Epidemiology of Chikungunya Virus in Bahia, Brazil, 2014-2015
by Faria et al 2016Abstract Chikungunya is an emerging arbovirus that is characterized into four lineages. One of these, the Asian genotype, has spread rapidly in the Americas after its introduction in the Saint Martin island in October 2013. Unexpectedly, a new lineage, the East-Central-South African genotype, was introduced from Angola in the end of May 2014 in Feira de Santana (FSA), the second largest city in Bahia state, Brazil, where over 5,500 cases have now been reported. Number weekly cases of clinically confirmed CHIKV in FSA were analysed alongside with urban district of residence of CHIKV cases reported between June 2014 and October collected from the municipality’s surveillance network. The number of cases per week from June 2014 until September 2015 reveals two distinct transmission waves. The first wave ignited in June and transmission ceased by December 2014. However, a second transmission wave started in January and peaked in May 2015, 8 months after the first wave peak, and this time in phase with Dengue virus and Zika virus transmission, which ceased when minimum temperature dropped to approximately 15°C. We find that shorter travelling times from the district where the outbreak first emerged to other urban districts of FSA were strongly associated with incidence in each district in 2014 (R2).
To highlight the Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Awareness Week, TWiGH brings to you a conversation with Amy Maxmen- who recently wrote a series on Mycetoma with Global Health Now.
This Week in Global Health or TWiGH presents Global Health Out Loud with Sulzhan Bali & Jessica Taaffe. This week they discuss Zika virus.
Trial design for evaluating novel treatments during an outbreak of an infectious disease
by John Whitehead, Piero Olliaro, Trudie Lang , Peter HorbyThis article discusses the designs used for two such clinical trials which have recruited patients in Liberia and Sierra Leone. General principles are outlined for trial designs intended to be deployed quickly, adapt flexibly and provide results soon enough to influence the course of the current epidemic rather than just providing evidence for use should Ebola break out again. Lessons are drawn for the conduct of clinical research in future outbreaks of infectious diseases, where the sequence of events may or may not be similar to the West African Ebola epidemic. The paper was published in Clinical Trials.
Call for Papers: Special issue on strengthening tuberculosis diagnostic networks in Africa - African Journal of Laboratory Medicine
Malaria remains a major global health threat. In the last fifteen years there has been remarkable progress in reducing cases and deaths due to malaria.
Deployed in April 2015, we have established proof-of-principle for real-time genomic surveillance by generating over 40 genome sequences in as little as 48 hours from obtaining a patient sample and feeding the information back to the Ebola central coordination team.
Sponsorship in non-commercial clinical trials
by Raffaella Ravinetto , Katelijne De Nys, Marleen Boelaert, Ermias Diro, Graeme Meintjes, Yeka Adoke, Harry Tagbor, Minne CasteelsNon-commercial clinical research plays an increasingly essential role for global health. Multiple partners join in international consortia that operate under the limited timeframe of a specific funding period.
Video of Manson Christmas Lecture 2015 by Professor Charlotte Watts, Chief Scientific Advisor, DfID and founder of the Gender, Violence and Health Centre, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK.
Ebola: the race to find a cure
by Sarah BoseleyCould scientists make history and change the way we deal with outbreaks?
This talk covers several research projects we are undertaking to assess the Electronic Health Record landscape in Kenya and current large-scale projects to roll out Open Source EHR systems to public hospitals.
Building on the concept of rapid learning health systems, Dr. Peek’s seminar focuses on the use of health information technology to address epidemiological and public health questions and to accelerate the translation of research findings to clinical practice.
Understanding and improving hospital care for low birth weight neonates in a low resource setting
by The Editorial TeamA seminar presented by Dr Jalemba Aluvaala in the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford
Looking for a job in global health? A 4 part series that takes a look at what you need to do to get your career in global health off to a good start.
Damalie Nakanjako (MBChB, MMED, PhD) is an internist whose work focuses on optimizing HIV treatment outcomes and reducing HIV-associated morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.
Twitter plays role in information distribution during emergencies, and it is widely used by public health organisations during public health crises.
eSeminar: Research papers that make a difference: discussing research waste, reproducibility and impact
by Iveta Simera, the EQUATOR NetworkDr Iveta Seimer, Deputy Director of the UK EQUATOR Centre, discusses research waste, reproducibility, and how to use reporting guidelines to make an impact. Poor reporting seriously affects the integrity of health research literature and critically limits the use and impact of published studies.
Video of Professor Peter Horby, the University of Oxford, on how he and his team set up clinical trials in the heart of the Ebola outbreak.
East African Leaders Join Together to Develop Country-Specific Plans for Point-of-Care Testing.