University of Zambia

About: University of Zambia is a education organization based out in Lusaka, Lusaka, Zambia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 2593 authors who have published 4402 publications receiving 122411 citations. The organization is also known as: UNZA.

Orthopoxvirus infection among wildlife in Zambia.

Abstract: Human monkeypox is a viral zoonosis caused by monkeypox virus, an orthopoxvirus (OPXV). The majority of human monkeypox cases have been reported in moist forested regions in West and Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In this study we investigated zoonotic OPXV infection among wild animals in Zambia, which shares a border with DRC, to assess the geographical distribution of OPXV. We screened for OPXV antibodies in sera from non-human primates (NHPs), rodents and shrews by ELISA, and performed real-time PCR to detect OPXV DNA in spleen samples. Serological analysis indicated that 38 of 259 (14.7 %) rodents, 14 of 42 (33.3 %) shrews and 4 of 188 (2.1 %) NHPs had antibodies against OPXV. The OPXV DNA could not be detected in spleens from any animals tested. Our results indicated that wild animals living in rural human habitation areas of Zambia have been infected with OPXV.

Clinical analysis of mortality in hospitalized zambian children with sickle cell anaemia

Abstract: The hospital records of 62 Zambian children with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) who died during a 3 year period (January 1987 to December 1989) at the Paediatric Wing of the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia, were reviewed retrospectively. The SCA patients accounted for 2.92 percent of the total admissions and the average case fatality was 6.61 percent of the total SCA admissions. The case fatality rate has reduced considerably as compared to the one observed in 1970 in Zambia, although the major causes of death remain the same. The maximum mortality was noted in the age group of one to five years (54.84%). The common causes of death were infections (29.54%), vasoocclusive crises (22.72%) and splenic sequestration crises (20.45%). The problems of sub-Saharan Africa, like malaria, malnutrition and now the HIV infection also adde to the mortality (15.90%).

Exposure of pregnant women to indoor air pollution: a study from nine low and middle income countries.

Abstract: Objective. We studied exposure to solid fuel and second-hand tobacco smoke among pregnant women in south Asia, Africa and Latin America. Design. Prospective cross-sectional survey. Setting. Antenatal clinics in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Uruguay, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, India and Pakistan. Sample. A total of 7,961 pregnant women in ten sites in nine countries were interviewed between October 2004 and September 2005. Methods. A standardized questionnaire on exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) and second-hand smoke was administered to pregnant women during antenatal care. Main outcome measures. Exposure to IAP and second-hand tobacco smoke. Results. South Asian pregnant women commonly reported use of wood (49.1–89.7%), crop residue and animal dung as cooking and heating fuel. African pregnant women reported higher use of charcoal (85.4–93.5%). Latin American pregnant women had greater use of petroleum gas. Among south Asian women, solid fuel use and cooking on an open fl...

Current cigarette smoking among in-school American youth: results from the 2004 National Youth Tobacco Survey.

Abstract: Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. In the developed nations where the burden from infectious diseases is lower, the burden of disease from tobacco use is especially magnified. Understanding the factors that may be associated with adolescent cigarette smoking may aid in the design of prevention programs. A secondary analysis of the 2004 United States National Youth Tobacco Survey was carried out to estimate the association between current cigarette smoking and selected smoking-related variables. Study participants were recruited from middle and high schools in the United States. Logistic regression analysis using SUDAAN software was conducted to estimate the association between smoking and the following explanatory variables: age, sex, race-ethnicity, peer smoking, living in the same household as a smoker, amount of pocket money at the disposal of the adolescents, and perception that smoking is not harmful to health. Of the 27727 respondents whose data were analysed, 15.9% males and 15.3% females reported being current cigarette smokers. In multivariate analysis, compared to Whites, respondents from almost all ethnic groups were less likely to report current cigarette smoking: Blacks (OR = 0.52; 95% CI [0.44, 0.60]), Asians (OR = 0.45; 95% CI [0.35, 0.58]), Hispanic (OR = 0.81; 95% CI [0.71, 0.92]), and Hawaii/Pacific Islanders (OR = 0.69; 95% CI [0.52, 0.93]). American Indians were equally likely to be current smokers as whites, OR = 0.98 [95% CI; 0.79, 1.22]. Participants who reported living with a smoker were more than twice as likely to smoke as those who did not live with a cigarette smoker (OR = 2.73; 95% CI [2.21, 3.04]). Having friends who smoked was positively associated with smoking (OR = 2.27; 95% CI [1.91, 2.71] for one friend who smoked, and OR = 2.71; 95% CI [2.21, 3.33] for two or more friends who smoked). Subjects who perceived that it was safe to smoke for one or two years were more likely to smoke than those who thought it was definitely not safe to do so. There was a dose-response relationship between age and the amount of money available to the respondents on one hand, and current smoking status on the other (p-value < 0.001). We found that White non-Hispanic adolescents were as likely to be current smokers as American Indians but more likely to be smokers than all other racial/ethnic groups. Older adolescents, increase amounts of pocket money, and perception that smoking was not harmful to health. The racial/ethnic differences in prevalence of smoking among America youth deserve particular exploration.