METHODS/FINDINGS: Urine and faecal samples were collected from 400 children. Urine samples were examined using filtration technique for the presence of Schistosoma haematobium eggs while faecal samples were examined using formalin-ether concentration and Kato Katz techniques for the presence of S. mansoni. Demographic, socioeconomic and environmental information were collected via a validated questionnaire. Overall, 31.8% of the participants were found to be positive for schistosomiasis; 23.8% were infected with S. haematobium and 9.3% were infected with S. mansoni. Moreover, 39.5% of the participants were anaemic whereas 9.5% had hepatosplenomegaly. The prevalence of schistosomiasis was significantly higher among children aged >10 years compared to those aged ≤ 10 years (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis confirmed that presence of other infected family member (P<0.001), low household monthly income (P = 0.003), using unsafe sources for drinking water (P = 0.003), living nearby stream/spring (P = 0.006) and living nearby pool/pond (P = 0.002) were the key factors significantly associated with schistosomiasis among these children.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study reveals that schistosomiasis is still highly prevalent in Yemen. These findings support an urgent need to start an integrated, targeted and effective schistosomiasis control programme with a mission to move towards the elimination phase. Besides periodic drug distribution, health education and community mobilisation, provision of clean and safe drinking water, introduction of proper sanitation are imperative among these communities in order to curtail the transmission and morbidity caused by schistosomiasis. Screening and treating other infected family members should also be adopted by the public health authorities in combating this infection in these communities.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 250 households from ten rural districts in Yemen. Overall, 400 children were screened for urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis. Moreover, parents were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire to collect information about the demographic and socioeconomic information and their KAP concerning schistosomiasis.
RESULTS: A total of 127 (31.8%) children were found to be excreting schistosome eggs in either their urine or faeces (22.5% S. haematobium and 8.0% S. mansoni). Although 92.4% of the respondents had heard about schistosomiasis, 49.8%, 68.0% and 47.2% had knowledge concerning the transmission, signs and symptoms, and prevention, respectively. In addition, 77.1% considered schistosomiasis as harmful while 48.5% believed that schistosomiasis could be prevented, albeit their practices to prevent infections were still inadequate. Significant associations between the KAP and age, education, employment status and household monthly income were reported (P Yemen was inadequate, and that this could be a challenging obstacle to the elimination of schistosomiasis in these communities. Besides the current mass drug administration, school and community-based health education regarding schistosomiasis is imperative among these communities to significantly reduce the transmission and morbidity of schistosomiasis.
METHODS: We conducted a nation-wide cross-sectional survey among the general population in Yemen, a low-income conflict country. Participants from all provinces in Yemen were included in the study. We evaluated factors that influence agreement to accept a COVID-19 vaccine and any potential correlation between vaccine hesitancy and lack of access to vaccines.
RESULTS: Overall, 50.1% of the 5329 respondents agreed to accept a COVID-19 vaccine. Only 39.9% of participants agreed that they had access to a COVID-19 vaccine, with females indicating lower access than males. Potential determinants of vaccine acceptance included being male, updating self on the development of vaccines against COVID-19, opinion about severity of COVID-19, anxiety about contracting COVID-19, concerns about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, and lack of access to vaccines.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the immediate threat in Yemen toward achieving population immunity is the severe shortage and lack of access to vaccines, rather than vaccine hesitancy.
METHODS AND FINDINGS: A search using Ovid MEDLINE and Embase was initially conducted to identify studies on severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria that included information on treatment delay, such as fever duration (inception to 22nd September 2017). Studies identified included 5 case-control and 8 other observational clinical studies of SM and UM cases. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and all studies were ranked as 'Good', scoring ≥7/10. Individual-patient data (IPD) were pooled from 13 studies of 3,989 (94.1% aged <15 years) SM patients and 5,780 (79.6% aged <15 years) UM cases in Benin, Malaysia, Mozambique, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda, Yemen, and Zambia. Definitions of SM were standardised across studies to compare treatment delay in patients with UM and different SM phenotypes using age-adjusted mixed-effects regression. The odds of any SM phenotype were significantly higher in children with longer delays between initial symptoms and arrival at the health facility (odds ratio [OR] = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.07-1.64 for a delay of >24 hours versus ≤24 hours; p = 0.009). Reported illness duration was a strong predictor of presenting with severe malarial anaemia (SMA) in children, with an OR of 2.79 (95% CI:1.92-4.06; p < 0.001) for a delay of 2-3 days and 5.46 (95% CI: 3.49-8.53; p < 0.001) for a delay of >7 days, compared with receiving treatment within 24 hours from symptom onset. We estimate that 42.8% of childhood SMA cases and 48.5% of adult SMA cases in the study areas would have been averted if all individuals were able to access treatment within the first day of symptom onset, if the association is fully causal. In studies specifically recording onset of nonsevere symptoms, long treatment delay was moderately associated with other SM phenotypes (OR [95% CI] >3 to ≤4 days versus ≤24 hours: cerebral malaria [CM] = 2.42 [1.24-4.72], p = 0.01; respiratory distress syndrome [RDS] = 4.09 [1.70-9.82], p = 0.002). In addition to unmeasured confounding, which is commonly present in observational studies, a key limitation is that many severe cases and deaths occur outside healthcare facilities in endemic countries, where the effect of delayed or no treatment is difficult to quantify.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results quantify the relationship between rapid access to treatment and reduced risk of severe disease, which was particularly strong for SMA. There was some evidence to suggest that progression to other severe phenotypes may also be prevented by prompt treatment, though the association was not as strong, which may be explained by potential selection bias, sample size issues, or a difference in underlying pathology. These findings may help assess the impact of interventions that improve access to treatment.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study was conducted to determine the molecular characterization of Leishmania species isolated from human cutaneous lesions in Yemen. Dermal scrapes were collected and examined for Leishmania amastigotes using the Giemsa staining technique. Amplification of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1(ITS-1) gene was carried out using nested PCR and subsequent sequencing. The sequences from Leishmania isolates were subjected to phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony methods. The trees identified Leishmania tropica from 16 isolates which were represented by two sequence types.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The predominance of the anthroponotic species (i.e. L. tropica) indicates the probability of anthroponotic transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Yemen. These findings will help public health authorities to build an effective control strategy taking into consideration person-to-person transmission as the main dynamic of transmission of CL.
METHODS: A total of 359 pregnant women living in the rural communities of Taiz governorate were enrolled in this study by house-to-house visits. Data were collected using a pre-designed questionnaire, and blood samples were collected and tested for the detection of anti- T. gondii IgM and IgG antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
RESULTS: The prevalence of T. gondii infection among pregnant women in this study was 46.2% (166/359). Bivariate analysis identified the age of ≥ 30 years (odds ratio [OR] = 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-2.65, P = 0.019) and unimproved water sources (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.10-4.55, P = 0.023) as factors associated with T. gondii infection among pregnant women. The multivariable analysis, however, identified unimproved water sources as an independent risk factor (adjusted OR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.16-5.0, P = 0.018) associated with T. gondii infection among pregnant women.
CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women in the rural communities of Taiz, Yemen are at high risk of contracting T. gondii infection. Unimproved water sources (wells, water streams and water tanks) are significantly associated with T. gondii infection and should be considered in prevention and control strategies, especially among pregnant women.
METHODS: Between January 2014 and December 2016, we enrolled 135 patients with MDR-TB from drug resistance programmes at four major TB centres in Yemen for this prospective study. After exclusion of 20 patients, treatment outcomes were reported for 115 patients who attended a series of follow-ups.
RESULTS: A total of 115 patients with MDR-TB were analysed from the four main TB centres in Yemen. Most patients (35.2%) were from the Aden TB centre. A success rate of 77.4% was reported for TB treatment. Of the 115 patients, 69.6% were resistant to two drugs, 18.3% were resistant to three drugs, and 12.2% were resistant to four drugs. During the intensive phase of treatment, 19 patients (16.5%) reported one or more adverse events. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that a baseline body weight of ≤40 kg [p = 0.016; adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 25.09], comorbidity (p = 0.049; AOR = 4.73), baseline lung cavities (p = 0.004; AOR = 15.32), and positive culture at the end of the intensive phase (p = 0.009; AOR = 8.83) were associated with the unsuccessful treatment outcomes in drug-resistant TB patients.
CONCLUSIONS: The success rate achieved after treatment was below the levels established by the WHO End TB Strategy (90%) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (80%). Identification of risk factors associated with MDR-TB in Yemen is essential because it allows health workers to identify high-risk patients, especially in the absence of a second-line treatment or a laboratory diagnostic method. The Yemen National Tuberculosis Control Program should formulate new strategies for early detection of MDR-TB and invest in new programmes for MDR-TB management.
Aims: To assess risk factors related to low birth weight babies in Sana'a, Yemen.
Methods: We conducted an unmatched case-control study of 252 women who came for delivery at Al Thawra Hospital, Sana'a, Yemen, between August and October 2016.
Results: Significant risk factors for low birth weight were: birth interval < 2 years; history of pre-eclampsia during current pregnancy; preterm gestational age < 37 weeks; and khat chewing or smoking during pregnancy. After controlling for all the confounders, only birth interval < 2 years was significantly associated with low birth weight.
Conclusion: Shorter birth interval is an important risk factor for low birth weight; therefore, improving maternal awareness of this should be emphasized during postnatal follow-up.
METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in four major cities in Yemen. The constructed questionnaire consisted of four main sections (sociodemographic data, misinformation, perceptions (perceived susceptibility, severity, and worry), and vaccination acceptance evaluation). Subject recruitment and data collection were conducted online utilizing social websites and using the snowball sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using SPSS version 27.
RESULTS: The total number of respondents was 484. Over 60% of them were males and had a university education. More than half had less than 100$ monthly income and were khat chewers, while only 18% were smokers. Misinformation prevalence ranged from 8.9% to 38.9%, depending on the statement being asked. Men, university education, higher income, employment, and living in urban areas were associated with a lower misinformation level (p <0.05). Statistically significant association (p <0.05) between university education, living in urban areas, and being employed with perceived susceptibility were observed. The acceptance rate was 61.2% for free vaccines, but it decreased to 43% if they had to purchase it. Females, respondents with lower monthly income, and those who believed that pharmaceutical companies made the virus for financial gains were more likely to reject the vaccination (p <0.05).
CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the acceptance rate to take a vaccine was suboptimal and significantly affected by gender, misinformation, cost, and income. Furthermore, being female, non-university educated, low-income, and living in rural areas were associated with higher susceptibility to misinformation about COVID-19. These findings show a clear link between misinformation susceptibility and willingness to vaccinate. Focused awareness campaigns to decrease misinformation and emphasize the vaccination's safety and efficacy might be fundamental before initiating any mass vaccination in Yemen.