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Full-Text Articles in Epidemiology

Building Up A Genomic Surveillance Platform For Sars-Cov-2 In The Middle Of A Pandemic: A True North-South Collaboration, Waqasuddin Khan, Furqan Kabir, Samiah Kanwar, Fatima Aziz, Sahrish Muneer, Adil Kalam, Mehdia Ali, Nadia Ansari, Fyezah Jehan, Muhammad Imran Nisar Nov 2023

Building Up A Genomic Surveillance Platform For Sars-Cov-2 In The Middle Of A Pandemic: A True North-South Collaboration, Waqasuddin Khan, Furqan Kabir, Samiah Kanwar, Fatima Aziz, Sahrish Muneer, Adil Kalam, Mehdia Ali, Nadia Ansari, Fyezah Jehan, Muhammad Imran Nisar

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Next-generation sequencing technology has revolutionised pathogen surveillance over the last two decades. However, the benefits are not equitably distributed, with developing countries lagging far behind in acquiring the required technology and analytical capacity. Recent declines in the cost associated with sequencing-equipment and running consumables have created an opportunity for broader adoption. During the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid diagnostics development and DNA sequencing revolutionised the ability to diagnose and sequence SARS-CoV-2 rapidly. Socioeconomic inequalities substantially impact the ability to sequence SARS-CoV-2 strains and undermine a developing country's pandemic preparedness. Low- and middle-income countries face additional challenges in establishing, maintaining and expanding genomic …


Burden, Clinical Characteristics, Risk Factors, And Seasonality Of Adenovirus 40/41 Diarrhea In Children In Eight Low-Resource Settings, Godfrey Guga, Sarah Elwood, Caroline Kimathi, Gagandeep Kang, Margaret N. Kosek, Aldo A M Lima, Pascal O. Bessong, Amidou Samie, Najeeha Talat Iqbal, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta May 2022

Burden, Clinical Characteristics, Risk Factors, And Seasonality Of Adenovirus 40/41 Diarrhea In Children In Eight Low-Resource Settings, Godfrey Guga, Sarah Elwood, Caroline Kimathi, Gagandeep Kang, Margaret N. Kosek, Aldo A M Lima, Pascal O. Bessong, Amidou Samie, Najeeha Talat Iqbal, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Background: The application of molecular diagnostics has identified enteric group adenovirus serotypes 40 and 41 as important causes of diarrhea in children. However, many aspects of the epidemiology of adenovirus 40/41 diarrhea have not been described.
Methods: We used data from the 8-site Etiology, Risk Factors, and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development Project birth cohort study to describe site- and age-specific incidence, risk factors, clinical characteristics, and seasonality.
Results: The incidence of adenovirus 40/41 diarrhea was substantially higher by quantitative polymerase chain reaction than enzyme immunoassay and peaked at ∼30 episodes …


A Streptococcus Pneumoniae Lineage Usually Associated With Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (Pcv) Serotypes Is The Most Common Cause Of Serotype 35b Invasive Disease In South Africa, Following Routine Use Of Pcv, Kedibone M. Ndlangisa, Mignon Du Plessis, Stephani Lo, Linda De Gouveia, Chrispin Chaguza, Martin Antonio, Brenda Kwambana-Adams, Jennifer Cornick, Dean B. Everett, Sadia Shakoor Apr 2022

A Streptococcus Pneumoniae Lineage Usually Associated With Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (Pcv) Serotypes Is The Most Common Cause Of Serotype 35b Invasive Disease In South Africa, Following Routine Use Of Pcv, Kedibone M. Ndlangisa, Mignon Du Plessis, Stephani Lo, Linda De Gouveia, Chrispin Chaguza, Martin Antonio, Brenda Kwambana-Adams, Jennifer Cornick, Dean B. Everett, Sadia Shakoor

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Pneumococcal serotype 35B is an important non-conjugate vaccine (non-PCV) serotype. Its continued emergence, post-PCV7 in the USA, was associated with expansion of a pre-existing 35B clone (clonal complex [CC] 558) along with post-PCV13 emergence of a non-35B clone previously associated with PCV serotypes (CC156). This study describes lineages circulating among 35B isolates in South Africa before and after PCV introduction. We also compared 35B isolates belonging to a predominant 35B lineage in South Africa (GPSC5), with isolates belonging to the same lineage in other parts of the world. Serotype 35B isolates that caused invasive pneumococcal disease in South Africa in …


Surgical Management During The Covid-19 Era At A Private Tertiary Care Hospital Of Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study, Nida Zahid, Erum Baig, Gulzar S. Lakhani, Hasnain Zafar, Asad Latif, Syed Ather Enam Jan 2022

Surgical Management During The Covid-19 Era At A Private Tertiary Care Hospital Of Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study, Nida Zahid, Erum Baig, Gulzar S. Lakhani, Hasnain Zafar, Asad Latif, Syed Ather Enam

Department of Surgery

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), declared a pandemic in March 2020, has affected the entire healthcare system, including the surgical practice. Guidelines for the management of surgical patients during this COVID-19 era need to be established to provide timely yet safe surgical care. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the COVID-19 testing algorithm established for surgery patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, and to compare the outcomes among patients who underwent elective versus emergency surgery.
Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan to apply …


Trends In Premature Mortality From Acute Myocardial Infarction In The United States, 1999 To 2019, Sourbha S. Dani, Ahmad N. Lone, Zulqarnain Javed, Muhammad S. Khan, Muhammad Zia Khan, Edo Kaluski, Salim S. Virani, Michael D. Shapiro, Miguel Cainzos‐Achirica, Khurram Nasir Jan 2022

Trends In Premature Mortality From Acute Myocardial Infarction In The United States, 1999 To 2019, Sourbha S. Dani, Ahmad N. Lone, Zulqarnain Javed, Muhammad S. Khan, Muhammad Zia Khan, Edo Kaluski, Salim S. Virani, Michael D. Shapiro, Miguel Cainzos‐Achirica, Khurram Nasir

Office of the Provost

Pagination are not provided by the author/publisher. This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.


The Role Of Interspecies Recombination In The Evolution Of Antibiotic-Resistant Pneumococci, Joshua C. D'Aeth, Mark Pg Van Der Linden, Lesley Mcgee, Herminia De Lencastre, Paul Turner, Jae-Hoon Song, Stephanie W. Lo, Rebecca A. Gladstone, Gps Consortium, Sadia Shakoor Jul 2021

The Role Of Interspecies Recombination In The Evolution Of Antibiotic-Resistant Pneumococci, Joshua C. D'Aeth, Mark Pg Van Der Linden, Lesley Mcgee, Herminia De Lencastre, Paul Turner, Jae-Hoon Song, Stephanie W. Lo, Rebecca A. Gladstone, Gps Consortium, Sadia Shakoor

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae emerge through the modification of core genome loci by interspecies homologous recombinations, and acquisition of gene cassettes. Both occurred in the otherwise contrasting histories of the antibiotic-resistant S. pneumoniae lineages PMEN3 and PMEN9. A single PMEN3 clade spread globally, evading vaccine-induced immunity through frequent serotype switching, whereas locally circulating PMEN9 clades independently gained resistance. Both lineages repeatedly integrated Tn916-type and Tn1207.1-type elements, conferring tetracycline and macrolide resistance, respectively, through homologous recombination importing sequences originating in other species. A species-wide dataset found over 100 instances of such interspecific acquisitions of resistance cassettes and flanking …


Antimicrobial Resistance And Covid-19: Intersections And Implications, Gwenan M. Knight, Rebecca E. Glover, C Finn Mcquaid, Ioana D. Olaru, Karin Gallandat, Quentin J. Leclerc, Naomi M. Fuller, Sam J. Willcocks, Rumina Hasan, Esther Van Kleef, Clare Ir Chandler Feb 2021

Antimicrobial Resistance And Covid-19: Intersections And Implications, Gwenan M. Knight, Rebecca E. Glover, C Finn Mcquaid, Ioana D. Olaru, Karin Gallandat, Quentin J. Leclerc, Naomi M. Fuller, Sam J. Willcocks, Rumina Hasan, Esther Van Kleef, Clare Ir Chandler

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Before the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was among the top priorities for global public health. Already a complex challenge, AMR now needs to be addressed in a changing healthcare landscape. Here, we analyse how changes due to COVID-19 in terms of antimicrobial usage, infection prevention, and health systems affect the emergence, transmission, and burden of AMR. Increased hand hygiene, decreased international travel, and decreased elective hospital procedures may reduce AMR pathogen selection and spread in the short term. However, the opposite effects may be seen if antibiotics are more widely used as standard healthcare pathways break …


Health Systems Readiness For Adopting Mhealth Interventions For Addressing Non-Communicable Diseases In Low- And Middle-Income Countries: A Current Debate, Anam Shahil Feroz, Muhammad Masood Kadir, Sarah Saleem Jan 2018

Health Systems Readiness For Adopting Mhealth Interventions For Addressing Non-Communicable Diseases In Low- And Middle-Income Countries: A Current Debate, Anam Shahil Feroz, Muhammad Masood Kadir, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

In low-and-middle-income countries, epidemiologic transition is taking place very rapidly from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases. NCDs mortality rates are increasing faster and nearly 80% of NCDs deaths occur in LMICs. Existing weak health systems of LMICs are undergoing a devastating human and economic toll as a result of increasing treatment costs and losses to productivity from NCDs. At the same time, the increasing penetration of mobile phone technology and the spread of cellular network and infrastructure have led to the introduction of the mHealth field. While mHealth field offers a great promise to prevent and control non-communicable diseases in …