The Allen Mouse Brain Common Coordinate Framework: A 3D Reference Atlas.

Recent large-scale collaborations are generating major surveys of cell types and connections in the mouse brain, collecting large amounts of data across modalities, spatial scales, and brain areas. Successful integration of these data requires a standard 3D reference atlas. Here, we present the Allen Mouse Brain Common Coordinate Framework (CCFv3) as such a resource. We constructed an average template brain at 10 µm voxel resolution by interpolating high resolution in-plane serial two-photon tomography images with 100 µm z-sampling from 1,675 young adult C57BL/6J mice. Then, using multimodal reference data, we parcellated the entire brain directly in 3D, labeling every voxel with a brain structure spanning 43 isocortical areas and their layers, 329 subcortical gray matter structures, 81 fiber tracts, and 8 ventricular structures. CCFv3 can be used to analyze, visualize, and integrate multimodal and multiscale datasets in 3D and is openly accessible (https://atlas.brain-map.org/).

A Suite of Transgenic Driver and Reporter Mouse Lines with Enhanced Brain-Cell-Type Targeting and Functionality.

Modern genetic approaches are powerful in providing access to diverse cell types in the brain and facilitating the study of their function. Here, we report a large set of driver and reporter transgenic mouse lines, including 23 new driver lines targeting a variety of cortical and subcortical cell populations and 26 new reporter lines expressing an array of molecular tools. In particular, we describe the TIGRE2.0 transgenic platform and introduce Cre-dependent reporter lines that enable optical physiology, optogenetics, and sparse labeling of genetically defined cell populations. TIGRE2.0 reporters broke the barrier in transgene expression level of single-copy targeted-insertion transgenesis in a wide range of neuronal types, along with additional advantage of a simplified breeding strategy compared to our first-generation TIGRE lines. These novel transgenic lines greatly expand the repertoire of high-precision genetic tools available to effectively identify, monitor, and manipulate distinct cell types in the mouse brain.

Genetic dissection of the glutamatergic neuron system in cerebral cortex.

Diverse types of glutamatergic pyramidal neurons mediate the myriad processing streams and output channels of the cerebral cortex1,2, yet all derive from neural progenitors of the embryonic dorsal telencephalon3,4. Here we establish genetic strategies and tools for dissecting and fate-mapping subpopulations of pyramidal neurons on the basis of their developmental and molecular programs. We leverage key transcription factors and effector genes to systematically target temporal patterning programs in progenitors and differentiation programs in postmitotic neurons. We generated over a dozen temporally inducible mouse Cre and Flp knock-in driver lines to enable the combinatorial targeting of major progenitor types and projection classes. Combinatorial strategies confer viral access to subsets of pyramidal neurons defined by developmental origin, marker expression, anatomical location and projection targets. These strategies establish an experimental framework for understanding the hierarchical organization and developmental trajectory of subpopulations of pyramidal neurons that assemble cortical processing networks and output channels.

Survey of spiking in the mouse visual system reveals functional hierarchy.

The anatomy of the mammalian visual system, from the retina to the neocortex, is organized hierarchically1. However, direct observation of cellular-level functional interactions across this hierarchy is lacking due to the challenge of simultaneously recording activity across numerous regions. Here we describe a large, open dataset-part of the Allen Brain Observatory2-that surveys spiking from tens of thousands of units in six cortical and two thalamic regions in the brains of mice responding to a battery of visual stimuli. Using cross-correlation analysis, we reveal that the organization of inter-area functional connectivity during visual stimulation mirrors the anatomical hierarchy from the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas3. We find that four classical hierarchical measures-response latency, receptive-field size, phase-locking to drifting gratings and response decay timescale-are all correlated with the hierarchy. Moreover, recordings obtained during a visual task reveal that the correlation between neural activity and behavioural choice also increases along the hierarchy. Our study provides a foundation for understanding coding and signal propagation across hierarchically organized cortical and thalamic visual areas.

Hierarchical organization of cortical and thalamic connectivity.

The mammalian cortex is a laminar structure containing many areas and cell types that are densely interconnected in complex ways, and for which generalizable principles of organization remain mostly unknown. Here we describe a major expansion of the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas resource1, involving around a thousand new tracer experiments in the cortex and its main satellite structure, the thalamus. We used Cre driver lines (mice expressing Cre recombinase) to comprehensively and selectively label brain-wide connections by layer and class of projection neuron. Through observations of axon termination patterns, we have derived a set of generalized anatomical rules to describe corticocortical, thalamocortical and corticothalamic projections. We have built a model to assign connection patterns between areas as either feedforward or feedback, and generated testable predictions of hierarchical positions for individual cortical and thalamic areas and for cortical network modules. Our results show that cell-class-specific connections are organized in a shallow hierarchy within the mouse corticothalamic network.

Molecular characterization of the 2022 Sudan virus disease outbreak in Uganda.

IMPORTANCE: Ebola disease (EBOD) is a public health threat with a high case fatality rate. Most EBOD outbreaks have occurred in remote locations, but the 2013-2016 Western Africa outbreak demonstrated how devastating EBOD can be when it reaches an urban population. Here, the 2022 Sudan virus disease (SVD) outbreak in Mubende District, Uganda, is summarized, and the genetic relatedness of the new variant is evaluated. The Mubende variant exhibited 96% amino acid similarity with historic SUDV sequences from the 1970s and a high degree of conservation throughout the outbreak, which was important for ongoing diagnostics and highly promising for future therapy development. Genetic differences between viruses identified during the Mubende SVD outbreak were linked with epidemiological data to better interpret viral spread and contact tracing chains. This methodology should be used to better integrate discrete epidemiological and sequence data for future viral outbreaks.

Evaluation of malaria outbreak detection methods, Uganda, 2022.

BACKGROUND: Malaria outbreaks are detected by applying the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended thresholds (the less sensitive 75th percentile or mean + 2 standard deviations [2SD] for medium-to high-transmission areas, and the more sensitive cumulative sum [C-SUM] method for low and very low-transmission areas). During 2022, > 50% of districts in Uganda were in an epidemic mode according to the 75th percentile method used, resulting in a need to restrict national response to districts with the highest rates of complicated malaria. The three threshold approaches were evaluated to compare their outbreak-signaling outputs and help identify prioritization approaches and method appropriateness across Uganda. METHODS: The three methods were applied as well as adjusted approaches (85th percentile and C-SUM + 2SD) for all weeks in 2022 for 16 districts with good reporting rates ( ≥ 80%). Districts were selected from regions originally categorized as very low, low, medium, and high transmission; district thresholds were calculated based on 2017-2021 data and re-categorized them for this analysis. RESULTS: Using district-level data to categorize transmission levels resulted in re-categorization of 8/16 districts from their original transmission level categories. In all districts, more outbreak weeks were detected by the 75th percentile than the mean + 2SD method (p < 0.001). For all 9 very low or low-transmission districts, the number of outbreak weeks detected by C-SUM were similar to those detected by the 75th percentile. On adjustment of the 75th percentile method to the 85th percentile, there was no significant difference in the number of outbreak weeks detected for medium and low transmission districts. The number of outbreak weeks detected by C-SUM + 2SD was similar to those detected by the mean + 2SD method for all districts across all transmission intensities. CONCLUSION: District data may be more appropriate than regional data to categorize malaria transmission and choose epidemic threshold approaches. The 75th percentile method, meant for medium- to high-transmission areas, was as sensitive as C-SUM for low- and very low-transmission areas. For medium and high-transmission areas, more outbreak weeks were detected with the 75th percentile than the mean + 2SD method. Using the 75th percentile method for outbreak detection in all areas and the mean + 2SD for prioritization of medium- and high-transmission areas in response may be helpful.

Evaluation of the sentinel yellow fever surveillance system in Uganda, 2017-2022: strengths and weaknesses.

BACKGROUND: Uganda has a sentinel surveillance system in seven high-risk sites to monitor yellow fever (YF) patterns and detect outbreaks. We evaluated the performance of this system from 2017 to 2022. METHODS: We evaluated selected attributes, including timeliness (lags between different critical time points), external completeness (proportion of expected sentinel sites reporting ≥ 1 suspect case in the system annually), and internal completeness (proportion of reports with the minimum required data elements filled), using secondary data in the YF surveillance database from January 2017-July 2022. We conducted key informant interviews with stakeholders at health facility and national level to assess usefulness, flexibility, simplicity, and acceptability of the surveillance system. RESULTS: In total, 3,073 suspected and 15 confirmed YF cases were reported. The median time lag from sample collection to laboratory shipment was 37 days (IQR:21-54). External completeness was 76%; internal completeness was 65%. Stakeholders felt that the surveillance system was simple and acceptable, but were uncertain about flexibility. Most (71%) YF cases in previous outbreaks were detected through the sentinel surveillance system; data were used to inform interventions such as intensified YF vaccination. CONCLUSION: The YF sentinel surveillance system was useful in detecting outbreaks and informing public health action. Delays in case confirmation and incomplete data compromised its overall effectiveness and efficiency.

Individual and household risk factors for Ebola disease among household contacts in Mubende and Kassanda districts, Uganda, 2022.

BACKGROUND: In 2022, an Ebola disease outbreak caused by Sudan virus (SUDV) occurred in Uganda, primarily affecting Mubende and Kassanda districts. We determined risk factors for SUDV infection among household members (HHM) of cases. METHODS: We conducted a case-control and retrospective cohort study in January 2023. Cases were RT-PCR-confirmed SUDV infection in residents of Mubende or Kassanda districts during the outbreak. Case-households housed a symptomatic, primary case-patient for ≥ 24 h and had ≥ 1 secondary case-patient with onset < 2 weeks after their last exposure to the primary case-patient. Control households housed a case-patient and other HHM but no secondary cases. A risk factor questionnaire was administered to the primary case-patient or another adult who lived at home while the primary case-patient was ill. We conducted a retrospective cohort study among case-household members and categorized their interactions with primary case-patients during their illnesses as none, minimal, indirect, and direct contact. We conducted logistic regression to explore associations between exposures and case-household status, and Poisson regression to identify risk factors for SUDV infection among HHM. RESULTS: Case- and control-households had similar median sizes. Among 19 case-households and 51 control households, primary case-patient death (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj] = 7.6, 95% CI 1.4-41) and ≥ 2 household bedrooms (ORadj=0.19, 95% CI 0.056-0.71) were associated with case-household status. In the cohort of 76 case-HHM, 44 (58%) were tested for SUDV < 2 weeks from their last contact with the primary case-patient; 29 (38%) were positive. Being aged ≥ 18 years (adjusted risk ratio [aRRadj] = 1.9, 95%CI: 1.01-3.7) and having direct or indirect contact with the primary case-patient (aRRadj=3.2, 95%CI: 1.1-9.7) compared to minimal or no contact increased risk of Sudan virus disease (SVD). Access to a handwashing facility decreased risk (aRRadj=0.52, 95%CI: 0.31-0.88). CONCLUSION: Direct contact, particularly providing nursing care for and sharing sleeping space with SVD patients, increased infection risk among HHM. Risk assessments during contact tracing may provide evidence to justify closer monitoring of some HHM. Health messaging should highlight the risk of sharing sleeping spaces and providing nursing care for persons with Ebola disease symptoms and emphasize hand hygiene to aid early case identification and reduce transmission.

Understanding the delay in identifying Sudan Virus Disease: gaps in integrated disease surveillance and response and community-based surveillance to detect viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in Uganda, September 2022.

BACKGROUND: Early detection of outbreaks requires robust surveillance and reporting at both community and health facility levels. Uganda implements Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) for priority diseases and uses the national District Health Information System (DHIS2) for reporting. However, investigations after the first case in the 2022 Uganda Sudan virus outbreak was confirmed on September 20, 2022 revealed many community deaths among persons with Ebola-like symptoms as far back as August. Most had sought care at private facilities. We explored possible gaps in surveillance that may have resulted in late detection of the Sudan virus disease (SVD) outbreak in Uganda. METHODS: Using a standardized tool, we evaluated core surveillance capacities at public and private health facilities at the hospital level and below in three sub-counties reporting the earliest SVD cases in the outbreak. Key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with 12 purposively-selected participants from the district local government. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with community members from six villages where early probable SVD cases were identified. KIIs and FGDs focused on experiences with SVD and Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) surveillance in the district. Thematic data analysis was used for qualitative data. RESULTS: Forty-six (85%) of 54 health facilities surveyed were privately-owned, among which 42 (91%) did not report to DHIS2 and 39 (85%) had no health worker trained on IDSR; both metrics were 100% in the eight public facilities. Weak community-based surveillance, poor private facility engagement, low suspicion index for VHF among health workers, inability of facilities to analyze and utilize surveillance data, lack of knowledge about to whom to report, funding constraints for surveillance activities, lack of IDSR training, and lack of all-cause mortality surveillance were identified as gaps potentially contributing to delayed outbreak detection. CONCLUSION: Both systemic and knowledge-related gaps in IDSR surveillance in SVD-affected districts contributed to the delayed detection of the 2022 Uganda SVD outbreak. Targeted interventions to address these gaps in both public and private facilities across Uganda could help avert similar situations in the future.

Cost effectiveness and decision analysis for national airport screening options to reduce risk of COVID-19 introduction in Uganda, 2020.

INTRODUCTION: Early during the COVID-19 outbreak, various approaches were utilized to prevent COVID-19 introductions from incoming airport travellers. However, the costs and effectiveness of airport-specific interventions have not been evaluated. METHODS: We evaluated policy options for COVID-19-specific interventions at Entebbe International Airport for costs and impact on COVID-19 case counts, we took the government payer perspective. Policy options included; (1)no screening, testing, or mandatory quarantine for any incoming traveller; (2)mandatory symptom screening for all incoming travellers with RT-PCR testing only for the symptomatic and isolation of positives; and (3)mandatory 14-day quarantine and one-time testing for all, with 10-day isolation of persons testing positive. We calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) in US$ per additional case averted. RESULTS: Expected costs per incoming traveller were $0 (Option 1), $19 (Option 2), and $766 (Option 3). ICERs per case averted were $257 for Option 2 (which averted 4,948 cases), and $10,139 for Option 3 (which averted 5,097 cases) compared with Option I. Two-week costs were $0 for Option 1, $1,271,431 Option 2, and $51,684,999 Option 3. The per-case ICER decreased with increase in prevalence. The cost-effectiveness of our interventions was modestly sensitive to the prevalence of COVID-19, diagnostic test sensitivity, and testing costs. CONCLUSION: Screening all incoming travellers, testing symptomatic persons, and isolating positives (Option 2) was the most cost-effective option. A higher COVID-19 prevalence among incoming travellers increased cost-effectiveness of airport-specific interventions. This model could be used to evaluate prevention options at the airport for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases with similar requirements for control.

Shared and distinct transcriptomic cell types across neocortical areas.

The neocortex contains a multitude of cell types that are segregated into layers and functionally distinct areas. To investigate the diversity of cell types across the mouse neocortex, here we analysed 23,822 cells from two areas at distant poles of the mouse neocortex: the primary visual cortex and the anterior lateral motor cortex. We define 133 transcriptomic cell types by deep, single-cell RNA sequencing. Nearly all types of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid)-containing neurons are shared across both areas, whereas most types of glutamatergic neurons were found in one of the two areas. By combining single-cell RNA sequencing and retrograde labelling, we match transcriptomic types of glutamatergic neurons to their long-range projection specificity. Our study establishes a combined transcriptomic and projectional taxonomy of cortical cell types from functionally distinct areas of the adult mouse cortex.

Rapid antiretroviral therapy initiation following rollout of point-of-care early infant diagnosis testing, Uganda, 2018-2021.

BACKGROUND: Uganda Ministry of Health (MOH) recommends a first HIV DNA-PCR test at 4-6 weeks for early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV-exposed infants (HEI) and immediate return of results. WHO recommends initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) ≤ 7 days from HIV diagnosis. In 2019, MOH introduced point-of-care (POC) whole-blood EID testing in 33 health facilities and scaled up to 130 facilities in 2020. We assessed results turnaround time and ART linkage pre-POC and during POC testing. METHODS: We evaluated EID register data for HEI at 10 health facilities with POC and EID testing volume of ≥ 12 infants/month from 2018 to 2021. We abstracted data for 12 months before and after POC testing rollout and compared time to sample collection, results receipt, and ART initiation between periods using medians, Wilcoxon, and log-rank tests. RESULTS: Data for 4.004 HEI were abstracted, of which 1.685 (42%) were from the pre-POC period and 2.319 (58%) were from the period during POC; 3.773 (94%) had a first EID test (pre-POC: 1.649 [44%]; during POC: 2.124 [56%]). Median age at sample collection was 44 (IQR 38-51) days pre-POC and 42 (IQR 33-50) days during POC (p < 0.001). Among 3.773 HEI tested, 3.678 (97%) had test results. HIV-positive infants' (n = 69) median age at sample collection was 94 (IQR 43-124) days pre-POC and 125 (IQR 74-206) days during POC (p = 0.04). HIV positivity rate was 1.6% (27/1.617) pre-POC and 2.0% (42/2.061) during POC (p = 0.43). For all infants, median days from sample collection to results receipt by infants' caregivers was 28 (IQR 14-52) pre-POC and 1 (IQR 0-25) during POC (p < 0.001); among HIV-positive infants, median days were 23 (IQR 7-30) pre-POC and 0 (0-3) during POC (p < 0.001). Pre-POC, 4% (1/23) HIV-positive infants started ART on the sample collection day compared to 33% (12/37) during POC (p < 0.001); ART linkage ≤ 7 days from HIV diagnosis was 74% (17/23) pre-POC and 95% (35/37) during POC (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: POC testing improved EID results turnaround time and ART initiation for HIV-positive infants. While POC testing expansion could further improve ART linkage and loss to follow-up, there is need to explore barriers around same-day ART initiation for infants receiving POC testing.

Task-dependent extraction of information from videos of iridescent and glossy samples.

We present an exploratory study on iridescence that revealed systematic differences in the perceptual clustering of glossy and iridescent samples that was driven by instructions to focus on either the material or the color properties of the samples. Participants' similarity ratings of pairs of video stimuli, showing the samples from multiple views, were analyzed using multidimensional scaling (MDS), and differences between the MDS solutions for the two tasks were consistent with flexible weighting of information from different views of the samples. These findings point to ecological implications for how viewers perceive and interact with the color-changing properties of iridescent objects.

Community dialogue meetings among district leaders improved their willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines in Western Uganda, May 2021.

BACKGROUND: Widespread COVID-19 vaccine uptake can facilitate epidemic control. A February 2021 study in Uganda suggested that public vaccine uptake would follow uptake among leaders. In May 2021, Baylor Uganda led community dialogue meetings with district leaders from Western Uganda to promote vaccine uptake. We assessed the effect of these meetings on the leaders' COVID-19 risk perception, vaccine concerns, perception of vaccine benefits and access, and willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine. METHODS: All departmental district leaders in the 17 districts in Western Uganda, were invited to the meetings, which lasted approximately four hours. Printed reference materials about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines were provided to attendees at the start of the meetings. The same topics were discussed in all meetings. Before and after the meetings, leaders completed self-administered questionnaires with questions on a five-point Likert Scale about risk perception, vaccine concerns, perceived vaccine benefits, vaccine access, and willingness to receive the vaccine. We analyzed the findings using Wilcoxon's signed-rank test. RESULTS: Among 268 attendees, 164 (61%) completed the pre- and post-meeting questionnaires, 56 (21%) declined to complete the questionnaires due to time constraints and 48 (18%) were already vaccinated. Among the 164, the median COVID-19 risk perception scores changed from 3 (neutral) pre-meeting to 5 (strong agreement with being at high risk) post-meeting (p < 0.001). Vaccine concern scores reduced, with medians changing from 4 (worried about vaccine side effects) pre-meeting to 2 (not worried) post-meeting (p < 0.001). Median scores regarding perceived COVID-19 vaccine benefits changed from 3 (neutral) pre-meeting to 5 (very beneficial) post-meeting (p < 0.001). The median scores for perceived vaccine access increased from 3 (neutral) pre-meeting to 5 (very accessible) post-meeting (p < 0.001). The median scores for willingness to receive the vaccine changed from 3 (neutral) pre-meeting to 5 (strong willingness) post-meeting (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 dialogue meetings led to district leaders' increased risk perception, reduced concerns, and improvement in perceived vaccine benefits, vaccine access, and willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. These could potentially influence public vaccine uptake if leaders are vaccinated publicly as a result. Broader use of such meetings with leaders could increase vaccine uptake among themselves and the community.

Antibias Efforts in United States Maternity Care: A Scoping Review of the Publicly Funded Health Equity Intervention Pipeline.

Antibias training is increasingly identified as a strategy to reduce maternal health disparities. Evidence to guide this work is limited. We conducted a community-guided scoping review to characterize new antibias research. Four of 508 projects met our criteria: US-based, publicly funded, initiated from January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2022, and featuring an intervention to reduce bias or racism in maternal health care providers. Training was embedded in multicomponent interventions in 3 projects, limiting its evaluation as a stand-alone intervention. Major public funders have sponsored few projects to advance antibias training research in maternal health. More support is needed to develop a rigorous and scalable evidence base.

Readiness of health facilities to manage individuals infected with COVID-19, Uganda, June 2021.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed the capacity of health facilities globally, emphasizing the need for readiness to respond to rapid increases in cases. The first wave of COVID-19 in Uganda peaked in late 2020 and demonstrated challenges with facility readiness to manage cases. The second wave began in May 2021. In June 2021, we assessed the readiness of health facilities in Uganda to manage the second wave of COVID-19. METHODS: Referral hospitals managed severe COVID-19 patients, while lower-level health facilities screened, isolated, and managed mild cases. We assessed 17 of 20 referral hospitals in Uganda and 71 of 3,107 lower-level health facilities, selected using multistage sampling. We interviewed health facility heads in person about case management, coordination and communication and reporting, and preparation for the surge of COVID-19 during first and the start of the second waves of COVID-19, inspected COVID-19 treatment units (CTUs) and other service delivery points. We used an observational checklist to evaluate capacity in infection prevention, medicines, personal protective equipment (PPE), and CTU surge capacity. We used the "ReadyScore" criteria to classify readiness levels as > 80% ('ready'), 40-80% ('work to do'), and < 40% ('not ready') and tailored the assessments to the health facility level. Scores for the lower-level health facilities were weighted to approximate representativeness for their health facility type in Uganda. RESULTS: The median (interquartile range (IQR)) readiness scores were: 39% (IQR: 30, 51%) for all health facilities, 63% (IQR: 56, 75%) for referral hospitals, and 32% (IQR: 24, 37%) for lower-level facilities. Of 17 referral facilities, two (12%) were 'ready' and 15 (88%) were in the "work to do" category. Fourteen (82%) had an inadequate supply of medicines, 12 (71%) lacked adequate supply of oxygen, and 11 (65%) lacked space to expand their CTU. Fifty-five (77%) lower-level health facilities were "not ready," and 16 (23%) were in the "work to do" category. Seventy (99%) lower-level health facilities lacked medicines, 65 (92%) lacked PPE, and 53 (73%) lacked an emergency plan for COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Few health facilities were ready to manage the second wave of COVID-19 in Uganda during June 2021. Significant gaps existed for essential medicines, PPE, oxygen, and space to expand CTUs. The Uganda Ministry of Health utilized our findings to set up additional COVID-19 wards in hospitals and deliver medicines and PPE to referral hospitals. Adequate readiness for future waves of COVID-19 requires additional support and action in Uganda.

Highlights from the Era of Open Source Web-Based Tools.

High digital connectivity and a focus on reproducibility are contributing to an open science revolution in neuroscience. Repositories and platforms have emerged across the whole spectrum of subdisciplines, paving the way for a paradigm shift in the way we share, analyze, and reuse vast amounts of data collected across many laboratories. Here, we describe how open access web-based tools are changing the landscape and culture of neuroscience, highlighting six free resources that span subdisciplines from behavior to whole-brain mapping, circuits, neurons, and gene variants.

SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections among US Embassy Staff Members, Uganda, May-June 2021.

The SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant emerged shortly after COVID-19 vaccines became available in 2021. We describe SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections in a highly vaccinated, well-monitored US Embassy community in Kampala, Uganda. Defining breakthrough infection rates in highly vaccinated populations can help determine public health messaging, guidance, and policy globally.

Using Population Mobility Patterns to Adapt COVID-19 Response Strategies in 3 East Africa Countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic spread between neighboring countries through land, water, and air travel. Since May 2020, ministries of health for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Uganda have sought to clarify population movement patterns to improve their disease surveillance and pandemic response efforts. Ministry of Health-led teams completed focus group discussions with participatory mapping using country-adapted Population Connectivity Across Borders toolkits. They analyzed the qualitative and spatial data to prioritize locations for enhanced COVID-19 surveillance, community outreach, and cross-border collaboration. Each country employed varying toolkit strategies, but all countries applied the results to adapt their national and binational communicable disease response strategies during the pandemic, although the Democratic Republic of the Congo used only the raw data rather than generating datasets and digitized products. This 3-country comparison highlights how governments create preparedness and response strategies adapted to their unique sociocultural and cross-border dynamics to strengthen global health security.