The article discusses the challenges and opportunities for lung health in Africa in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the strain on healthcare systems, the increase in chronic respiratory diseases like asthma and COPD, and the limited resources for managing these conditions. The pa...ndemic has exacerbated issues like delayed diagnosis and treatment, while also impacting child lung health and increasing risks for those with tuberculosis. It emphasizes the importance of leveraging global partnerships and strategies to improve healthcare infrastructure and response in Africa.
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The article outlines the prioritized research agenda for the prevention and control of chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) as part of the World Health Organization's (WHO) action plan on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) from 2008 to 2013. It highlights the significant global impact of CRDs, including... asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other related conditions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The document stresses the need for effective prevention strategies and better surveillance, as well as enhanced healthcare infrastructure and resources in LMICs. It calls for research into CRD risk factors, effective interventions, and integrated care approaches that align with broader NCD prevention programs. The article emphasizes the importance of public health initiatives and cross-sector collaborations to reduce the disease burden and improve patient outcomes.
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Data on asthma aetiology in Africa are scarce. We investigated the risk factors for asthma among schoolchildren (5–17 years) in urban Uganda. We conducted a case-control study, among 555 cases and 1115 controls. Asthma was diagnosed by study clinicians. The main risk factors for asthma were tertia...ry education for fathers (adjusted OR (95% CI); 2.32 (1.71–3.16)) and mothers (1.85 (1.38–2.48)); area of residence at birth, with children born in a small town or in the city having an increased asthma risk compared to schoolchildren born in rural areas (2.16 (1.60–2.92)) and (2.79 (1.79–4.35)), respectively; father’s and mother’s history of asthma; children’s own allergic conditions; atopy; and cooking on gas/electricity. In conclusion, asthma was associated with a strong rural-town-city risk gradient, higher parental socio-economic status and urbanicity. This work provides the basis for future studies to identify specific environmental/lifestyle factors responsible for increasing asthma risk among children in urban areas in LMICs.
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The objective of the study was the validation and implementation of GeneXpert MTB/RIF for routine use in the rapid detection of tuberculosis and sensitivity to rifampicin in clinical samples; for this, 1592 respiratory samples were collected and analyzed in the laboratory of Instituto Nacional de In...vestigación en Salud Pública Guayaquil. The analysis of the results of GeneXpert in comparison with smear microscopy showed an initial sensitivity of 99.8% and specificity of 93.2%; The analysis of discrepancies using the results of the culture as a reference method showed that the GeneXpert results considered false negatives turned out to be true negatives, the same happens with the false positives that correspond to true positives. Recalculated the sensitivity and specificity of the GeneXpert was 99.8% and 100% correspondingly. The comparison with the drugs susceptibility test showed a sensitivity of 91.4% and a specificity of 95.5% for the GeneXpert MTB/RIF system. It is concluded that the implementation of the GeneXpert system allows solution to certain problems associated with the application of conventional diagnostic methodologies, decreasing the waiting times, and increasing the sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of drug-resistant tuberculosis, thus generating a valuable opportunity for early diagnosis.
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Rewiew Article
Hindawi Publishing Corporation, Tuberculosis Research and Treatment; Volume 2011, Article ID 712736, 6 pages, doi:10.1155/2011/712736
Community health workers (CHWs) enable marginalised communities, often experiencing structural poverty, to access healthcare. Trust, important in all patient–provider relationships, is difficult to build in such
communities, particularly when stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and now ...COVID-19, is widespread.
CHWs, responsible for bringing people back into care, must repair trust. In South Africa, where a national CHW programme is being rolled out, marginalised communities have high levels of unemployment, domestic violence and injury. In this complex social environment, we explored CHW workplace trust, interpersonal trust between the patient and CHW, and the institutional trust patients place in the health system
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BMJ,Dodd PJ, et al. Thorax 2017;72:559–575. doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2016-209421
Research Article
BMC Infectious Diseases 2014, 14:91/1471-2334/14/91
Asthma is one of the neglected diseases in Africa with a high prevalence. Allergic fungal diseases have been reported to complicate asthma progression and treatment outcomes. However, data about fungal asthma and its associated complications are limited in Africa. We aimed to estimate the burden of ...fungal asthma among adults and children in Africa using a systematic review.
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The article "Asthma in South African adolescents: a time trend and risk factor analysis over two decades" investigates the prevalence and risk factors for asthma in Cape Town adolescents from 2002 to 2017. The study finds that while the overall prevalence of asthma remained similar, the severity of ...the condition increased significantly. Risk factors for asthma and severe cases include smoking, pet exposure, outdoor pollution, and living in informal housing. Despite these trends, underdiagnosis remains a concern, as only one-third of adolescents with current or severe asthma had been formally diagnosed. The article emphasizes the need for better public health strategies to address environmental exposures and improve asthma diagnosis and treatment.
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Asthma is the commonest chronic childhood disease and encompasses a spectrum of airway diseases with similar symptoms. Inaccurate diagnosis remains common, especially in younger children, with failure to characterize the different “asthmas.” Children worldwide repeatedly suffer symptoms which se...verely affect their everyday lives. Children die from asthma, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In many countries, asthma prevalence is rising. Access to effective care and changing environments are hugely variable and may explain the higher morbidity in inner-city children, in LMICs, and in deprived populations in high-income countries. Despite the disease being eminently controllable, morbidity and mortality persist.
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BACKGROUND. Asthma is a heterogeneous condition characterised by chronic inflammation and variable expiratory airflow limitation, as well as airway reversibility. The burden of asthma in children is increasing in low- and middle-income countries and remains under-recognised and poorly managed.
OBJE...CTIVES. To quantify the burden of asthma in the South African (SA) population and identify the risk factors associated with disease severity in the local context.
METHODS. The SA Childhood Asthma Working Group (SACAWG) convened in January 2017 with task groups, each headed by a section leader, constituting the editorial committee on assessment of asthma epidemiology, diagnosis, control, treatments, novel treatments and self-management plans. The epidemiology task group reviewed the available scientific literature and assigned evidence according to the Grades of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system.
CONCLUSIONS. Asthma in children remains a common condition, which has shown an increasing prevalence in urban and rural populations of SA. Of concern is that almost half of children in urban communities experience severe asthma symptoms, and many asthmatics lack a formal diagnosis and thus access to treatment. Exposure to tobacco smoke and living in highly polluted areas increase the severity of wheezing in young children.
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Downloaded from https://aidsinfo.nih.gov/guidelines on 10/19/2019
Recommendations from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
(This g...uideline was simultaneously published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal on November 6, 2013.)
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Zanoni BC, et al. BMJ Glob Health 2016;1:e000004. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2015-000004
Misceláneo
Capítulo J.2
Edición: Matías Irarrázaval & Andres Martin
Traductores: Fernanda Prieto-Tagle & Montserrat Pamias
Review
S Afr Med J 2014;104(3):174-177. DOI: 10.7196/SAMJ.7968
Miscellaneous
Chapter J.2
Очень часто дети это уязвимая под-группа внутри уже уязвимых групп населения. Поэтому необходимо, чтобы политики, гражданское общество и медицинские работники без...отлагательно обратили свое внимание на проблему борьбы с детским туберкулезом. Дети являются источником развития заболеваний в будущем, а продолжающееся бездействие приводит к потере многих человеческих жизней.
Accessed on 19.07. 2019
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Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience a high disease burden for epilepsy, a chronic neurological condition.The authors evaluate the cost-effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs) to improve adherence to medication for epilepsy in South Africa. They found that utilizing CHWs to i...mprove medication adherence was cost-effective.
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The Global Asthma Report (GAR) 2022, prepared by the Global Asthma Network (GAN), is the fourth such report (others 2011, 2014, 2018). GAN builds upon the work of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (T...he Union) to monitor asthma and improve asthma care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
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