagnostic methods incorrectly subtyped 59.0% of samples, with a further 6.8% incorrectly genotyped. Of five commonly used online tools, Geno2Pheno performed most effectively in determining a subtype in agreement with pairwise distance analysis. Considering the estimated number of HCV infections to have occurred in across Africa, this study provides a simple low-cost pathway to guide regional therapeutic choice and assist global eradication programmes.

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Positioning for success: building capacity in academic competencies for early-career researchers in sub-Saharan Africa

Global Mental Health ◽

10.1017/gmh.2019.14 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

C. Merritt ◽

H. Jack ◽

W. Mangezi ◽

D. Chibanda ◽

M. Abas

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Capacity Building ◽

Low Cost ◽

Early Career ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Training Experience ◽

African Countries ◽

Early Career Researchers ◽

Academic Competencies ◽

Sub Saharan

Background. Capacity building is essential in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to address the gap in skills to conduct and implement research. Capacity building must not only include scientific and technical knowledge, but also broader competencies, such as writing, disseminating research and achieving work–life balance. These skills are thought to promote long-term career success for researchers in high-income countries (HICs) but the availability of such training is limited in LMICs. Methods. This paper presents the contextualisation and implementation of the Academic Competencies Series (ACES). ACES is an early-career researcher development programme adapted from a UK university. Through consultation between HIC and LMIC partners, an innovative series of 10 workshops was designed covering themes of self-development, engagement and writing skills. ACES formed part of the African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI), a multi-national LMIC-led consortium to recruit, train, support and network early-career mental health researchers from four sub-Saharan African countries. Results. Of the 10 ACES modules, three were HIC-LMIC co-led, four led by HIC facilitators with LMIC training experience and three led by external consultants from HICs. Six workshops were delivered face to face and four by webinar. Course attendance was over 90% and the delivery cost was approximately US$4500 per researcher trained. Challenges of adaptation, attendance and technical issues are described for the first round of workshops. Conclusions. This paper indicates that a skills development series for early-career researchers can be contextualised and implemented in LMIC settings, and is feasible for co-delivery with local partners at relatively low cost.

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The BabySaver: Design of a New Device for Neonatal Resuscitation at Birth with Intact Placental Circulation

Children ◽

10.3390/children8060526 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 526

Author(s):

James Ditai ◽

Aisling Barry ◽

Kathy Burgoine ◽

Anthony K. Mbonye ◽

Julius N. Wandabwa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Neonatal Resuscitation ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Skilled Birth Attendants ◽

New Device ◽

Birth Attendants ◽

Premature Babies ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Uk ◽

The University

The initial bedside care of premature babies with an intact cord has been shown to reduce mortality; there is evidence that resuscitation of term babies with an intact cord may also improve outcomes. This process has been facilitated by the development of bedside resuscitation surfaces. These new devices are unaffordable, however, in most of sub-Saharan Africa, where 42% of the world’s 2.4 million annual newborn deaths occur. This paper describes the rationale and design of BabySaver, an innovative low-cost mobile resuscitation unit, which was developed iteratively over five years in a collaboration between the Sanyu Africa Research Institute (SAfRI) in Uganda and the University of Liverpool in the UK. The final BabySaver design comprises two compartments; a tray to provide a firm resuscitation surface, and a base to store resuscitation equipment. The design was formed while considering contextual factors, using the views of individual women from the community served by the local hospitals, medical staff, and skilled birth attendants in both Uganda and the UK.

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A Synthesis of Hepatitis C prevalence estimates in Sub-Saharan Africa: 2000–2013

BMC Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1186/s12879-016-1584-1 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Nallely Mora ◽

William H. Adams ◽

Stephanie Kliethermes ◽

Lara Dugas ◽

Neelam Balasubramanian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Prevalence Estimates ◽

Sub Saharan

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Using a Network of Locally Developed Low Cost Particulate Matter Sensors for Land Use Regression Modeling of PM2.5 in Urban Uganda

10.20944/preprints202006.0158.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Eric S. Coker ◽

Ssematimba Joel ◽

Engineer Bainomugisha

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Low Cost ◽

Additive Models ◽

Pollution Monitoring ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Land Use Regression ◽

Sub Saharan

Background: There are major air pollution monitoring gaps in sub-Saharan Africa. Developing capacity in the region to conduct air monitoring in the region can help estimate exposure to air pollution for epidemiology research. The purpose of our study is to develop a land use regression (LUR) model using low-cost air quality sensors developed by a research group in Uganda (AirQo). Methods: Using these low-cost sensors, we collected continuous measurements of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) between May 1, 2019 and February 29, 2020 at 22 monitoring sites across urban municipalities of Uganda. We compared average monthly PM2.5 concentrations from the AirQo sensors with measurements from a BAM-1020 reference monitor operated at the US Embassy in Kampala. Monthly PM2.5 concentrations were used for LUR modeling. We used eight Machine Learning (ML) algorithms and ensemble modeling; using 10-fold cross validation and root mean squared error (RMSE) to evaluate model performance. Results: Monthly PM2.5 concentration was 60.2 µg/m3 (IQR: 45.4-73.0 µg/m3; median= 57.5 µg/m3). For the ML LUR models, RMSE values ranged between 5.43 µg/m3 - 15.43 µg/m3 and explained between 28% and 92% of monthly PM2.5 variability. Generalized additive models explained the largest amount of PM2.5 variability (R2=0.92) and produced the lowest RMSE (5.43 µg/m3) in the held-out test set. The most important predictors of monthly PM2.5 concentrations included monthly precipitation, major roadway density, population density, latitude, greenness, and percentage of households using solid fuels. Conclusion: To our knowledge, ours is the first study to model the spatial distribution of urban air pollution in sub-Saharan Africa using air monitors developed from the region itself. Non-parametric ML for LUR modeling performed with high accuracy for prediction of monthly PM2.5 levels. Our analysis suggests that locally produced low-cost air quality sensors can help build capacity to conduct air pollution epidemiology research in the region.

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ASR FORUM: ENGAGING WITH AFRICAN INFORMAL ECONOMIES

African Studies Review ◽

10.1017/asr.2013.80 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 56 (3) ◽

pp. 77-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Michal Lyons ◽

Alison Brown ◽

Zhigang Li

Keyword(s):

Value Chain ◽

Informal Economy ◽

Low Cost ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Value Chains ◽

Socioeconomic Mobility ◽

Informal Economies ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Economic Development Strategies

Abstract:This article analyzes the value chain for Chinese manufactured goods such as garments and textiles sold in sub-Saharan Africa. It explores the opportunities for Africans with small, private businesses in the export trade from China, the potential for long-term business development, and how strategies of engagement have changed over time. It finds that the value chains for low-cost goods vary. There is great diversity of entry levels and opportunities for socioeconomic mobility, and traders evolve diverse strategies to obtain and defend their position in the chain. These findings are discussed in terms of understandings of international value chains, the informal economy, and African economic development strategies.

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Recurrent Cholera Outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa: Moving beyond Epidemiology to Understand the Environmental Reservoirs and Drivers

Challenges ◽

10.3390/challe10010001 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Willis Gwenzi ◽

Edmond Sanganyado

Keyword(s):

Epidemiological Studies ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Environmental Drivers ◽

Future Research ◽

Research Directions ◽

Complex Interactions ◽

Future Research Directions ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

And Control ◽

Water Borne

Recurrent cholera outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) attracted a lot of research interest, raising questions about the effectiveness of current prevention and control methods. However, research on cholera and other water-borne diseases in Africa is dominated by epidemiological studies, while investigations on the environmental drivers and reservoirs of cholera remain scarce. The current discourse relating cholera to the environment in SSA is often limited to the rudimentary statement that, “cholera is caused by the consumption of contaminated water and food”. Yet, beyond this simplistic view, literature elsewhere shows that cholera outbreaks are controlled by its complex interactions with environmental drivers and reservoirs. This brings to question whether cholera can be eradicated in SSA without understanding these complex interactions. The current review seeks to (1) highlight the nature and dynamics of recent cholera outbreaks in SSA, (2) discuss the importance of environmental reservoirs of Vibrio cholerae, and anthropogenic and hydroclimatic drivers in controlling the dynamics of cholera outbreaks, and (3) highlight key knowledge gaps and future research directions, and the need to harness emerging research tools such as modeling, machine learning, data mining, and genomics techniques to better understand the cholera dynamics. By bringing to fore these often-overlooked issues in cholera research, we seek to stimulate discussion, and promote a shift toward cross-disciplinary research on cholera and other water-borne diseases in SSA and beyond.

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Pilot Low-Cost Concentrating Solar Power Systems Deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Implementation Challenges

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12156223 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (15) ◽

pp. 6223

Author(s):

Emmanuel Wendsongre Ramde ◽

Eric Tutu Tchao ◽

Yesuenyeagbe Atsu Kwabla Fiagbe ◽

Jerry John Kponyo ◽

Asakipaam Simon Atuah

Keyword(s):

Electricity Generation ◽

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Solar Power ◽

Low Cost ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Tracking Systems ◽

Concentrating Solar Power ◽

Solar Power Plants ◽

Sub Saharan

Electricity is one of the most crucial resources that drives any given nation’s growth and development. The latest Sustainable Development Goals report indicates Africa still has a high deficit in electricity generation. Concentrating solar power seems to be a potential option to fill the deficit. That is because most of the components of concentrating solar power plants are readily available on the African market at affordable prices, and there are qualified local persons to build the plants. Pilot micro-concentrating solar power plants have been implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa and have shown promising results that could be expanded and leveraged for large-scale electricity generation. An assessment of a pilot concentrating solar power plant in the sub-region noticed one noteworthy obstacle that is the failure of the tracking system to reduce the operating energy cost of running the tracking control system and improve the multifaceted heliostat focusing behavior. This paper highlights the energy situation and the current development in concentrating solar power technology research in Africa. The paper also presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art solar tracking systems for central receiver systems to illustrate the current direction of research regarding the design of low-cost tracking systems in terms of computational complexity, energy consumption, and heliostat alignment accuracy.

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