Institution
University of Malawi
Education•Zomba, Nkhotakota, Malawi•
About: University of Malawi is a education organization based out in Zomba, Nkhotakota, Malawi. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Malaria. The organization has 2280 authors who have published 4384 publications receiving 113840 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: The need to consider the microbiome when evaluating human development, nutritional needs, physiological variations and the impact of westernization is underscored, as distinctive features of the functional maturation of the gut microbiome are evident in early infancy as well as adulthood.
Abstract: Gut microbial communities represent one source of human genetic and metabolic diversity. To examine how gut microbiomes differ among human populations, here we characterize bacterial species in fecal samples from 531 individuals, plus the gene content of 110 of them. The cohort encompassed healthy children and adults from the Amazonas of Venezuela, rural Malawi and US metropolitan areas and included mono- and dizygotic twins. Shared features of the functional maturation of the gut microbiome were identified during the first three years of life in all three populations, including age-associated changes in the genes involved in vitamin biosynthesis and metabolism. Pronounced differences in bacterial assemblages and functional gene repertoires were noted between US residents and those in the other two countries. These distinctive features are evident in early infancy as well as adulthood. Our findings underscore the need to consider the microbiome when evaluating human development, nutritional needs, physiological variations and the impact of westernization.
6,047 citations
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Harvard University1, Boston Children's Hospital2, King's College London3, Lund University4, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary5, University of São Paulo6, University of California, San Diego7, Imperial College London8, Partners In Health9, Brigham and Women's Hospital10, Royal North Shore Hospital11, Medical College of Wisconsin12, Monash University13, Nanyang Technological University14, University of Sierra Leone15, University of Oxford16, Mongolian National University17, University of Malawi18, Flinders University19, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center20, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre21, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons22, Stanford University23, University of California, San Francisco24
TL;DR: The need for surgical services in low- and middleincome countries will continue to rise substantially from now until 2030, with a large projected increase in the incidence of cancer, road traffic injuries, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in LMICs.
2,209 citations
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TL;DR: The authors investigated the role of the gut microbiome in kwashiorkor, an enigmatic form of severe acute malnutrition that is the consequence of inadequate nutrient intake plus additional environmental insults, and found that RUTF produced a transient maturation of metabolic functions that regressed when administration of RUTF was stopped.
Abstract: Kwashiorkor, an enigmatic form of severe acute malnutrition, is the consequence of inadequate nutrient intake plus additional environmental insults. To investigate the role of the gut microbiome, we studied 317 Malawian twin pairs during the first 3 years of life. During this time, half of the twin pairs remained well nourished, whereas 43% became discordant, and 7% manifested concordance for acute malnutrition. Both children in twin pairs discordant for kwashiorkor were treated with a peanut-based, ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). Time-series metagenomic studies revealed that RUTF produced a transient maturation of metabolic functions in kwashiorkor gut microbiomes that regressed when administration of RUTF was stopped. Previously frozen fecal communities from several discordant pairs were each transplanted into gnotobiotic mice. The combination of Malawian diet and kwashiorkor microbiome produced marked weight loss in recipient mice, accompanied by perturbations in amino acid, carbohydrate, and intermediary metabolism that were only transiently ameliorated with RUTF. These findings implicate the gut microbiome as a causal factor in kwashiorkor.
970 citations
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TL;DR: A system-level shift from maternal and newborn care focused on identification and treatment of pathology for the minority to skilled care for all is supported, which includes preventive and supportive care that works to strengthen women's capabilities in the context of respectful relationships.
936 citations
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TL;DR: Human rotvirus vaccine significantly reduced the incidence of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis among African infants during the first year of life.
Abstract: Background Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis among young children worldwide. Data are needed to assess the efficacy of the rotavirus vaccine in African children. Methods We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial in South Africa (3166 infants; 64.1% of the total) and Malawi (1773 infants; 35.9% of the total) to evaluate the efficacy of a live, oral rotavirus vaccine in preventing severe rotavirus gastroenteritis. Healthy infants were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive two doses of vaccine (in addition to one dose of placebo) or three doses of vaccine — the pooled vaccine group — or three doses of placebo at 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age. Episodes of gastroenteritis caused by wild-type rotavirus during the first year of life were assessed through active follow-up surveillance and were graded with the use of the Vesikari scale. Results A total of 4939 infants were enrolled and randomly assigned to one of the three groups; 1647 infants received two doses of the vaccine, 1651 infants received three doses of the vaccine, and 1641 received placebo. Of the 4417 infants included in the per-protocol efficacy analysis, severe rotavirus gastroenteritis occurred in 4.9% of the infants in the placebo group and in 1.9% of those in the pooled vaccine group (vaccine efficacy, 61.2%; 95% confidence interval, 44.0 to 73.2). Vaccine efficacy was lower in Malawi than in South Africa (49.4% vs. 76.9%); however, the number of episodes of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis that were prevented was greater in Malawi than in South Africa (6.7 vs. 4.2 cases prevented per 100 infants vaccinated per year). Efficacy against all-cause severe gastroenteritis was 30.2%. At least one serious adverse event was reported in 9.7% of the infants in the pooled vaccine group and in 11.5% of the infants in the placebo group. Conclusions Human rotavirus vaccine significantly reduced the incidence of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis among African infants during the first year of life. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00241644.)
816 citations
Authors
Showing all 2306 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
---|---|---|---|
John Hart | 108 | 1081 | 54283 |
Neil M. Ferguson | 96 | 537 | 48936 |
Malcolm E. Molyneux | 85 | 384 | 24596 |
Robert Stewart | 74 | 668 | 24814 |
Steven R. Meshnick | 72 | 354 | 18319 |
Anthony D. Harries | 70 | 624 | 20158 |
Stephen J. Rogerson | 66 | 292 | 14758 |
Elizabeth L. Corbett | 62 | 269 | 14761 |
Stephen B. Gordon | 62 | 306 | 18320 |
Christopher J. M. Whitty | 60 | 190 | 10730 |
David E. Fleischer | 59 | 258 | 13458 |
Colin Smith | 56 | 269 | 15695 |
Mark J. Manary | 56 | 244 | 15523 |
Hans-Peter Kohler | 55 | 218 | 10926 |
Stephen M. Graham | 55 | 236 | 9724 |