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Open AccessBreast Cancer knowledge, perceptions and practices in a rural Community in Coastal Kenya
Data on breast healthcare knowledge, perceptions and practice among women in rural Kenya is limited. Furthermore, the role of the male head of household in influencing a woman’s breast health seeking behavior ...
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Article
Open AccessEfficacy and safety of artemisinin-based combination therapy, and molecular markers for artemisinin and piperaquine resistance in Mainland Tanzania
Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the first-line anti-malarial treatment of uncomplicated malaria in most malaria endemic countries, including Tanzania. Unfortunately, there have been reports of a...
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Article
Open AccessInsecticide use pattern and phenotypic susceptibility of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato to commonly used insecticides in Lower Moshi, northern Tanzania
Evidence of insecticide resistance has been documented in different malaria endemic areas. Surveillance studies to allow prompt investigation of associated factors to enable effective insecticide resistance ma...
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Open AccessComparison of biomarker based Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and conventional methods in the identification of clinically relevant bacteria and yeast
MALDI-TOF MS is an analytical method that has recently become integral in the identification of microorganisms in clinical laboratories. It relies on databases that majorly employ pattern recognition or finger...
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Open AccessHigh resolution melting: a useful field-deployable method to measure dhfr and dhps drug resistance in both highly and lowly endemic Plasmodium populations
Emergence and spread of drug resistance to every anti-malarial used to date, creates an urgent need for development of sensitive, specific and field-deployable molecular tools for detection and surveillance of...
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Open AccessAdding a single low-dose of primaquine (0.25 mg/kg) to artemether-lumefantrine did not compromise treatment outcome of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Tanzania: a randomized, single-blinded clinical trial
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended the addition of a single low-dose of the gametocytocidal drug primaquine (PQ) to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) in low transmission setting...
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Open AccessPerformance of rapid diagnostic test, blood-film microscopy and PCR for the diagnosis of malaria infection among febrile children from Korogwe District, Tanzania
Rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) and light microscopy are still recommended for diagnosis to guide the clinical management of malaria despite difficult challenges in rural settings. The performance of these tests ...
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Open AccessSafety of a single low-dose of primaquine in addition to standard artemether-lumefantrine regimen for treatment of acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Tanzania
This study assessed the safety of the new World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of adding a single low-dose of primaquine (PQ) to standard artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), regardless of in...
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Article
Open AccessComparison of Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute and European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing guidelines for the interpretation of antibiotic susceptibility at a University teaching hospital in Nairobi, Kenya: a cross-sectional study
The Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) guidelines are the most popular breakpoint guidelines used in antimicrobial suscep...
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Article
Open AccessA shortened verbal autopsy instrument for use in routine mortality surveillance systems
Verbal autopsy (VA) is recognized as the only feasible alternative to comprehensive medical certification of deaths in settings with no or unreliable vital registration systems. However, a barrier to its use b...
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Article
Open AccessImproving performance of the Tariff Method for assigning causes of death to verbal autopsies
Reliable data on the distribution of causes of death (COD) in a population are fundamental to good public health practice. In the absence of comprehensive medical certification of deaths, the only feasible way...
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Article
Open AccessBloodstream bacterial infection among outpatient children with acute febrile illness in north-eastern Tanzania
Fever is a common clinical symptom in children attending hospital outpatient clinics in rural Tanzania, yet there is still a paucity of data on the burden of bloodstream bacterial infection among these patients.
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Open AccessUsing verbal autopsy to measure causes of death: the comparative performance of existing methods
Monitoring progress with disease and injury reduction in many populations will require widespread use of verbal autopsy (VA). Multiple methods have been developed for assigning cause of death from a VA but the...
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Open AccessUsefulness of Plasmodium falciparum-specific rapid diagnostic tests for assessment of parasite clearance and detection of recurrent infections after artemisinin-based combination therapy
Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) is an important tool for parasite-based malaria diagnosis. High specificity of RDTs to distinguish an active Plasmodium falciparum infection from residual antigens from a previous infe...
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Open AccessMalaria diagnosis and treatment practices following introduction of rapid diagnostic tests in Kibaha District, Coast Region, Tanzania
The success of the universal parasite-based malaria testing policy for fever patients attending primary health care (PHC) facilities in Tanzania will depend highly on health workers’ perceptions and practices....
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Open AccessTemporal trends of molecular markers associated with artemether-lumefantrine tolerance/resistance in Bagamoyo district, Tanzania
Development and spread of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) constitutes a major threat to recent global malaria control achievements. Surveillance of molecular marker...
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Open AccessPlasmodium falciparum population dynamics during the early phase of anti-malarial drug treatment in Tanzanian children with acute uncomplicated malaria
This study aimed to explore Plasmodium falciparum population dynamics during the early phase of anti-malarial drug treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy in children with clinical malaria in a high ...
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Open AccessPopulation Health Metrics Research Consortium gold standard verbal autopsy validation study: design, implementation, and development of analysis datasets
Verbal autopsy methods are critically important for evaluating the leading causes of death in populations without adequate vital registration systems. With a myriad of analytical and data collection approaches...
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Open AccessEffectiveness of artemether-lumefantrine provided by community health workers in under-five children with uncomplicated malaria in rural Tanzania: an open label prospective study
Home-management of malaria (HMM) strategy improves early access of anti-malarial medicines to high-risk groups in remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. However, limited data are available on the effectiveness of...
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Open AccessUnderstanding caretakers' dilemma in deciding whether or not to adhere with referral advice after pre-referral treatment with rectal artesunate
Malaria kills. A single rectal dose of artesunate before referral can reduce mortality and prevent permanent disability. However, the success of this intervention depends on caretakers' adherence to referral a...
