Infectious Disease

Dengue fever, a rapidly spreading viral infection from mosquitoes that live in tropical and subtropical areas, in Peru is rising as a result of extreme weather events associated with climate change. While the majority of patients are minimally symptomatic, critical illness is possible with untreated hemorrhagic shock and death occurring in approximately 50% of untreated critical dengue patients. Point-of-Care ultrasound (POCUS) is an essential mobile health tool due to its portability, affordability and utility.

La Bilharziose, une maladie portée par des parasites dans l'eau stagnante, représente le 2ème problème de santé publique au Tchad après le paludisme. Une étude de 2015 a montré une prévalence de 25% dans la zone de Torrock, une région avec beaucoup d'eaux stagnantes. Dans les zones reculées, il existe des centres de santé mais dépourvus de personnel qualifié et le seul laboratoire se trouve à l'hôpital de district situé loin des zones rurales.

According to the Health Epidemiological Surveillance System, people in Comuna 13 in Cali have the highest hospitalization rates in the city related to vector borne diseases such as Dengue, Zika and Chikunguña and suffer from respiratory diseases, product of the contamination of the water in the wetlands of “Charco Azul” and “El Pondaje” in the region. This contamination results from wastewater dumping, urban growth, unawareness and inadequate solid waste management.

En 2021, l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé a recensé 247 millions de cas de paludisme et 619 000 décès dus au paludisme dans le monde. La Région africaine de l'OMS compte 95% des cas de paludisme et 96 % des décès dus au paludisme. Les enfants de moins de 5 ans constituent le groupe le plus vulnérable, représentant 80% de tous les décès. L'utilisation de moustiquaires imprégnées d'insecticide et de pulvérisations intradomicilaire à effet rémanent a réduit de près de moitié le fardeau du paludisme dans toute l'Afrique subsaharienne.

Climate change increases the suitability of environments to transmit water/air/food/vector-borne or zoonotic diseases. Despite public health/medical advances to reduce transmission, population growth in wildlife areas, unplanned urbanization, and globalization fuel emerging/re-emerging diseases and global spread. Preventing and controlling such diseases and challenging viral hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola, requires a transdisciplinary approach with surveillance, early detection/response, vector control, education, and safe care.

Household air pollution (HAP) is a leading cause for morbidity and mortality, with a huge percentage of global disease burden. HAP is a growing challenge in Africa where more than 83% of residents in sub-Saharan Africa continue to use solid fuel for cooking. Other sources of HAP are particulate matter, ozone, and volatile organic compounds. HAP and ambient air pollution accounted for about 800,000 and 398000 deaths in Africa region respectively.

We focus on respiratory health impacts from allergenic pollen and fungal spores and air quality in a low-income area of South Africa within the Vaal Triangle Airshed Priority Area (VTAPA). This study will focus Vanderbijlpark, township Sharpeville where the NWU Climate Research Group runs long-term air pollution measurements. We aim to answer the question: do respiratory diseases increase with exposure to air pollution and pollen? The gap we are trying to fill is a more holistic view and assessment of health risks from air quality and aerosopora, focusing on a seasonal scale.

Malaria is a devastating parasitic disease that affects 250 million people worldwide. 90% of all deaths due to malaria are in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the use of Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLIN) as the main technique to suppress mosquito populations and hence reduce malaria transmission. The use of LLIN has been successful since their launch in the early 2000s but from 2016 onwards, malaria cases have been increasing. The problem is only one type of insecticide was used to treat LLIN.

In Kenya, Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), the severe form of leishmaniasis, is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) of public health concern. VL is transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies and is fatal if not treated. VL outbreaks have become recurrent (2008-2019) in arid and semi-arid areas. New foci of the disease have been reported (e.g. Kajiado county) with sporadic cases in Kitui and Tharaka Nithi counties indicating an expanding geographic spread.

The 2022 flooding has led to outbreaks of cholera in the camps and communities hosting flood-displaced persons. As of November, 34 of 36 states are flooded, and the threat of more outbreaks of water- or vector-borne diseases persists. The floods have also triggered population movements from outbreak areas to unaffected places. In Nigeria, up to 80% of displaced persons are absorbed by communities; the risk of outbreaks along migratory routes and in destination communities or camps is increased with the influx of high numbers of individuals.