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.

Home-Based Early Intervention and the Influence of Family Resources on Cognitive Development

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether early developmental intervention (EDI) can positively affect the trajectories of cognitive development among children from low-resource families. METHODS: Longitudinal analyses were conducted of data from 293 children in the Brain Research to Ameliorate Impaired Neurodevelopment Home-based Intervention Trial, a randomized controlled trial of a home-based EDI program, to examine trajectories of Bayley Scales of Infant Development—Second Edition Mental Development Index (MDI) scores from 12 to 36 months of age among young children from high- and low-resource families in 3 low- to middle-resource countries. RESULTS: A 3-way interaction among family resources, intervention group, and age was statistically significant after controlling for maternal, child, and birth characteristics (Wald χ2(1) = 9.41, P = .002). Among children of families with high resources, both the intervention and control groups had significant increases in MDI scores over time (P CONCLUSIONS: A home-based EDI during the first 3 years of life can substantially decrease the developmental gap between children from families with lower versus higher resources, even among children in low- to middle-resource countries.

The impact of human immunodeficiency virus on response to treatment and recurrence rate in patients treated for tuberculosis: two-year follow-up of a cohort in Lusaka, Zambia.

Abstract: To examine the effect of HIV on response to treatment and recurrence rate in patients with tuberculosis (TB), we have followed 239 previously untreated, adult, TB patients in a prospective cohort study in Lusaka, Zambia. One hundred and seventy-four (73%) were HIV-1 antibody positive. Patients with sputum smear positive, miliary, or meningeal TB were prescribed 2 months daily streptomycin, thiacetazone, isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide followed by 6 months thiacetazone and isoniazid; others, 2 months streptomycin, thiacetazone and isoniazid followed by 10 months thiacetazone and isoniazid. Thirty-five per cent of HIV-positive (HIV+ve) and 9% of HIV-negative (HIV-ve) patients were known to have died before the scheduled end of treatment. Surviving HIV+ve patients showed weight gain and improvement in symptoms and laboratory and radiological findings similar to HIV-ve patients. The risk of cutaneous drug reaction was 17% (95% CI: 12-25%) in HIV+ve, and 4% (1-13%) in HIV-ve patients. Severe rashes were attributed to thiacetazone. Recurrence of active TB was examined among 64 HIV+ve and 37 HIV-ve patients who successfully completed treatment, with mean follow-up after the end of treatment of 13.5 and 16.8 months, respectively. The rate of recurrence was 22/100 person years (pyr) for HIV+ve patients and 6/100 pyr for HIV-ve patients, giving a recurrence rate ratio of 4.0 (95% CI 1.2-13.8, P = 0.03).

Effects of anti-tick cocktail vaccine against Rhipicephalus appendiculatus.

Abstract: Rhipicephalus appendiculatus serpin-3 (RAS-3), R. appendiculatus serpin-4 (RAS-4) and a 36-kDa immuno-dominant protein of R. appendiculatus (RIM36) were reported as candidate antigens for the anti-tick vaccine to control ixodid ticks. In the present study, we generated recombinant proteins of RAS-3 (rRAS-3), RAS-4 (rRAS-4) and RIM36 (rRIM36), and assessed their potency as an anti-tick cocktail vaccine in cattle model. RT-PCR analysis showed that RAS-3, RAS-4 and RIM36 transcripts were detected in both adult male and female ticks during feeding. Immunization of cattle with the combination of rRAS-3, rRAS-4 and rRIM36 had raised antibodies against all recombinants and anti-sera had reacted with the molecules from the tick salivary gland extract. Tick infestation challenge demonstrated protective immunity against female ticks, resulting in mortality rates of 39.5 and 12.8 % for the vaccinated and control groups, respectively. Moreover, the mortality rate of Theileria parva -infected female ticks was 48.5 and 10.8 % in the vaccinated and control group, respectively. In order to evaluate the levels of pathogen transmission capacity by T. parva-infected ticks fed on immunized cattle, the occurrence of T. parva in the bovine parotid lymph node and peripheral blood was also determined and quantified by real-time PCR. Although the infection with T. parva could not be protected by the vaccine, the occurrence of pathogen in peripheral blood was delayed 1 to 2 days after the infestation challenge in vaccinated group. These results suggest that this cocktail vaccine plays a role in the prevention of tick infestation.

Maternal micronutrient status and decreased growth of Zambian infants born during and after the maize price increases resulting from the southern African drought of 2001-2002.

Abstract: Objective: To investigate the effects on maternal micronutrient status and infant growth of the increased maize prices that resulted from the southern African drought of 2001–2002. Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Setting: A maternal and child health clinic in Lusaka, Zambia. Subjects: Maternal and infant health and nutrition data and maternal plasma were being collected for a study of breast-feeding and postpartum health. Samples and data were analysed according to whether they were collected before (June to December 2001), during (January 2002 to April 2003) or after (May 2003 to January 2004) the period of increased maize price. Season and maternal HIV status were controlled for in analyses. Results: Maize price increases were associated with decreased maternal plasma vitamin A during pregnancy (P ¼ 0.028) and vitamin E postpartum (P ¼ 0.042), with the lowest values among samples collected after May 2003 (vitamin A: 0.96mmol l 21 , 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84–1.09, n ¼ 38; vitamin E: 30.8mmol mmol 21 triglycerides, 95% CI 27.2–34.8, n ¼ 64) compared with before January 2002 (vitamin A: 1.03mmol l 21 , 95% CI 0.93–1.12, n ¼ 104; vitamin E: 38.9mmol mmol 21 triglycerides, 95% CI 34.5–43.8, n ¼ 47). There were no significant effects of sampling date on maternal weight, haemoglobin or acute-phase proteins and only marginal effects on infant weight. Infant length at 6 and 16 weeks of age decreased progressively throughout the study (P-values for time of data collection were 0.51 at birth, 0.051 at 6 weeks and 0.026 at 16 weeks). Conclusions: The results show modest effects of the maize price increases on maternal micronutrient status. The most serious consequence of the price increases is likely to be the increased stunting among infants whose mothers experienced high maize prices while pregnant. During periods of food shortages it might be advisable to provide micronutrient supplements even to those who are less food-insecure.