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Determining the burden of fungal infections in Zimbabwe

Abstract:
Zimbabwe currently faces several healthcare challenges, most notably HIV and associated infections including tuberculosis (TB), malaria and recently outbreaks of cholera, typhoid fever and COVID-19. Fungal infections, which are also a major public health threat, receive considerably less attention. Consequently, there is dearth of data regarding the burden of fungal diseases in the country. We estimated the burden of fungal diseases in Zimbabwe based on published literature and ‘at-risk’ populations (HIV/AIDS patients, survivors of pulmonary TB, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and patients receiving critical care) using previously described methods. Where there was no data for Zimbabwe, regional, or international data was used. Our study revealed that approximately 14.9% of Zimbabweans suffer from fungal infections annually, with 80% having tinea capitis. The annual incidence of cryptococcal meningitis and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in HIV/AIDS were estimated at 41/100,000 and 63/100,000, respectively. The estimated prevalence of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) was 2,739/100,000. The estimated burden of fungal diseases in Zimbabwe is high in comparison to other African countries, highlighting the urgent need for increased awareness and surveillance to improve diagnosis and management.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1038/s41598-021-92605-1

Authors


More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
NDM
Sub department:
Tropical Medicine
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0003-1308-5755


Publisher:
Springer Nature
Journal:
Scientific Reports More from this journal
Volume:
11
Issue:
1
Article number:
13240
Publication date:
2021-06-24
Acceptance date:
2021-06-08
DOI:
EISSN:
2045-2322
Pmid:
34168204


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
1184960
Local pid:
pubs:1184960
Deposit date:
2021-12-21

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