Category: Africa

  • Is a new threat being blustered to Africa?

    Is a new threat being blustered to Africa?

    a)A sandstorm blows across the Nile in Sudan. Credit: Madin Adam 663 on Wikimedia Commons” Without qualification, this article title may sound like a sci-fi horror scenario; “Urban malaria may be spreading via the wind”. Authored by Tovi Lehmann and colleagues, it implies that the parasites are bursting forth from their hosts’ circulation, with vapourised Plasmodium flying through…

  • Schistosomiasis and praziquantel resistance

    Schistosomiasis and praziquantel resistance

    Schistosomiasis transmisison site on the shores of Lake Albert, Uganda. Taken by Shannan Summers. Schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by parasitic flatworms. The disease affects over 200 million people and causes thousands of deaths annually. Circa 95% of human infections occur in sub-Saharan Africa where Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium are…

  • How do we ensure Global Health research leads to practical solutions at the local level?

    How do we ensure Global Health research leads to practical solutions at the local level?

    While every research is good, very few resonate well among the general public. The public in LMICs will probably only get on board research that will directly benefit them. Credit: Paul Adepoju. For my master’s degree in cell biology and genetics, I screened for gene polymorphisms in adults co-infected with helminth and latent tuberculosis in…

  • Bovines, Bilharzia and Benin: does Schistosoma hybridization happen in cattle?

    Bovines, Bilharzia and Benin: does Schistosoma hybridization happen in cattle?

    taken by Hilary Hurd Schistosome species in Africa: blurring the lines! Schistosomes affect over 200 million people worldwide. Their impact as a parasitic disease on human health is huge, second only to malaria. However, their impact on other animals, particularly livestock, are also potentially devastating. Cattle schistosomiasis is estimated to affect 165 million domestic cattle…

  • Malaria during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Malaria during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Malaria control efforts The 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa dealt a “heavy blow to malaria control efforts”. As a consequence, the number of patients with malaria went up then, which could also happen now. The impact of Ebola on malaria control was further discussed in a BugBitten blog post by Vera Unwin in 2015. …

  • Strengthening public private partnerships in health in Africa: right timing; challenged beyond capacity or both?

    Strengthening public private partnerships in health in Africa: right timing; challenged beyond capacity or both?

    © PeopleImages / Getty Images / iStock The role of the private sector in attaining the objectives of the health sector is gaining increasing recognition, especially in low income countries. Arguably, the private sector is not a new player in health. Indeed, the World Bank has advanced the ideology of private sector provision of health…

  • How can the plastic waste crises be solved in Africa?

    How can the plastic waste crises be solved in Africa?

    (Image by pasja1000 from Pixabay, CC0) Plastic waste management has become a topical issue, especially the contamination of marine and fresh water environments. Nearly 513 million tonnes of plastics wind up in the oceans every year; and the major contributors from Africa are Egypt (0.97 tonnes), Nigeria (0.85 tonnes), and South Africa (0.63 tonnes), ranking…

  • Malaria vaccine promises a better future for African children

    Malaria vaccine promises a better future for African children

    Healthy children (Photo credit: Nigeria Health Watch) According to the WHO’s World Malaria Report 2018, there has been “no significant progress in reducing global malaria cases” between 2015 and 2017. In 2017, an estimated 219 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide, most of them (92%) in the WHO African Region. Of these cases, 435,000 patients…

  • A malaria elimination catch up- Algeria leads the way

    A malaria elimination catch up- Algeria leads the way

    Algeria (image source: Creative Commons) Shortly after Bugbitten’s recent Malaria elimination: are we nearly there yet? we were elated to hear that Algeria has been certified as one of the 38 malaria-free countries. This makes Algeria the second country to join the list in 2019 after Argentina. Plasmodium falciparum electronmicrograph (source: wikicommons, authors Rick Fairhurst…

  • Africa’s cancer healthcare workforce is overworked and under-supported

    Africa’s cancer healthcare workforce is overworked and under-supported

    Research demonstrates that the burden of cancer is increasing in low- and middle-income countries, with a disproportionate burden of mortality- to- incidence ratio in Africa. Although this trend is forecasted to increase by 2030, there is a paucity of real-world data on the capacity of the oncology workforce, providing cancer care to the increasing number…