Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, Volume 6, Issue 2

Odontogenic infections have the potential to develop into deep-space infections and may cause severe diseases with possible life-threatening complications. Dental infections during pregnancy require special attention in terms of possible complication...

Infections by Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec) are on the increase in Ghana, but the level of environmental contamination with this organism, which may contribute to growing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), is unkn...

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the primary vector of Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika causing major problems for public health, which requires new strategies for its control, like the use of entomopathogenic microorganisms. In this study, bacteria from va...

The Post-Ebola era (2017–2019) presented an opportunity for laboratory investments in Sierra Leone. US CDC supported the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to establish a microbiological unit for routine antimicrobial sensitivity testing in two referr...

Due to limited availability of diagnostics and capacity, people with tuberculosis do not always undergo systematic assessment for severe illness (requiring inpatient care). In Karnataka (south India), para-medical programme staff used a screening too...

Zika virus (ZIKV) was recently introduced into the Western Hemisphere, where it is suspected to be transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti in urban environments. ZIKV represents a public health problem as it has been implicated in congenital microcephaly...

Cysticercosis and Trichinella spp. infection are parasitic zoonoses prevalent among pigs in Southeast Asia, where pork is the most important source of meat. In rural Cambodia, many pigs are raised extensively in family backyards, and information rega...

Plague (Yersinia pestis) remains endemic in certain parts of the world. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of plague control interventions recommended by the World Health Organization with particular consideration to intervention coverage and timing....

Rabies is listed as one of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Neglected Tropical Diseases Worldwide, with a significant impact in South America. This paper explores the dynamics of rabies cases in humans, pets (dogs and cats), livestock and wildli...

Real-time operational research can be defined as research on strategies or interventions to assess if they are feasible, working as planned, scalable and effective. The research involves primary data collection, periodic analysis during the conduct o...

The application of modern PCR approaches for the diagnosis of bacterial gastrointestinal pathogens is on the rise due to their rapidly available results combined with high sensitivity. While multiple studies describe the ongoing implementation of thi...

Prenatal viral infection can lead to a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disabilities or fetal demise. These can include microencephaly, global developmental delay, intellectual disability, refractory epilepsy, deafness, retinal defects, and cortical-vi...

Chagas disease (CD) is the third most common parasitic infection globally and can cause cardiac and gastrointestinal complications. Around 300,000 carriers of CD live in the U.S., with about 3000 of those in Colorado. We described our experience in d...

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, there was concern that TB and HIV services in Zimbabwe would be severely affected. We set up real-time monthly surveillance of TB and HIV activities in 10 health facilities in Harare to capture trends in TB case...

For ORT to have a maximum impact on public health it should be used in the community, in the home. A number of programs have been developed over the years to extend ORT to home use. One of the most successful approaches was the Oral Therapy Education...

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) represents a devastating consequence of total joint arthroplasty (TJA) because of its high morbidity and its high impact on patient quality of life. The lack of standardized preventive and treatment st...

Viral and bacterial infections represent an occupational risk for female sex workers. This study aimed at determining HPV coinfection with genital pathogens among female sex workers in West and Central Africa and identifying antibiotic resistance gen...

Background: High compliance to infection prevention and control (IPC) is vital to prevent health care-associated infections. In the worst 2014–2015 Ebola-affected district in Sierra Leone (Kenema), we assessed (a) average yearly IPC compliance (2016–...

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a neglected rodent-borne zoonotic virus distributed worldwide. Since serologic assays are limited to several laboratories, the disease has been underreported, often making it difficult to determine inciden...

From 2019–2020, the Virgin Islands Department of Health (VIDOH) investigated potential animal reservoirs of Leptospira spp., the pathogenic bacteria that cause leptospirosis. We examined Leptospira exposure and carriage in livestock on the island of...

The global burden of antimicrobial resistance is on the rise, resulting in higher morbidity and mortality in our communities. The spread of antimicrobial resistance in the environment and development of resistant microbes is a challenge to the contro...

Transmission of the causative agents of numerous infectious diseases might be potentially conducted by various routes if this is supported by the genetics of the pathogen. Various transmission modes occur in related pathogens, reflecting a complex pr...

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease occurring worldwide with reproductive symptoms and production losses in livestock, while humans can suffer fatal renal failure. In Yogyakarta Special Province, Indonesia, there have been several outbreaks with high...

When the COVID-19 pandemic was announced in March 2020, there was concern that TB and HIV programme services in Malawi would be severely affected. We set up real-time monthly surveillance of TB and HIV activities in eight health facilities in Lilongw...

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are major global public health challenges in our time. This study provides a broader and updated overview of AMR trends in surgical wards of Mulago National Referral Hospital...

Antimicrobial consumption (AMC) surveillance at global and national levels is necessary to inform relevant interventions and policies. This study analyzed central warehouse antimicrobial supplies to health facilities providing inpatient care in Ugand...

Wound infections with drug-resistant bacteria lead to higher mortality and morbidity and increased healthcare costs. We aimed to describe the spectrum of bacterial pathogens, isolated from wound cultures in Yangon General Hospital in 2018, and their...

Wastewater treatment plants receive sewage containing high concentrations of bacteria and antibiotics. We assessed bacterial counts and their antibiotic resistance patterns in water from (a) influents and effluents of the Legon sewage treatment plant...

Monitoring antibiotic consumption is crucial to tackling antimicrobial resistance. However, currently there is no system in Sierra Leone for recording and reporting on antibiotic consumption. We therefore conducted a cross-sectional study to assess n...

(1) Background: Scrub typhus (ST) is endemic to Nepal. It is often underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed due to non-specific clinical presentation coupled with limited microbiological facilities, leading to adverse clinical outcomes. This study aimed to as...

Preventive chemotherapy interventions have been identified as key tools for malaria prevention and control. Although a large number of publications have reported on the efficacy and safety profile of these interventions, little literature exists on e...

The Republic of Burundi first reported cholera cases in 1978 and outbreaks have been occurring nearly every year since then. From 2008–2020, 6949 cases and 43 deaths were officially reported. To evaluate Burundi’s potential to eliminate cholera, we i...

Antimicrobials help in the prevention and treatment of infections and are crucial for animal production, but overuse can result in antimicrobial resistance. Hence, understanding data quality on livestock antimicrobial use is essential. We assessed fr...

There was concern that the COVID-19 pandemic would adversely affect TB and HIV programme services in Kenya. We set up real-time monthly surveillance of TB and HIV activities in 18 health facilities in Nairobi so that interventions could be implemente...

The eradication of the vector Rhodnius prolixus from Central America was heralded as a victory for controlling transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. While public health officials believed this milestone achieveme...

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health problem. Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a common bacterium associated with a variety of community and hospital infections. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) account...

Blood culture (BC) processes are critical to the utility of diagnostic testing, bloodstream infection (BSI) management, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance. While Uganda has established BC guidelines, often laboratory practice does not me...

Globally, 5–15% of hospitalized patients acquire infections (often caused by antimicrobial-resistant microbes) due to inadequate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures. We used the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ‘Infection Prevention and...

African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) control programs rely on active case detection through the screening of animals reared in disease endemic areas. This study compared the application of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and microscopy in the det...

This study reports on the prevalence and risk factors of chronic HBV among health care workers (HCWs) in a rural secondary hospital in Sierra Leone. Additionally, data on the uptake of HBV vaccination among negatively tested HCWs and on the linkage t...

Among children born with laboratory-confirmed Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, visual impairment (VI) can occur despite normal ocular structure. The objective of this report is to describe ocular findings and visual function among children examined durin...

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a neglected human pathogen associated with aseptic meningitis, severe systemic infections in immunocompromised persons, and congenital anomalies. Data on the prevalence of LCMV infections are scarce. We an...

Neonatal sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. This study aimed to assess the proportion of culture-confirmed sepsis, bacteriological pathogen profile, culture report turnaround times, antibiotic susceptibility...

Although numerous studies have investigated diarrhoea aetiology in many sub-Saharan African countries, recent data on Shigella species’ involvement in community-acquired acute diarrhoea (CA-AD) in Malawi are scarce. This study investigated the incide...

Individual resistance to cholera infection and disease depends on both innate host factors and adaptive immunity acquired by a previous infection or vaccination. Locally produced, intestinal-mucosal secretory IgA (SIgA) antibodies against bacterial s...

In Italy, human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection have been recorded since 2008, and seasonal outbreaks have occurred almost annually. In this study, we summarize available evidences on the epidemiology of WNV and West Nile neuro-invasive dise...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasing global concern, particularly in Southeast Asian countries like Nepal. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. among culture-positive bacterial isolates...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global problem, and Nepal is no exception. Countries are expected to report annually to the World Health Organization on their AMR surveillance progress through a Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System...

Bangladesh is an endemic region of dengue fever and experienced an unprecedented large outbreak with more than 100,000 confirmed cases in 2019. To understand the prevalence of dengue antibody in patients and molecular epidemiological characteristics...

Study design: Retrospective analysis of a single institution prospective, longitudinal database of spinal pyogenic infections. Diagnosis of pyogenic spondylodiscitis (PS) can be challenging. Although presenting symptoms are often non-specific, acute...