scholarly journals Less Severe Cases of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: Could Co-infection or a Recent History of Plasmodium falciparum Infection Be Protective?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Kalungi ◽  
Eugene Kinyanda ◽  
Dickens Howard Akena ◽  
Pontiano Kaleebu ◽  
Innocent M. Bisangwa
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Severe Form ◽  
Falciparum Infection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Recent History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Cluster Of Differentiation

Sub-Saharan Africa has generally experienced few cases and deaths of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In addition to other potential explanations for the few cases and deaths of COVID-19 such as the population socio-demographics, early lockdown measures and the possibility of under reporting, we hypothesize in this mini review that individuals with a recent history of malaria infection may be protected against infection or severe form of COVID-19. Given that both the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) merozoites bind to the cluster of differentiation 147 (CD147) immunoglobulin, we hypothesize that the immunological memory against P. falciparum merozoites primes SARS-CoV-2 infected cells for early phagocytosis, hence protecting individuals with a recent P. falciparum infection against COVID-19 infection or severity. This mini review therefore discusses the potential biological link between P. falciparum infection and COVID-19 infection or severity and further highlights the importance of CD147 immunoglobulin as an entry point for both SARS-CoV-2 and P. falciparum into host cells.

scholarly journals Anaemia and severe malarial anaemia burden in febrile Gabonese children: a nine-year health facility based survey

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 983-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marielle Karine Bouyou-Akotet ◽  
Denise Patricia Mawili Mboumba ◽  
Eric Kendjo ◽  
Fanckie Mbadinga ◽  
Nestor Obiang-Bekale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Malaria Diagnosis ◽  
Malaria Prevalence ◽  
Severe Anaemia ◽  
Falciparum Infection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Nutritional Deficiencies ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Severe Malarial Anaemia ◽  
Sub Saharan

Introduction: Anaemia remains a major cause of poor health in children and pregnant women living in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is one of the main causes of anaemia in endemic countries. At the time of decreasing Plasmodium falciparum infection prevalence among children, it was essential to analyze the evolution of anaemia and severe malarial anaemia (SMA), the most frequent clinical manifestation of severe malaria, in Gabon. Methodology: Yearly recorded haemoglobin levels of febrile children aged below11 years, who benefitted from microscopic malaria diagnosis, were retrospectively analyzed to determine the evolution of anaemia and SMA prevalence throughout a nine-year period between 2000 and 2008. Results: Anaemia prevalence remained high both in P. falciparum-infected children (between 87.6% and 90.7%) and in uninfected children (between 73.5% and 82.6%). Although the risk of developing severe anaemia ranged between 1.9 [0.9-3.8] in 2000 and 3.0 [1.3-6.5] in 2007, SMA prevalence did not significantly change during the study period, varying from 6.0% to 8.0%. From 2001, the frequency of SMA was comparable between children younger than five years of age and children older than five years of age. Conclusions: The decreasing malaria prevalence previously observed in Gabon between 2000 and 2008 was not associated with a significant reduction of anaemia and SMA burden among children. Furthermore, other factors such as nutritional deficiencies, which may not be negligible, must be investigated in this vulnerable population

scholarly journals Detection of mixed infection of Plasmodium species in the Southern province of Rwanda. Case study: Ruhango, Bunyogombe and Kibilizi Health centres

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-115
Author(s):  
Regis Ndahiro ◽  
Pascal Bizimana ◽  
Ella Larissa Ndoricyimpaye ◽  
Alphonse Hakizimana ◽  
Jean Damascene Mfizi
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Plasmodium Species ◽  
Falciparum Infection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Bed Nets ◽  
Plasmodium Infection ◽  
Southern Province ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Health Centres ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background: Malaria is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa including Rwanda. Though the prevalence of malaria has been reduced due to the use of indoor residual sprayings and insecticide-treated bed nets, it is still a disease that kills many people annually. Many studies conducted revealed that in sub-Saharan Africa including Rwanda there is a high prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum. However, there is still a gap in the identification of the presence of mixed Plasmodium infection. This study was conducted to determine the overall prevalence of Plasmodium species as well as that of mixed plasmodium infection in Ruhango and Kibilizi Health centres. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 126 participants in Ruhango, Bunyogombe and Kibilizi health centres located in the southern province of Rwanda. The conventional sampling strategy was used for the selection of individuals who consented to participate in the study. Blood samples were used to detect Plasmodium species and the obtained data were analyzed using Microsoft excel and IBM SPSS version 21. Results: Among 126 participants presenting with signs and symptoms of malaria, the overall positive cases of Plasmodium species were 61(48.4%) and among the total positive cases 56 (44.5%) were infected with single Plasmodium species while 5 (4%) were infected with mixed Plasmodium species. Plasmodium falciparum was the most prevalent species infecting 49 (39%) participants while Plasmodium vivax was the least prevalent infection, detected in only 1(0.8%) participant. Conclusion: The study identified the significant prevalence of mixed-species of Plasmodium infection as well as the high prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection in the study population. These findings suggest that there is a need for continued monitoring of non-falciparum infection in this population and the introduction of species-specific RDTs that can be used for diagnostic purposes.

Christianity in the Twentieth Century

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Racial Identity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Regional Survey ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Different Parts

This book charts the transformation of one of the world's great religions during an age marked by world wars, genocide, nationalism, decolonization, and powerful ideological currents, many of them hostile to Christianity. The book traces how Christianity evolved from a religion defined by the culture and politics of Europe to the expanding polycentric and multicultural faith it is today—one whose growing popular support is strongest in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, China, and other parts of Asia. The book sheds critical light on themes of central importance for understanding the global contours of modern Christianity, illustrating each one with contrasting case studies, usually taken from different parts of the world. Unlike other books on world Christianity, this one is not a regional survey or chronological narrative, nor does it focus on theology or ecclesiastical institutions. The book provides a history of Christianity as a popular faith experienced and lived by its adherents, telling a compelling and multifaceted story of Christendom's fortunes in Europe, North America, and across the rest of the globe. It demonstrates how Christianity has had less to fear from the onslaughts of secularism than from the readiness of Christians themselves to accommodate their faith to ideologies that privilege racial identity or radical individualism.

scholarly journals Kelch 13-propeller polymorphisms in Plasmodium falciparum from Jazan region, southwest Saudi Arabia

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ommer Mohammed Dafalla ◽  
Mohammed Alzahrani ◽  
Ahmed Sahli ◽  
Mohammed Abdulla Al Helal ◽  
Mohammad Mohammad Alhazmi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Parasite Clearance ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Local Alignment ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Synonymous Mutations ◽  
Search Tool ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is recommended at the initial phase for treatment of Plasmodium falciparum, to reduce morbidity and mortality in all countries where malaria is endemic. Polymorphism in portions of P. falciparum gene encoding kelch (K13)-propeller domains is associated with delayed parasite clearance after ACT. Of about 124 different non-synonymous mutations, 46 have been identified in Southeast Asia (SEA), 62 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and 16 in both the regions. This is the first study designed to analyse the prevalence of polymorphism in the P. falciparum k13-propeller domain in the Jazan region of southwest Saudi Arabia, where malaria is endemic. Methods One-hundred and forty P. falciparum samples were collected from Jazan region of southwest Saudi Arabia at three different times: 20 samples in 2011, 40 samples in 2016 and 80 samples in 2020 after the implementation of ACT. Plasmodium falciparum kelch13 (k13) gene DNA was extracted, amplified, sequenced, and analysed using a basic local alignment search tool (BLAST). Results This study obtained 51 non-synonymous (NS) mutations in three time groups, divided as follows: 6 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) ‘11.8%’ in samples collected in 2011 only, 3 (5.9%) in 2011and 2016, 5 (9.8%) in 2011 and 2020, 5 (9.8%) in 2016 only, 8 (15.7%) in 2016 and 2020, 14 (27.5%) in 2020 and 10 (19.6%) in all the groups. The BLAST revealed that the 2011 isolates were genetically closer to African isolates (53.3%) than Asian ones (46.7%). Interestingly, this proportion changed completely in 2020, to become closer to Asian isolates (81.6%) than to African ones (18.4%). Conclusions Despite the diversity of the identified mutations in the k13-propeller gene, these data did not report widespread artemisinin-resistant polymorphisms in the Jazan region where these samples were collected. Such a process would be expected to increase frequencies of mutations associated with the resistance of ACT.

Forced Labour in the “Gorgulho Years”: Understanding Reform and Repression in Rural São Tomé e Príncipe, 1945–1953

Itinerario ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Keese
Keyword(s):  
Economic Change ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
History Of ◽  
Colonial Policies ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Incomplete Images ◽  
Forced Labour ◽  
Sao Tome E Principe

The crossroads of nationalist historiographies in sub-Saharan Africa and of the history of developmentalist attempts that characterise the European late colonial states, have left us with very incomplete images of important trajectories. In the seemingly more “liberal” large colonial empires—notably the French and British—sails were set by 1945 towards a policy of investment and economic change. Some of the scholarly debates question whether this investment was genuine or just a last resort to avoid (rapid) decolonisation; others put the emphasis on inadequate routines of development implemented in these territories, many of which have apparently been continued since decolonisation.In this context, we encounter a clear lack of understanding about how decisions made by individual actors on the administrative level interacted with the larger panorama of social conditions in colonial territories, and of the consequences that these interactions had for the paths towards decolonisation. For a smaller empire such as the Belgian colony of Congo-Léopoldville, these processes are still more obscure; and for the colonies ruled by authoritarian metropoles, as in the cases of territories under Spanish and Portuguese rule, stagnation and absence of change are often taken for granted. In other words, these territories, which were under the rule of metropoles regarded as rather weak in economic terms, are treated as unrepresentative of the broader, European movement towards change in colonial policies. However, the conditions of change towards economic and social modernisation in this latter group of empires, even when inhibited by lack of funding and weak professionalisation of the administration, are frequently very telling for the broader range of challenges that the late colonial states faced.

Women in Gabon

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire H. Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Central Africa ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Women ◽  
Female Population ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Tropical Woods ◽  
New Research ◽  
Export Revenue

Gabon, a small oil-rich country straddling the equator on the west coast of Africa, is the wealthiest of France’s former colonies. An early period of colonization in the 19th century resulted in disease, famine, and economic failure. The creation of French Equatorial Africa in 1910 marked the beginning of the sustained lucrative exploitation of Gabon’s natural resources. Gabon began off-shore oil production while still a colony of France. Uranium was also discovered in the last decade of the French Equatorial African empire. Coupled with rich reserves in tropical woods, Gabon has achieved, since independence in 1960, a higher level of export revenue per capita of population than any other country in sub-Saharan Africa in the postcolonial era. However, significant inequality has characterized access to wealth through paid employment throughout the recorded history of monetized labor. While fortunes have been amassed by a minute proportion of the female population of Gabon associated with the ruling regime, and a professional female middle-class has emerged, inequalities of opportunity and reward continue to mark women’s experience of life in this little-known country of West Central Africa. The key challenge facing scholars researching the history of women in Gabon remains the relative lack of historical resources. While significant strides have been made over the past decade, research on women’s history in Francophone Africa published in English or French remains embryonic. French research on African women began to make a mark in the last decade of colonization, notably with the work of Denise Paulme, but then remained a neglected area for decades. The publication in 1994 of Les Africaines by French historian Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch was hailed at the time as a pioneering work in French historiography. But even this new research contained no analysis of and only a passing reference to women in Gabon.

The History of Romantic Love in Sub-Saharan Africa: between Interest and Emotion

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Vaughan
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Love ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Project ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Theoretical Issues

This chapter looks at the history of romantic love in Sub-Saharan Africa. This text comes from a lecture given at the British Academy's 2009 Raleigh Lecture on History. This text attempts to explore some of the methodological and theoretical issues involved in an historical study of love in Africa. It argues that romantic love in Africa is not simply an extension of an imperialist cultural and political project and that emotional regimes cannot be divorced from economic circumstances. It explains that though the configurations of interest and emotion take specific forms in African societies, there is nothing peculiarly African about the evident need of individuals to balance realism and idealism in their emotional lives.

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