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Introduction: Corona virus disease (COVID-19) is one of the topmost global hindrances to human existence. Rural settings have been reported to be more vulnerable in some parts of the world. In Uganda, community leaders in rural villages are among the immediate personnel mandated to support compliance with preventive guidelines, and to identify and report/deliver COVID-19 cases to health units. We examined the potential risks of COVID-19 transmission, knowledge levels, perceptions and opinions of Village Council Leaders (VCLs) in selected districts in Eastern Uganda, to support the design of risk-based COVID-19 control measures in rural settings, to protect lives better. Methodology: A convenience sample of ten VLCs were purposively selected in three districts in Eastern Uganda. Pretested questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to assess the knowledge levels, perceptions, and opinions of respondents about COVID-19. An observational survey was also conducted to examine the barriers to effective control of COVID-19, with reference to health guidelines set by the Ugandan government and the World Health Organization. Data was analyzed using HyperRESEARCH 2.8 software, and STATA version-15.0. Results: Eighty percent of VCLs reported that they were formally engaged in the fight against COVID-19, and the common means of engagement were; dissemination of COVID-19 information by word of mouth, regulation of public events, and monitoring of visitors that come from distant places. All clients reported having received some information about this pandemic, but there was generally low knowledge on some vital aspects: 70% of the respondents did not know the meaning of COVID-19; 100% were uninformed on these common symptoms; headache, sore throat, nausea, and loss of taste & smell; 10% did not know if willingness to conform to health guidelines may affect COVID-19 prevention, and they believed that domestic animals are viable vectors. Radio was the commonest source of COVID-19 information, but it was confounded by poor quality of radio-signals. Most respondents were of the view that in the communities they lead; inaccessibility to authentic health information, financial constraints, and belief that COVID-19 is a fallacy, were some of the leading obstacles to the fight against the pandemic. Low awareness and misconceptions on COVID-19 could be explained by; technological challenges, low literacy levels, and dissemination of wrong information about this pandemic. From the observational survey, the major factors which might intensify the risk of COVID-19 spread were: scarcity of requirements for hand hygiene, face protection, violation of health guidelines and directives, porous borders, terrain, and use of potentially polluted open water sources. Conclusion: Communities in Eastern Uganda are vulnerable to the drastic spread of COVID-19 due to challenges related to: low awareness, poor compliance with preventive guidelines, finances, technology, terrain, illiteracy, scarcity of protective wear and hygiene resources. Awareness creation, material aid, execution of preventive rules, and more research on COVID-19 are warranted.

Introduction: Malaria remains the world’s leading vector-born cause of mortality and morbidity, and Eastern Uganda contains some of the country’s highest prevalence rates. Though academic societies, such as universities, may be prone to high malaria transmission, the extent of the burden and risk factors in university communities of Eastern Uganda are poorly understood. The aim in this study was to examine malaria prevalence, preventive strategies, and risk factors, among University communities in Eastern Uganda; to inform targeted malaria eradication efforts in academic settings. Methods: A mixed methods approach was applied. A case study of Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), located in Eastern Uganda, was selected. A retrospective approach was used to determine malaria prevalence in IUIU from August to December 2019. Stratified random sampling was used to select IUIU community members; these were subjected to semi-structured questionnaires and Key informant Interviews (KII) to examine the preventive approaches and risk factors. An observational survey was also conducted to identify barriers to malaria prevention. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, graphs, Chi-square, and pictures; with STATA version-15.0. Results: The study involved 255 respondents (204, 80% students, 51, 20% staff); 130, 51% were males, 125, 49% were females. Malaria prevalence was; 12.9%, 11.7% and 12.7% for students, staff, and the general study population respectively. Lowest prevalence was registered in November (8.3% for students, 0% for staff), and the highest in December (18.4% for students, 6.7% for staff). Overall malaria prevalence in IUIU was significantly greater than Uganda’s national prevalence (χ2=182.009; p

Background: Currently, the global consumption of herbal medicine is increasing steadily, incurring extinction risks to the medicinal plant species. Uganda is one of the top ten countries with alarming levels of loss of medicinal plant biodiversity, and erosion of the associated Medicinal Traditional Knowledge (MTK). This study documented medicinal plant species, and examined the approaches used in preventing extinction of these species and the associated MTK in Butalejja district. Methods: A cross – sectional study design was adopted to conduct an ethnopharmacological survey, using semi-structured questionnaires administered to purposively selected herbalists. Simple descriptive statistics were adopted for data analysis using STATA version-15.0. Results: A total of 133 medicinal plant species, belonging to 34 families and 125 genera were identified. Most species belonged to family Fabaceae (22; 65%), and Solanaceae (10; 29%). Leaves were the commonest organ used (81; 80%), followed by roots (15; 15%). Medicinal herbs were mainly administered orally as decoctions (100; 34.6%), and infusions (45; 16%). The most cited diseases treated were cough (24; 7.74%), Ulcers (23; 7.42%), and Malaria (14; 4.52%). Medicinal plants were majorly harvested from homestead farms and roadside vegetation, with wetlands being the least cited habitat. Efforts to stop the extinction of medicinal plants and MTK were inadequate. Conclusion and recommendations: There was high dependency on medicinal plant species for primary healthcare and income generation. Noted also was the accelerated loss of medicinal plant biodiversity due to habitat destruction, especially in swamps. The conservation of medicinal plants and MTK was largely attributed to traditional cultural values. There is need for validation of efficacy and safety of key medicinal plants identified in this study, to support their future adoption in clinical medicine and pharmaceutical industries. Inclusion of traditional cultural ideals in national biodiversity conservation programs is warranted.

Background: Malaria remains the world’s leading vector-born cause of mortality and morbidity, and Eastern Uganda contains some of the country’s highest prevalence rates. Though academic societies, such as universities, may be prone to high malaria transmission, the extent of the burden and risk factors in university communities of Eastern Uganda are poorly understood. The aim in this study was to examine malaria prevalence, preventive strategies, and risk factors, among University communities in Eastern Uganda; to inform targeted malaria eradication efforts in academic settings. Methods: A mixed methods approach was applied. A case study of Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), located in Eastern Uganda, was selected. A retrospective approach was used to determine malaria prevalence in IUIU from August to December 2019. Stratified random sampling was used to select IUIU community members; these were subjected to semi-structured questionnaires and Key informant Interviews (KII) to examine the preventive approaches and risk factors. An observational survey was also conducted to identify barriers to malaria prevention. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, graphs, Chi-square, and pictures; with STATA version-15.0. Results: The study involved 255 respondents (204, 80% students, 51, 20% staff); 130, 51% were males, 125, 49% were females. Malaria prevalence was; 12.9%, 11.7% and 12.7% for students, staff, and the general study population respectively. Lowest prevalence was registered in November (8.3% for students, 0% for staff), and the highest in December (18.4% for students, 6.7% for staff). Overall malaria prevalence in IUIU was significantly greater than Uganda’s national prevalence (χ2=182.009; pConclusion: The overall prevalence of malaria in IUIU community was 12.7%; and was significantly higher than Uganda’s national prevalence (7%). Usage of insecticide-treated bed-nets was the commonest intervention, but showed no statistically significant association with malaria non-prevalence. Awareness programs should be enhanced to address inappropriate use of malaria control methods/tools, because the widespread adoption of these interventions alone did not effectively curb the burden.

Background: Corona virus disease (COVID-19) is one of the topmost global hindrances to human existence. Rural settings have been reported to be more vulnerable in some parts of the world. In Uganda, local council (LC) leaders in rural districts are among the immediate personnel mandated to support compliance with preventive guidelines, and to identify and report/deliver COVID-19 cases to health units. We examined the potential risk of COVID-19 transmission, knowledge levels, perceptions & opinions of LC leaders in selected districts in Eastern Uganda, to support the design of risk-based COVID-19 control measures in rural settings, to protect lives better.Methods: A convenience sample was taken from village council leaders in the selected districts. Pretested questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to assess the knowledge levels, perceptions, and opinions of respondents about COVID-19. An observational survey was also conducted to examine the barriers that might deter effective control of COVID-19, with reference to health guidelines set by the Ugandan government and the World Health Organization. Data was analyzed using HyperRESEARCH 2.8 software, and STATA version-15.0.Results and discussion: Eighty percent of local council leaders reported that they were formally engaged in the fight against COVID-19 in their communities, and the common means of engagement were; dissemination of COVID-19 information by word of mouth, regulation of public events, and monitoring of visitors that come from distant places. All clients reported having received some information about this pandemic, but there was generally low knowledge on some vital aspects: 70% of the respondents did not know the meaning of COVID-19; 100% were uninformed on these common symptoms; headache, sore throat, nausea, and loss of taste & smell; 10% did not know if willingness to conform to health guidelines may affect COVID-19 prevention, and they believed that domestic animals are viable vectors. Radio was the commonest source of COVID-19 information, but it was confounded by poor quality of radio-signals. Most respondents were of the view that in the communities they lead; inaccessibility to authentic health information, financial constraints, and belief that COVID-19 is a fallacy, were some of the leading obstacles to the fight against the pandemic. Low awareness and misconceptions on COVID-19 could be explained by; technological challenges, low literacy levels, and dissemination of wrong information about this pandemic. From the observational survey, the major factors which might intensify the risk of COVID-19 spread were: scarcity of requirements for hand hygiene, face protection, violation of health guidelines & directives, porous borders, terrain, and use of potentially polluted open water sources.Conclusion and recommendations: Rural communities in Eastern Uganda are vulnerable to the drastic spread of COVID-19, due to challenges related to: low awareness of COVID-19, reluctance in complying with preventive guidelines, finance, technology, terrain, porous borders, illiteracy and scarcity of protective wear and hygiene resources. Awareness creation, material aid, execution of preventive rules, and more research on COVID-19 are warranted.

The antimalarial active compounds in Artemisia annua include artemisinin, flavonoids, and aromatic oils. Artemisinin is the main antimalarial compound in A. annua, it used in the formulation of artemisinin-based combined therapies used to treat malaria. Artemisinin is largely obtained from A. annua plant but the content in it is very low and its production commercially is not cost effective worldwide. Flavonoids have a synergistic effect with artemisinin against malaria and are partly responsible for the prophylactic effect of A. annua herbal tea. Essential oils from A. annua are effective mosquito repellents. Most attempts have been made to try to raise artemisinin content. However, few or none has been tried to increase the flavonoids and aromatic oils. This article presents a review of various efforts that have been carried out to increase these antimalarial compounds.