Aleksandra Marinkovic

Malaria is still one of the biggest global health problems, especially in parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, which remains most heavily affected. Despite significant advancements in testing, treatment, and prevention, malaria continues to seriously impact millions, primarily young children and populations in rural and impoverished areas. This paper looks at how the malaria parasite works inside the body, how it avoids the immune system, and how it becomes resistant to current drugs. Thanks to new advances in genetic and biochemical research, scientists are discovering new weak points in the parasite that could lead to better treatments. New vaccines, like RTS, S and R21, along with antibody-based therapies, offer renewed hope; however, extending the duration of the immunity they induce and ensuring effectiveness across diverse parasite strains remain significant challenges. Solving the malaria crisis will require more than science—it also necessitates equitable and timely access to treatments, robust health systems, and international collaboration. Continued research and global cooperation bring the world closer to ending malaria for good.

Background. This study investigated the knowledge, attitude, and practices of residents in the Ho municipality towards intestinal helminth infections and their prevention. Method. A descriptive cross-sectional study involving questionnaire administration was conducted among randomly sampled residents of the Ho municipality of the Volta Region of Ghana. A minimum sample size of 400 was calculated for subjects using Yamane’s formula for population. Pearson’s chi-square analysis was done to determine any relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and the categories of knowledge, attitude, and practices. Results from data analysis were computed as frequencies and percentages. is considered statistically significant. Results. Of the 400 participants, 343 (85.7%) were aware of intestinal helminths, but the majority had poor knowledge of its cause despite 50.5% (202) having good knowledge scores. Most participants (331, 82.8%) had a bad attitude toward preventing the disease. Most (335, 83.8%) of the community members still adhered to the poor practice of open defecation with the excuse of unavailable latrines, and some (143, 35.8%) believe that intestinal helminths are nothing to worry about. Conclusion. Health education should address the perceptions towards preventing intestinal helminthiasis and be complemented by making available public lavatories in the municipality to curb the unacceptable practice of open defecation.

Intermittent preventive therapy during pregnancy with Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) is one of the potent strategies for preventing malaria in pregnancy (MiP). Factors such as the pregnant woman’s knowledge and very importantly perception or belief about IPTp-SP remains key determinant of IPTp-SP uptake. This study assessed the knowledge and perception of nursing mothers and their uptake of IPTp-SP during pregnancy in the Ho Teaching Hospital. We administered a close-ended questionnaire to 303 nursing mothers and obtained their sociodemographic details as well as information on their knowledge and perception of IPTp-SP utilization. We also reviewed the nursing mothers’ antenatal care (ANC) booklets to ascertain the number of times IPTp-SP was taken during pregnancy. Pearson chi-square was used to determine the association between the sociodemographic variable and the categories of knowledge, perception, and uptake of IPTp-SP. Analysis, was done using SPSS, and the p-value of less than 5% was considered statistically significant. Of the 303 nursing mothers sampled in this study, 265(87.5%) had heard about IPTp-SP of which 138(52.1%) had average knowledge of IPTp-SP. A total of 168(63.4%) had poor perception, and 168(64.6%) had adequate uptake (3–4 doses) of IPTp. Education was significantly associated with perception and uptake, with the majority of women who demonstrated excellent perception were those who had tertiary education (7, 6.35%, p = 0.05), and the majority who demonstrated excellent uptake (5 completed doses) were women who had tertiary education (47, 37.9%, p = 0.01). While knowledge was average, perception of IPTp-SP was poor for the majority of the nursing mothers which might have hampered their uptake of IPTp-SP during pregnancy. It is important that continuous assessment of the individual factors affecting the uptake of IPTp-SP be done regularly to curb the negative influences on the uptake of IPTp-SP.

Sanyaolu A, et al. Infect Chemother. 2022 Jun;54:e44. https://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2022.0008

Sanyaolu A, et al. Clin Exp Vaccine Res. 2022 Jan;11(1):104-115. https://doi.org/10.7774/cevr.2022.11.1.104

The recent outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began in Hubei province, China, in December 2019 and has spread worldwide at an alarming rate. With over eight million individuals infected and exceeding 400,000 deaths globally, the necessity to develop fast and efficient diagnostic methods is of high importance. This paper reports on currently available diagnostic screening methods for patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 to guide frontline healthcare workers involved with the diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient. An electronic literature search was performed for peer-reviewed articles published from January 1, 2020, until June 19, 2020. Published articles were then reviewed and included based on the applicability to the topic. The preferred diagnostic approach is the reverse transcription (RT) of the virus’ ribonucleic acid (RNA) followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification (RT-PCR). However, this method has been proven to be time-consuming. In improving the speed and efficiency of diagnostics, newer rapid diagnostic serological tests are in development for testing SARS-CoV-2, each with its unique advantages and disadvantages. They could potentially be used as triage tests to rapidly identify patients who are very likely to have COVID-19 in combination with other accurate diagnostic methods, such as diagnostic imaging. A combination of the disease history, clinical manifestations, laboratory diagnostic testing, and diagnostic imaging is crucial for making an accurate and useful diagnosis for COVID-19. Hopefully, the continuous development and use of rapid diagnostic tests and the implementation of public health measures will help control the spread of the disease.

This book covers all areas of disease and health. The contributions by the authors include PMTCT services; HIV; pregnant women; antioxidant vitamins; oxidative damage; malaria; mortality; anemia; ebola virus disease; surveillance; RNA virus; Giardia; job's syndrome; surgical delay; public hospital; healthcare organization; disaster management; emergency preparedness; diabetics; foot care; tertiary care hospital; public health; antibiotic contamination fluorescence detection; fluoroquinolone antibiotics; adolescents; NCHS; sanitation; hygiene facilities; medicine; drug; diarrhea; entomological surveillance; mosquito control etc. This book contains various materials suitable for students, researchers and academicians in the field of disease and health.