Laboratory diagnosis and monitoring of schistosomiasis in South Africa
In South Africa there are about 4 million people at risk for schistosomiasis. Most of these at-risk people are children. The prevalence in children in some endemic locations in South Africa is as high as 95%. The true number of infected people in South Africa is not known. The objective of this paper is to put laboratory testing for schistosomiasis in perspective, highlighting the limitations of each testing modality.
Infections in the elderly
Globally 9% of the population is over the age of 65 years, being as low as 3% in Africa and up to 19% in Europe. It is estimated that there will be nearly 1.5 billion elderly individuals by the year 2050. Infections in the elderly cause a third of the mortality in this group. The elderly are more susceptible to infections, can have atypical presentations, and have reduced vaccination responses.
What we’ve learnt: HIV and Covid-19 infections
Towards the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus, later designated SARS-CoV-2, was identified as the cause of an outbreak of acute respiratory illness in Wuhan, China. Subsequent spread throughout China and the rest of the world was rapid, and the outbreak declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January of 2020 and later a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The role of antibiotics during the Covid-19 pandemic
The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is the worst pandemic to affect the world since the 1918 influenza pandemic. By 14 March 2021, more than 120 million cases have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 2,660,000 deaths. These statistics might reflect the proverbial tip of the iceberg though, as the World Health Organisation estimated in October 2020 that the true number of infected persons was about 760 million people.
Attempts allowed: 2
70% pass rate