T3 ONE HEALTH MALAWI Research Papers Covid 19


T3 ONE HEALTH MALAWI Research Papers Covid 19

Covid 19

2022

  • TITLE - You need to dispose of them somewhere safe‚ Covid-19, masks, and the pit latrine in Malawi and South Africa
  • AUTHOR - Marc Kalina,Jonathan Kwangulero,Fathima Ali,Elizabeth Tilley
  • JOURNAL - PLoS ONE
  • ABSTRACT - The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has generated an immense amount of potentially infectious waste, primarily face masks, which require rapid and sanitary disposal in order to mitigate the spread of the disease. Yet, within Africa, large segments of the population lack access to reliable municipal solid waste management (SWM) services, both complicating the disposal of hazardous waste, and public health efforts. Drawing on extensive qualitative fieldwork, including 96 semi-structured interviews, across four different low-income communities in Blantyre, Malawi and Durban, South Africa, the purpose of this article is to respond to a qualitative gap on mask disposal behaviours, particularly from within low-income and African contexts. Specifically, our purpose was to understand what behaviours have arisen over the past year, across the two disparate national contexts, and how they have been influenced by individual risk perceptions, established traditional practice, state communication, and other media sources. Findings suggest that the wearing of cloth masks simplifies disposal, as cloth masks can (with washing) be reused continuously. However, in communities where disposable masks are more prevalent, primarily within Blantyre, the pit latrine had been adopted as the most common space for ‚Äòsafe‚Äô disposal for a used mask. We argue that this is not a new behaviour, however, and that the pit latrine was already an essential part of many low-income households SWM systems, and that within the Global South, the pit latrine fulfils a valuable and uncounted solid waste management function, in addition to its sanitation role.
  • ISSUE - 2
  • VOLUME - 17
  • DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0262741

2021

  • TITLE- Zimitsani Moto: Understanding the Malawi COVID-19 Response
  • AUTHOR - James Tengatenga, Susan M. Tengatenga Duley, Cecil J. Tengatenga
  • JOURNAL - Laws
  • ABSTRACT - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has unsettled societies and economies of people and countries all over the world. Malawi is no exception. As such, the COVID-19 pandemic is more than just a health crisis. Countries have responded by instituting lockdowns and other restrictive measures among the populace. These have, in turn, elicited negative responses and legal challenges; most of which are rights-based. The main challenge has been that of the restriction of individual and religious freedoms. It is, thus, no surprise that reactions against government decrees restricting religious gatherings in the wake of the pandemic have been challenged in the courts. We will explore the Malawian traditional religious concept of healing and wholeness, give a chronological outline of government decrees and the responses to the pandemic, and conclude with an analysis using some reflections on Ferdinand T√∂nnies concepts of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft and recollection of traditional religion and critique of the new evangelicalism leading to an understanding of the Malawian response to the pandemic.
  • ISSUE - 2
  • VOLUME - 10
  • DOI - 10.3390/laws10020020

2021

  • TITLE - The health policy response to COVID-19 in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Grace W Mzumara, Marlen Chawani, Melody Sakala, Lily Mwandira, Elias Phiri, Edith Milanzi, Mphatso Dennis Phiri, Isabel Kazanga, Thomasena OByrne, Eliya M Zulu, Collins Mitambo, Titus Divala, Bertie Squire, Pui-Ying Iroh Tam
  • JOURNAL - BMJ Global Health
  • ABSTRACT - Malawi declared a state of national disaster due to the COVID-19 pandemic on 20th March 2020 and registered its first confirmed coronavirus case on the 2 April 2020. The aim of this paper was to document policy decisions made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic from January to August 2020. We reviewed policy documents from the Public Health Institute of Malawi, the Malawi Gazette, the Malawi Ministry of Health and Population and the University of Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker. We found that the Malawi response to the COVID-19 pandemic was multisectoral and implemented through 15 focused working groups termed clusters. Each cluster was charged with providing policy direction in their own area of focus. All clusters then fed into one central committee for major decisions and reporting to head of state. Key policies identified during the review include international travel ban, school closures at all levels, cancellation of public events, decongesting workplaces and public transport, and mandatory face coverings and a testing policy covering symptomatic people. Supportive interventions included risk communication and community engagement in multiple languages and over a variety of mediums, efforts to improve access to water, sanitation, nutrition and unconditional social-cash transfers for poor urban and rural households.
  • ISSUE - 5
  • VOLUME - 6
  • DOI - 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006035

2020

  • TITLE - The Global Economic Effects of Pandemic Outbreak, COVID-19 in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Lloyd George Banda, Blessings Kamanga
  • JOURNAL - SSRN Electronic Journal
  • ABSTRACT - On January 30, 2020 the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 that started in December 2019 a global pandemic. Since then COVID-19 has claimed 928,890 deaths as of 15 September, 2020. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), has swiftly evolved and spread across all the countries in the world. The spread of the new coronavirus is a public health crisis that has posed a serious risk to the macroeconomy through the halt in production activities, interruptions of people‚Äôs movements and cut-off supply chains. On 2 April, 2020, the then president of the republic of Malawi, Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika confirmed the first 3 cases of COVID-19 in the country. There are now 5,701 cases, 3,762 recoveries and 178 Deaths as of 15th September 2020.
  • DOI - 10.2139/ssrn.3694911

2020

  • TITLE - The Future of Tobacco Industry Amidst of COVID-19 -A Case of Malawi Producing Country
  • AUTHOR - Wu Xuelian
  • JOURNAL - Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research
  • ISSUE - 5
  • VOLUME - 27
  • DOI - 10.26717/bjstr.2020.27.004566

2021

  • TITLE - Spatial temporal distribution of COVID-19 risk during the early phase of the pandemic in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Alfred Ngwira, Felix Kumwenda, Eddons C.S. Munthali, Duncan Nkolokosa
  • JOURNAL - PeerJ
  • ABSTRACT - COVID-19 has been one of the greatest challenges the world has faced since the second world war. This study aimed at investigating the distribution of COVID-19 in both space and time in Malawi. The study used publicly available data of COVID-19 cases for the period from 2 April 2020 to 28 October 2020. Semiparametric spatial temporal models were fitted to the number of monthly confirmed cases as an outcome data, with time and district as independent variables, where district was the spatial unit, while accounting for sociodemographic factors. The study found significant effects of location and time, with the two interacting. The spatial distribution of COVID-19 risk showed major cities being at greater risk than rural areas. Over time, the COVID-19 risk was increasing then decreasing in most districts with the rural districts being consistently at lower risk. High proportion of elderly people was positively associated with COVID-19 risk (Œ≤ = 1.272, 95% CI [0.171, 2.370]) than low proportion of elderly people. There was negative association between poverty incidence and COVID-19 risk (Œ≤ = ‚àí0.100, 95% CI [‚àí0.136, ‚àí0.065]). Future or present strategies to limit the spread of COVID-19 should target major cities and the focus should be on time periods that had shown high risk. Furthermore, the focus should be on elderly and rich people.
  • VOLUME - 9
  • DOI - 10.7717/peerj.11003

2020

  • TITLE- Scope of food crises as COVID-19 poses new risks to Nutrition needs of Children of Malawi
  • AUTHOR - UNICEF Malawi

2022

  • TITLE- SARS-CoV-2 prevalence and immunity: a hospital-based study from Malawi
  • AUTHOR - C. Meinus, R. Singer, B. Nandi, O. Jagot, B. Becker-Ziaja, B. Karo, B. Mvula, A. Jansen, J. Baumann, A. Schultz
  • JOURNAL - International Journal of Infectious Diseases
  • ABSTRACT - COVID-19 transmission and disease dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa are not well understood. Our study aims to provide insight into COVID-19 epidemiology in Malawi by estimating SARS-CoV-2 prevalence and immunity after SARS-CoV-2 infection in a hospital-based setting. Methods We conducted a hospital-based, convenience sampling, cross-sectional survey for SARS-CoV-2 in Lilongwe, Malawi. Participants answered a questionnaire and were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) was performed in seropositive samples to estimate immunity. Poisson regression was used to assess SARS-CoV-2 point prevalence association with demographic and behavioral variables. Findings The study included 930 participants. We found a combined point prevalence of 10.1%. Separately analyzed, RT-PCR positivity was 2.0%, and seropositivity was 9.3%. Of tested seropositive samples, 90.1% were sVNT positive. We found a high rate (45.7%) of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 point prevalence was significantly associated with being a healthcare worker. Interpretation Our study suggests that official data underestimate COVID-19 transmission. Using sVNTs to estimate immunity in Malawi is feasible and revealed considerable post-infection immunity in our cohort. Subclinical infection and transmission are probably a game-changer in surveillance, mitigation and vaccination strategies.
  • VOLUME - 116
  • DOI - 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.12.336

2021

  • TITLE- SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawian blood donors: an analysis of seroprevalence and variant dynamics between January 2020 and July 2021
  • AUTHOR - Jonathan Mandolo, Jacquline Msefula, Marc Y. R. Henrion, Comfort Brown, Brewster Moyo, Aubrey Samon, Thandeka Moyo-Gwete, Zanele Makhado, Frances Ayres, Thopisang Motlou, Nonkululeko Mzindle, Newton Kalata, Adamson S. Muula, Gaurav Kwatra, Natasha Nsamala, Andrew Likaka, Thom Mfune, Penny L. Moore, Bridon Mbaya, Neil French, Robert S. Heyderman, Todd Swarthout, Kondwani C. Jambo
  • JOURNAL - BMC Medicine
  • ABSTRACT - By August 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has been less severe in sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere. In Malawi, there have been three subsequent epidemic waves. We therefore aimed to describe the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawi. We measured the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies amongst randomly selected blood transfusion donor sera in Malawi from January 2020 to July 2021 using a cross-sectional study design. In a subset, we also assessed in vitro neutralisation against the original variant (D614G WT) and the Beta variant. A total of 5085 samples were selected from the blood donor database, of which 4075 (80.1%) were aged 20‚Äì49 years. Of the total, 1401 were seropositive. After adjustment for assay characteristics and applying population weights, seropositivity reached peaks in October 2020 (18.5%) and May 2021 (64.9%) reflecting the first two epidemic waves. Unlike the first wave, both urban and rural areas had high seropositivity in the second wave, Balaka (rural, 66.2%, April 2021), Blantyre (urban, 75.6%, May 2021), Lilongwe (urban, 78.0%, May 2021), and Mzuzu (urban, 74.6%, April 2021). Blantyre and Mzuzu also show indications of the start of a third pandemic wave with seroprevalence picking up again in July 2021 (Blantyre, 81.7%; Mzuzu, 71.0%). More first wave sera showed in vitro neutralisation activity against the original variant (78% [7/9]) than the beta variant (22% [2/9]), while more second wave sera showed neutralisation activity against the beta variant (75% [12/16]) than the original variant (63% [10/16]). The findings confirm extensive SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawi over two epidemic waves with likely poor cross-protection to reinfection from the first on the second wave. The dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 exposure will therefore need to be taken into account in the formulation of the COVID-19 vaccination policy in Malawi and across the region. Future studies should use an adequate sample size for the assessment of neutralisation activity across a panel of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern/interest to estimate community immunity.
  • ISSUE - 1
  • VOLUME - 19
  • DOI - 10.1186/s12916-021-02187-y

2020

  • TITLE - Livelihoods and legal struggles amidst a pandemic: The human rights implications of the measures adopted to prevent, contain and manage COVID-19 in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Mwiza Jo Nkhata, Anganile Willie Mwenifumbo
  • JOURNAL - African Human Rights Law Journal
  • ABSTRACT - Malawi's COVID-19 response has evinced a measure of fluidity. This has been manifested by, among other things, the adoption of two sets of subsidiary legislation on COVID-19, the judicial intervention striking down proposed lockdown measures and the constant change in the institutional arrangements meant to spearhead the country's response. A key challenge that the response has had to contend with is the balance between saving lives and preserving livelihoods. This article analyses Malawi's response to COVID-19 and establishes that aside from its rather haphazard nature, serious questions of legality have been implicated by the measures adopted. Specifically in relation to lives and livelihoods, the articles focuses on the right to economic activity, to highlight some of the challenges that Malawi's response generated to the preservation of livelihoods. The human rights implications of some of the measures adopted are also briefly analysed.
  • ISSUE - 2
  • VOLUME - 20
  • DOI - 10.17159/1996-2096/2020/v20n2a7

2022

  • TITLE - Knowledge, risk perceptions, and behaviors related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi on JSTOR
  • AUTHOR - Jethro Banda, Albert N. Dube, Sarah Brumfield, Abena S. Amoah, Georges Reniers, Amelia C. Crampin and Stephane Helleringer
  • JOURNAL - Demographic Research

2021

  • TITLE - Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to COVID-19 Among Malawi Adults: A Community-Based Survey
  • AUTHOR - Yutong Li, Guangqi Liu, Robert Okia Egolet, Runqing Yang, Yangmu Huang, Zhijie Zheng
  • JOURNAL - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • ABSTRACT - It is well-recognized that containing COVID-19 successfully is determined by people‚Äôs prevention measures which are related to their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). This perception has attracted attention in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) due to their fragile health systems and economies. The objective of this study was to understand how residents in Malawi perceived COVID-19, to determine the factors related to KAP. Methods: A semi-structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. A field-based survey was conducted among adult residents in Lilongwe, Malawi. Descriptive statistic, linear regression, the Chi-square test, and Pearson‚Äôs correlation statistics were used for data analysis. Results: A total of 580 questionnaires were involved. The mean knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) scores were 10 (SD = ¬±3, range: 3‚Äì19), 16 (SD = ¬±4, range: 5‚Äì25), and 2 (SD = ¬±1, range: 0‚Äì5), respectively. Lack of money and resources (39%) was the biggest challenge for people who practice prevention measures. Among the participants, the radio (70%) and friends/family (56%) were the main sources of information. A higher economic status was associated with better KAP. Conclusions: A low level of KAP was detected among the population. The people faced challenges regarding a lack of necessary preventive resources and formal information channels. The situation was worse considering vulnerable population who had low economic status. Further all-round health education is urgently needed along with providing adequate health supplies and ensuring proper information management.
  • ISSUE - 8
  • VOLUME - 18
  • DOI - 10.3390/ijerph18084090

2021

  • TITLE - Investigation of the emergence of Sars-Cov-2 variants in Blantyre, Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Kumwenda, Benjamin
  • JOURNAL - Kamuzu University of Health Sciences

2020

  • TITLE- Investigating potential risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 transmission to healthcare workers in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Kamende, Bartholomew; Gold, Zione
  • JOURNAL - Kamuzu University of Health Sciences

2020

  • TITLE - High SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in health care workers but relatively low numbers of deaths in urban Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Marah G. Chibwana, Khuzwayo C. Jere, Raphael Kamn‚ Jonathan Mandolo, Vincent Katunga-Phiri, Dumizulu Tembo, Ndaona Mitole, Samantha Musasa, Simon Sichone, Agness Lakudzala, Lusako Sibale, Prisca Matambo, Innocent Kadwala, Rachel L. Byrne, Alice Mbewe, Marc Y. R. Henrion, Ben Morton, Chimota Phiri, Jane Mallewa, Henry C Mwandumba, Emily R. Adams, Stephen B. Gordon, Kondwani C. Jambo
  • JOURNAL - medRxiv
  • ABSTRACT - In low-income countries, like Malawi, important public health measures including social distancing or a lockdown have been challenging to implement owing to socioeconomic constraints, leading to predictions that the COVID-19 pandemic would progress rapidly. However, due to limited capacity to test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, there are no reliable estimates of the true burden of infection and death. We, therefore, conducted a SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey amongst health care workers (HCWs) in Blantyre city to estimate the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in urban Malawi. We recruited 500 otherwise asymptomatic HCWs from Blantyre City (Malawi) from 22nd May 2020 to 19th June 2020 and serum samples were collected from all participants. A commercial ELISA was used to measure SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in serum. A total of 84 participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The HCWs with positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody results came from different parts of the city. The adjusted seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 12.3% [CI 8.2 - 16.5]. Using age-stratified infection fatality estimates reported from elsewhere, we found that at the observed adjusted seroprevalence, the number of predicted deaths was eight times the number of reported deaths. The high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among HCWs and the discrepancy in the predicted versus reported deaths suggests that there was early exposure but slow progression of COVID-19 epidemic in urban Malawi. This highlights the urgent need for development of locally parameterised mathematical models to more accurately predict the trajectory of the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa for better evidence-based policy decisions and public health response planning.
  • DOI - 10.1101/2020.07.30.20164970

2020

  • TITLE - Covid-19 Outbreak on Malawi Perspective
  • AUTHOR - George N Chidimbah Munthali, Wu Xuelian
  • JOURNAL - Electronic Journal of General Medicine
  • ISSUE - 4
  • VOLUME - 17
  • DOI - 10.29333/ejgm/7871

2020

  • TITLE - COVID-19 in rural Malawi: Perceived risks and economic impacts
  • AUTHOR - Kate Ambler, Sylvan Herskowitz, Mywish Maredia, Jonathan Mockshell

2020

  • TITLE - COVID 19 Pandemic in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Elvis Safary and Caroline Mtaita
  • JOURNAL - African Journal of Health Sciences

2022

  • TITLE - Knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, and behavior related to the corona (COVID-19) pandemic among university students in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Stein T. Holden, Samson Katengeza, Sarah Tione, Mesfin Tilahun

2020

  • TITLE- A snap shot of space and time dynamics of COVID-19 risk in Malawi. An application of spatial temporal model
  • AUTHOR - Alfred Ngwira, Felix Kumwenda, Eddons Munthali, Duncan Nkolokosa
  • JOURNAL - medRxiv
  • ABSTRACT - COVID-19 has been the greatest challenge the world has faced since the second world war. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of COVID-19 in both space and time in Malawi. The study used publicly available data of COVID-19 cases for the period from 24th June to 20th August, 2020. Semiparametric spatial temporal models were fitted to the number of weekly confirmed cases as an outcome data, with time and location as independent variables. The study found significant main effect of location and time with the two interacting. The spatial distribution of COVID-19 showed major cities being at greater risk than rural areas. Over time the COVID-19 risk was increasing then decreasing in most districts with the rural districts being consistently at lower risk. Future or present strategies to avert the spread of COVID-19 should target major cities by limiting international exposure. In addition, the focus should be on time points that had shown high risk.
  • ROI - 10.1101/2020.09.12.20192914



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