Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Increased incidence of tuberculosis in Zimbabwe, in association with food insecurity, and economic collapse: An ecological analysis
PLoS ONE, Volume 9, No. 2, Article e83387, Year 2014
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Background: Zimbabwe underwent a socioeconomic crisis and resultant increase in food insecurity in 2008-9. The impact of the crisis on Tuberculosis (TB) incidence is unknown. Methods: Prospective databases from two mission hospitals, which were geographically widely separated, and remained open during the crisis, were reviewed. Results: At the Howard Hospital (HH) in northern Zimbabwe, TB incidence increased 35% in 2008 from baseline rates in 2003-2007 (p<0.01) and remained at that level in 2009. Murambinda Hospital (MH) in Eastern Zimbabwe also demonstrated a 29% rise in TB incidence from 2007 to 2008 (p<0.01) and remained at that level in 2009. Data collected post-crisis at HH showed a decrease of 33% in TB incidence between 2009 to 2010 (p<0.001) and 2010/2011 TB incidence remained below that of the crisis years of 2008/2009 (p<0.01). Antenatal clinic HIV seroprevalence at HH decreased between 2001(23%) to 2011(11%) (p<0.001). Seasonality of TB incidence was analyzed at both MH and HH. There was a higher TB incidence in the dry season when food is least available (September-November) compared to post harvest (April-June) (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study suggests that an epidemic of TB mirrored socioeconomic collapse and recovery in Zimbabwe. The seasonal data suggests that food security may have been associated with TB incidence both annually and during the crisis in this high HIV prevalence country. © 2014 Burke et al.
Authors & Co-Authors
Burke, Stephen J.
Canada, Ottawa
University of Ottawa
Lass, Elliot
Canada, Toronto
University of Toronto
Thistle, Paul J.
Canada, Toronto
University of Toronto
Zimbabwe, Darwin
Karanda Mission Hospital
Zimbabwe, Harare
University of Zimbabwe
Katumbe, Lovemore
Zimbabwe, Glendale
Howard Hospital
Jetha, Arif
Canada, Toronto
University of Toronto
Schwarz, Dan
United States, Boston
Boston Children's Hospital
Bolotin, Shelly
Canada, Toronto
University of Toronto
Barker, Richard D.
Zimbabwe
Murambinda Mission Hospital
United Kingdom, London
King's College Hospital
Simor, Andrew E.
Canada, Toronto
University of Toronto
Silverman, Michael S.
Canada, Toronto
University of Toronto
Canada, Bowmanville
Lakeridge Health
Statistics
Citations: 10
Authors: 10
Affiliations: 9
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1371/journal.pone.0083387
e-ISSN:
19326203
Research Areas
Food Security
Health System And Policy
Infectious Diseases
Maternal And Child Health
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Cohort Study
Study Locations
Zimbabwe