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Background Health related quality of life measurements are vital elements of public health surveillance that uncover unmet health needs and predict the success of health interventions. We described health related quality of life measurements using the EuroQoL 5-dimension (EQ-VAS/EQ-5D) instrument and associated factors among patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) and hepatic schistosomiasis at a rural health facility in the Albert Nile Basin, Uganda. Methods and materials This was a cross-sectional study at Pakwach Health Centre IV. Participants included adult inpatients and outpatients with a history of UGIB and ultrasound evidence of hepatic schistosomiasis. We evaluated and recorded each participant’s medical history, physical examination, laboratory tests results, ultrasound results, and endoscopy findings. We also recorded health related quality of life measurements using the EuroQoL 5-dimension instrument and derived disability weights from EQ-VAS and EQ-5D measurements. These were our dependent variables. Descriptive and inferential statistics were generated summarizing our findings. Results We found 103 participants had a history of upper gastrointestinal bleeding and hepatosplenic schistosomiasis. Sixty percent were between the ages of 30–49 years, 59% were females, 74% were farmers, 92% had splenomegaly, 88% had varices at endoscopy, 22% were medical emergencies with acute variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and 62% had anemia. Measures of the different dimensions of health from 101 participants with patient reported outcomes revealed 77 (76%) participants experienced problems in self-care, 89 (88%) participants reported anxiety or depression, and 89 (88%) participants experienced pain or discomfort. The median EQ-VAS derived disability weights and median EQ-5D index-derived disability weights were 0.3 and 0.34, respectively. Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, praziquantel drug treatment, and age by decade predicted higher EQ-VAS derived disability weights (p value p value Conclusion Adult patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding and hepatic schistosomiasis from this primary health facility experience poor health and considerable health loss. Several factors predicted increased health loss. These factors probably represent key areas of health intervention towards mitigating increased health loss in this population.

The development of direct-acting antivirals against hepatitis C virus (HCV) has transformed the treatment landscape and underpinned the WHO goal of HCV elimination by 2030. However, as of 2021, few countries remain on track to achieve this goal. Reliable data remain scarce, especially those on national plans for HCV elimination in many regions of the world and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for around 11 million of 71 million people estimated to be living with HCV.

Controlled human infection (CHI) models are gaining recognition as an approach to accelerating vaccine development, for use in both non-endemic and endemic populations: they can facilitate identification of the most promising candidate vaccines for further trials and advance understanding of protective immunity. Helminths present a continuing health burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Vaccine development for these complex organisms is particularly challenging, partly because protective responses are akin to mechanisms of allergy. A CHI model for Schistosoma mansoni (CHI-S) has been developed at Leiden University Medical Centre, the Netherlands. However, responses to schistosome infections, and candidate vaccines, are likely to be different among people from endemic settings compared to schistosome-naïve Dutch volunteers. Furthermore, among volunteers from endemic regions who have acquired immune responses through prior exposure, schistosome challenge can be used to define responses associated with clinical protection, and thus to guide vaccine development. To explore the possibility of establishing the CHI-S in Uganda, a Stakeholders’ Meeting was held in Entebbe in 2017. Regulators, community members, researchers and policy-makers discussed implementation challenges and recommended preparatory steps: risk assessment; development of infrastructure and technical capacity to produce the infectious challenge material in Uganda; community engagement from Parliamentary to grass-roots level; pilot studies to establish approaches to assuring fully informed consent and true voluntariness, and strategies for selection of volunteers who can avoid natural infection during the 12-week CHI-S; the building of regulatory capacity; and the development of study protocols and a product dossier in close consultation with ethical and regulatory partners. It was recommended that, on completion, the protocol and product dossier be reviewed for approval in a joint meeting combining ethical, regulatory and environment management authorities. Most importantly, representatives of schistosomiasis-affected communities emphasised the urgent need for an effective vaccine and urged the research community not to delay in the development process.

PubMed: 29599078, 2-s2.0-85044540918, Background: The 69th World Health Assembly approved the Global Health Sector Strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. Although no virological cure exists for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, existing therapies to control viral replication and prophylaxis to minimise mother-to-child transmission make elimination of HBV feasible. We aimed to estimate the national, regional, and global prevalence of HBsAg in the general population and in the population aged 5 years in 2016, as well as coverage of prophylaxis, diagnosis, and treatment. Methods: In this modelling study, we used a Delphi process that included a literature review in PubMed and Embase, followed by interviews with experts, to quantify the historical epidemiology of HBV infection. We then used a dynamic HBV transmission and progression model to estimate the country-level and regional-level prevalence of HBsAg in 2016 and the effect of prophylaxis and treatment on disease burden. Findings: We developed models for 120 countries, 78 of which were populated with data approved by experts. Using these models, we estimated that the global prevalence of HBsAg in 2016 was 3·9% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 3·4–4·6), corresponding to 291 992 000 (251 513 000–341 114 000) infections. Of these infections, around 29 million (10%) were diagnosed, and only 4·8 million (5%) of 94 million individuals eligible for treatment actually received antiviral therapy. Around 1·8 (1·6–2·2) million infections were in children aged 5 years, with a prevalence of 1·4% (1·2–1·6). We estimated that 87% of infants had received the three-dose HBV vaccination in the first year of life, 46% had received timely birth-dose vaccination, and 13% had received hepatitis B immunoglobulin along with the full vaccination regimen. Less than 1% of mothers with a high viral load had received antiviral therapy to reduce mother-to-child transmission. Interpretation: Our estimate of HBV prevalence in 2016 differs from previous studies, potentially because we took into account the effect of infant prophylaxis and early childhood vaccination, as well as changing prevalence over time. Although some regions are well on their way to meeting prophylaxis and prevalence targets, all regions must substantially scale-up access to diagnosis and treatment to meet the global targets. Funding: John C Martin Foundation. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd, H28-kansei-ippan-001 National Academy of Sciences, NAS Novartis Roche World Health Organization, WHO Gilead Sciences Alnylam Pharmaceuticals AbbVie Meso Scale Diagnostics, MSD British Microcirculation Society, BMS Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, JSPS: 17H03589 Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, MHLW Vetenskapsrådet, VR Siemens Universiteit Antwerpen OLL-683801, DR-S, IGa, SB, SMB, CE, KM, HMN, KP, KR-S, SR, JDS, and HR report grants from John C Martin Foundation, during the conduct of the study, and grants from Gilead Sciences, AbbVie, WHO, National Academy of Sciences, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, and Boehringer Ingelheim, outside the submitted work. MHN reports grants and personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), Gilead Sciences, and Janssen, and personal fees from Novartis, Anylam, and Dynavax, outside the submitted work. PVD acts as chief and principal investigator for vaccine trials done on behalf of the University of Antwerp, Belgium, for which the University obtains research grants from vaccine manufacturers; speaker's fees for presentations on vaccines are paid directly to an educational fund held by the University of Antwerp, and PVD receives no personal remuneration for this work. ACA reports personal fees from Mylan Pharmaceuticals, outside the submitted work. JEA reports fees paid to his hospital for participation on the advisory boards of Gilead Sciences, ViiV Healthcare, BMS, Janssen, and AbbVie, and grants from BMS, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), AbbVie, and ViiV Healthcare, outside the submitted work. TB reports grants, personal fees, and non-financial support from AbbVie and Gilead Sciences; grants and personal fees from BMS, Janssen, Roche, MSD, and Sequana Medical; and personal fees from Bayer, Vertex, Tibotec, Intercept, Sirtex, and Alexion, outside the submitted work. PB reports grants and personal fees from AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and MSD, outside the submitted work. MBr reports personal fees from BMS, Gilead Sciences, and Janssen, and grants from BMS, outside the submitted work. HLYC reports personal fees from Gilead Sciences, BMS, AbbVie, Roche, MedImmune, and Intellia, outside the submitted work. PBC reports grants from AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and MSD, outside the submitted work. VC reports personal fees from AbbVie, BMS, Gilead Sciences, and MSD, and grants from BMS, outside the submitted work. MCor reports personal fees from AbbVie, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Biogen Idec, Falk Foundation, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, MSD, Roche Diagnostics, Roche Pharma, and Siemens, outside the submitted work. SD and PJ report personal fees and non-financial support from AbbVie and Gilead Sciences, and personal fees from MSD, outside the submitted work. MHE-S is an advisory board member for Perspectum Diagnostics, and reports grants and non-financial support from Gilead Sciences, and non-financial support from AbbVie and Quadri Pharma, outside the submitted work. RF reports grants, personal fees, and non-financial support from Roche and Gilead Sciences, and personal fees and non-financial support from BMS, outside the submitted work. GBG reports grants and personal fees from Gilead Sciences, outside the submitted work. JG-S reports grants and personal fees from Gilead Sciences, and personal fees from MSD, Abbvie, Janssen, and BMS, outside the submitted work. JGer reports grants and personal fees from AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, MSD, BMS, and ViiV Healthcare, outside the submitted work. RG reports grants from New South Wales Ministry of Health and provided project advice regarding viral hepatitis treatment to Gilead Sciences, outside the submitted work. AHa reports unrestricted grants from AbbVie, MSD, Gilead Sciences, BMS, and Novartis, and non-financial support from Gilead Sciences, outside the submitted work; he was also on advisory boards for AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and BMS. CH reports personal fees from AbbVie, BMS, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, and MSD, outside the submitted work. JJ reports personal fees and non-financial support from Gilead Sciences and AbbVie, and personal fees from Roche and BMS, outside the submitted work. MK reports grants from Roche, Siemens, Hologic, and Boerhinger Ingleheim, outside the submitted work. JVL reports grants and personal fees from Gilead Sciences and personal fees from Cepheid, outside the submitted work. MMan reports personal fees from Roche, BMS, GlaxoSmithKline, Aevi Genomic Medicine, ENYO Pharma, and CureVac, and grants and personal fees from Gilead Sciences and Novartis, outside the submitted work. SMau reports personal fees and non-financial support from Gilead Sciences and BMS, outside the submitted work. CM reports grants and personal fees from AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and BMS; personal fees from MSD; and grants from Roche, outside the submitted work. BM reports grants and personal fees from Gilead Sciences and personal fees from AbbVie, MSD, BMS, Bayer, Intercept, and Sigma-Tau, during the conduct of the study. FN reports personal fees and non-financial support from Gilead Sciences, during the conduct of the study. AR reports grants and personal fees from AbbVie, Gilead, and MSD, and personal fees form BMS, Celgene, Janssen, Intercept, and Lupin, outside the submitted work. HWR reports grants and personal fees from AbbVie, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, ENYO Pharma, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, MSD, PRA Health Sciences, Regulus, and Roche; personal fees from Alnylam and R-Pharm; and grants from Replicor, outside the submitted work. LRR reports grants from the Center for Clinical and Translational Science and the Swedish Research Council (Ghana), during the conduct of the study. LRR also reports grants from Gilead Sciences, BTG, Ariad, and Wako, outside the submitted work, and was a consultant and advisory board member for Wako, Medscape, Axis, OncLive, Bayer, Tavec, and Grail. SDR has served as an advisory board member and speaker for Gilead Sciences, AbbVie, and MSD. OS has served as a consultant and on advisory boards for MSD; received research grants from AbbVie, BMS, MSD, Boehringer Ingelheim, R-Pharm, and Hepatera; and served as a speaker for Abbott, AbbVie, BMS, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, MSD, and R-Pharm. JFS-A reports personal fees from AbbVie and grants from Gilead Sciences and Janssen, outside the submitted work. CSa reports personal fees from Gilead Sciences and BMS, outside the submitted work. PS reports grants and personal fees from Gilead Sciences, AbbVie, and BMS, and personal fees from Intercept, outside the submitted work. CSt has consulted with and served on advisory boards for Gilead Sciences, AbbVie, and MSD. VSy reports grants and personal fees from Gilead Sciences, personal fees and non-financial support from AbbVie, and personal fees from Janssen, outside the submitted work. KT reports grants and personal fees from AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and BMS; personal fees from MSD and Alfa Wasserman; and grants from Janssen, outside the submitted work. AJvdM reports grants and personal fees from Gilead Sciences and personal fees from AbbVie, outside the submitted work. IW reports personal fees from AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, Marcyrl, Mylan, Onxio, and Pharco, outside the submitted work. NW reports personal fees paid to her department from AbbVie, BMS, Gilead Sciences, and MSD, outside the submitted work. VWW reports personal fees from Gilead Sciences, BMS, and MSD, outside the submitted work. M-FY was a speaker or advisory board member for AbbVie, BMS, Gilead Sciences, Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Fujirebio, Biocartis, and MSD, outside the submitted work. SZ reports consultancy and lecture fees from AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and MSD, and consultancy fees from Intercept, outside the submitted work. All other authors declare no competing interests., This study was funded by the John C Martin Foundation through the Polaris Observatory. We thank the Research on Hepatitis group (H28-kansei-ippan-001 and H25-kanen-ippan-010; led by JT), funded by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, for their provision of country-level data for Japan, and Örebro County Council for providing ALF grants (OLL-683801) to A-SD, which allowed collection of country-level data for Sweden.

Background. The common occurrence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients who carry the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) demands that both viruses be recognized, evaluated, and treated when appropriate.Methods. We identified 357 HIV- and hepatitis B surface antigen-positive patients who underwent testing from 1999 to 2003; 155 patients who were new to our clinic and who initiated therapy for HIV and HBV coinfection were considered for inclusion in the study. The frequency of HIV testing (to determine HIV load and CD4 + cell count) performed during the first year of therapy was compared with the frequency of HBV measurements (to determine hepatitis B e antigen, antibody to hepatitis B e antigen, and HBV load), abdominal ultrasound examination, and measurement of levels of α-fetoprotein in serum.Results. HBV load data were obtained for only 16% of patients before initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), whereas HIV load was determined for 99% of patients before initiation of ART. The total number of HIV load measurements obtained during the first year after ART initiation was 497 (median number of HIV load measurements per patient, 3.0), compared with 85 measurements of HBV load (median number of HBV load measurements per patient

Background Adult intussusception is a rare clinical condition worldwide. It contributes to less than 5% of all cases of intussusception. Few studies have been conducted in low-income countries compared to high-income countries; particularly Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on anecdotal evidence, the authors hypothesized that the condition is not as rare in a Sub-Saharan setting in comparison with western countries. We set out to conduct the first review study of adult intussusception in Uganda. Methods The medical records of 37 (out of a total of 62 cases) adolescent and adult patients with a postoperative diagnosis of intussusception at Mulago National Referral and Teaching Hospital, from January 2003 to December 2012, were analyzed. The clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and pathologic features of lesions for these patients were reviewed. Intraoperative findings were described with reference to: the site of the intussusception, and the triggering lesion (either idiopathic or with a lead point). Results The mean age was 33.6 years, with a range of 13 – 72 years. The male to female ratio was 1.85:1. The mean number of days for which symptoms had been present prior to presentation was 6.3 days, while the median was 4 days. All 37 patients presented with abdominal pain. Only 13 (35.1%) had the classical paediatric triad of abdominal pain, a palpable abdominal mass and bloody stool. Most of the remaining patients presented sub-acutely with non-specific symptoms. A lead point was present in 28 patients (75.7%). Of these, 24 (64.9%) cases involved tumours. Among the tumours, 54.2% were malignant. Treatment did not involve intussusception reduction in 14 patients (37.8%). Some form of operative surgery was conducted in 31 (83.8%) patients; mainly segmental bowel resections and hemi-colectomies. Conclusion Adult intussusception is uncommon in the Uganda, though probably less so than in western countries. It presents sub-acutely or chronically and is often diagnosed at laparotomy. Lead points are the triggering lesion most times and are due mainly to tumours. The bulk of tumours are malignant. Most patients require surgical resection, with prior reduction done in selected cases.

Introduction Adenocarcinoma of the colon is the most common histopathological type of colorectal cancer. In Western Europe and the United States, it is the third most common type and accounts for 98% of cancers of the large intestine. In Uganda, as elsewhere in Africa, the majority of patients are elderly (at least 60 years old). However, more recently, it has been observed that younger patients (less than 40 years of age) are presenting with the disease. There is also an increase in its incidence and most patients present late, possibly because of the lack of a comprehensive national screening and preventive health-care program. We describe the clinicopathological features of colorectal carcinoma in the case of a young man in Kampala, Uganda. Case presentation A 27-year-old man from Kampala, Uganda, presented with gross abdominal distension, progressive loss of weight, and fever. He was initially screened for tuberculosis, hepatitis, and lymphoma, and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome infection. After a battery of tests, a diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma was finally established with hematoxylin and eosin staining of a cell block made from the sediment of a liter of cytospun ascitic fluid, which showed atypical glands floating in abundant extracellular mucin, suggestive of adenocarcinoma. Ancillary tests with alcian blue/periodic acid Schiff and mucicarmine staining revealed that it was a mucinous adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemistry showed strong positivity with CDX2, confirming that the origin of the tumor was the colon. Conclusions Colorectal carcinoma has been noted to occur with increasing frequency in young adults in Africa. Most patients have mucinous adenocarcinoma, present late, and have rapid disease progression and poor outcome. Therefore, colorectal malignancy should no longer be excluded from consideration only on the basis of a patient's age. A high index of suspicion is important in the diagnosis of colorectal malignancy in young African patients.

Hepatitis B virus currently infects more than 400 million people worldwide. Despite the availability of hepatitis B vaccine, the overall prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection has declined little in recent years. Hepatitis B virus causes liver injury by an immune response against the virus-infected liver cells and is not directly cytopathic, although immunosuppression appears to enhance replication and lead to direct cytotoxicity. The interplay of the host immune response and the virus's ability to replicate is a prime determinant of the likelihood of liver injury, its intensity, and progression to cirrhosis. A series of stages evolve in the life cycle of each patient's infection, with associated decreases in viral load at each successive stage. Viral mutations in the polymerase or the core gene affect replication and may enhance liver injury. Recently, genotypes have been identified that are linked to clinical outcomes, drug responses, and mutations. Four drugs (interferon alpha, lamivudine, adefovir, and entecavir) have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of hepatitis B virus; they effectively decrease replication and reduce inflammation and fibrosis. Treatment of hepatitis B virus in complex situations such as co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus or immunosuppressive therapy remains challenging. The use of hepatitis B vaccine has been shown to reduce the incidence of new infection in many regions. A decline in the prevalence of hepatitis B infection worldwide will require changes in high-risk behavior and the wider use of vaccination.