Histoplasma seropositivity and environmental risk factors for exposure in a general population in Upper River Region, The Gambia: A cross-sectional study.

Robust surveillance of Histoplasma species is warranted in endemic regions, including investigation of community-level transmission dynamics. This cross-sectional study explored anti-Histoplasma antibody seroprevalence and risk factors for exposure in a general population in Upper River Region (URR), The Gambia. Study participants were recruited (December 2022-March 2023) by random household sampling across 12 Enumeration Areas (EAs) of URR. A questionnaire and clinical examination were performed; exploring demographic, clinical and environmental risk factors for Histoplasma exposure. One venous blood sample per participant was subject to IMMY Latex Agglutination Histoplasma test to determine presence of a recent IgM response to Histoplasma. Seropositivity risk factors were explored by multi-level, multivariable logistic regression analysis. The study population (n = 298) aged 5-83 years, demonstrated a positively skewed age distribution and comprised 55.4% females. An apparent seroprevalence of 18.8% (n = 56/298, 95% CI 14.5-23.7%) was measured using the LAT. A multivariable model demonstrated increased odds of Histoplasma seropositivity amongst female participants (OR = 2.41 95% CI 1.14-5.10); and participants reporting involvement in animal manure management (OR = 4.21 95% CI 1.38-12.90), and management of domestic animals inside the compound at night during the dry season (OR = 10.72 95% CI 2.02-56.83). Increasing age (OR = 0.96 95% CI 0.93-0.98) was associated with decreased odds of seropositivity. Clustering at EA level was responsible for 17.2% of seropositivity variance. The study indicates frequent recent Histoplasma exposure and presents plausible demographic and environmental risk factors for seropositivity. Histoplasma spp. characterisation at this human-animal-environment interface is warranted, to determine public health implications of environmental reservoirs in The Gambia. The study was supported by Wellcome Trust (206,638/Z/17/Z to CES) and a University of Liverpool-funded PhD studentship (to TRC).

Successful adaptation of twinning concept for global neurosurgery collaborations-a validation study.

INTRODUCTION: Globally, many regions have an urgent, unmet need of neurosurgical care. A multi-step neurosurgical twinning technique, International Neurosurgical Twinning Modeled for Africa (INTIMA), was proved to be successful during a previous mission to Neurosurgical Unit, Enugu, Nigeria. The Swedish African Neurosurgical Collaboration (SANC) performed a developmental mission together with the local neurosurgical unit in The Gambia, adopting the INTIMA model. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team visited for a 2-week collaborative mission at the Neurosurgical Department of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul, The Gambia. The mission followed the data of neurosurgical operations during and after the mission as well as about the operations 3 months prior to and after the mission was collected. RESULTS: During the mission, a total of 22 operations was carried out, the most common being degenerative spinal conditions (n = 9). In the 3 months following the mission, 43 operations were performed compared to 24 during the 3 months leading up to the mission. The complexity of the performed procedures increased after the mission. An operating microscope (Möller-Wedel) was donated and installed and the neurosurgeons on site underwent training in microneurosurgery. The surgical nurses, nurses at the postoperative ward, and the physiotherapists underwent training. A biomedical engineer serviced multiple appliances and devices improving the patient care on site while training local technicians. CONCLUSION: This study validated the use of the INTIMA model previously described in a mission by Swedish African Neurosurgical Collaboration (SANC). The model is sustainable and produces notable results. The core strength of the model is in the multidisciplinary team securing all the aspects and steps of the neurosurgical care. Installation of an operating microscope opened for further microsurgical possibilities, improving the neurosurgical care in The Gambia.

History and Current State of Neurosurgery in the Gambia.

BACKGROUND: Despite global efforts to improve surgical care access, many low- and middle-income countries, especially in neurosurgery, face significant shortages. The Gambia exemplifies this, with only 1 fully qualified neurosurgeon serving its population of 2.5 million people. This scarcity results in higher morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: We aim to document the history and current state of neurosurgery in the Gambia to raise awareness and promote neurosurgery development. METHODS: The study reviews the Gambia's health care system, infrastructure, neurosurgical history, workforce, disease burden, and progress, with information derived from reference sources as well as author experience and interviews with key partners in Gambian health care. RESULTS: Neurosurgery in the Gambia began in the 1970s, facing constraints due to competing health care demands. Significant progress occurred much later in the early 2010s, marked by the initiation of Banjul Neuro Missions and the establishment of a dedicated neurosurgery unit. We report significant progress with neurosurgical interventions in the past few years showcasing the unit's dedication to advancing neurosurgical care in the Gambia. However, challenges persist, including a lack of trained neurosurgeons, equipment shortages such as ventilators and diagnostic imaging. Financial barriers for patients, particularly related to the costs of computer tomography scans, pose significant hurdles, impacting the timely diagnosis and intervention for neurological conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Neurosurgery in the Gambia is progressing, but challenges like equipment scarcity hinder further progress. We emphasize the need for addressing cost barriers, improving infrastructure, and fostering research. Engaging the government and international collaborations are vital for sustained development in Gambian neurosurgery.

Doing 'reciprocity work': The role of fieldworkers in a mass drug administration trial in the Gambia.

In their roles as nurses, data collectors, or other, fieldworkers undertake myriad tasks working intimately with and on the bodies of others - a type of work called 'body work'. This work further includes the micro-political relations shaping these interactions, and studies have shown the importance of these relationships in the success of clinical trials, particularly in the Gambia. This study seeks to expand the concept of body work to understand the roles and interactions of fieldworkers within the trial community, and the effect on a mass drug administration (MDA) clinical trial. We conducted a mixed-methods social science study alongside the MDA in 2018-2019, including in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and semi-structured observations with the population involved (and not) in the MDA, as well as the MRC fieldworkers. We found that fieldworkers participated in what we call 'reciprocity work'. Through their regular tasks and interactions, they necessarily showed respect and established trust in a way that formed and contributed to reciprocal relationships, the results of which impacted the trial and individuals' autonomy in the decision-making process. Understanding the role of fieldworkers and their reciprocity work is a vital component in comprehending how research ethics are made and conducted in global health research.

The role of social cohesion in the implementation and coverage of a mass drug administration trial for malaria control in the Gambia: An in-depth comparison of two intervention villages.

Mass drug administration (MDA), used increasingly in malaria eradication efforts, involves administering medication to an entire target population regardless of individual-level disease status. This strategy requires high levels of coverage and compliance. Previous studies have assessed individual and structural factors affecting MDA coverage, but there is a need to better understand the influence and expressions of community dynamics and social structures, such as social cohesion. We conducted a social science study concurrent to an MDA clinical trial for malaria control in The Gambia; ethnographic research was conducted prior to, throughout, and between MDA implementation July-November 2018, January-March 2019, and July-November 2019. We assessed how social cohesion, as expressed by the trial population, affects trial coverage through an in-depth ethnographic analysis of two trial villages, using observations, interviews, and focus group discussions with community members who took the trial medication and those who did not. We found that the villages had unique expressions of social cohesion. This was reflected through community participation in the trial implementation and may have affected coverage and compliance. The village with low coverage expressed a form of social cohesion where members followed advice to participate through a hierarchal system but did not actively participate in the MDA or its implementation. The village with high coverage expressed social cohesion as more participatory: individuals took the directive to participate but contextualized the trial implementation to their needs and wants. We analyze these different expressions of social cohesion and the important differences they make for the coverage and compliance levels reached in the two different villages.

The Community Lab of Ideas for Health: Community-Based Transdisciplinary Solutions in a Malaria Elimination Trial in The Gambia.

Background: Community participation in global health interventions may improve outcomes and solve complex health issues. Although numerous community participatory approaches have been developed and introduced, there has been little focus on "how" and "who" to involve in the implementation of community-based clinical trials where unequal distribution of power between implementers and communities pre-exists. Addressing how to achieve community-based solutions in a malaria elimination trial in The Gambia, we developed the Community Lab of Ideas for Health (CLIH): a participatory approach that enabled communities to shape trial implementation. Methods: As part of transdisciplinary research, we conducted qualitative research with in-depth interviews, discussions, and observations in 17 villages in the North Bank Region of The Gambia between March 2016 and December 2017. We designed an iterative research process involving ethnography, stakeholder-analysis, participatory-discussions, and qualitative monitoring and evaluation, whereby each step guided the next. We drew upon ethnographic results and stakeholder-analysis to identify key-informants who became participants in study design and implementation. The participatory-discussions provided a co-creative space for sharing community-centric ideas to tackle trial implementation challenges. The proposed strategies for trial implementation were continuously refined and improved through our monitoring and evaluation. Results: The CLIH incorporated communities' insights, to co-create tailored trial implementation strategies including: village health workers prescribing and distributing antimalarial treatments; "compounds" as community-accepted treatment units; medicine distribution following compound micro-politics; and appropriate modes of health message delivery. Throughout the iterative research process, the researchers and communities set the common goal, namely to curtail the medical poverty trap by reducing malaria transmission and the burden thereof. This innovative collaborative process built trust among stakeholders and fully engaged researchers and communities in co-creation and co-implementation of the trial. Discussion: The CLIH approach succeeded in touching the local realities by incorporating a spectrum of perspectives from community-members and discerning project-derived knowledge from local-knowledge. This process allowed us to co-develop locally-oriented solutions and ultimately to co-establish an intervention structure that community-members were ready and willing to use, which resulted in high uptake of the intervention (92% adherence to treatment). Successfully, the CLIH contributed in bridging research and implementation.