Updates from Nigeria

• Residents of the first cohort completed their cluster three training on 19 February 2010. The training which started on 25 January 2010 lasted four weeks and covered topics on public health, advanced epidemiology, economic analysis, laboratory policy, management and principles of quality control. Dr. Peter Nsubuga and John Blandford, both from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, provided technical support in areas of advanced epidemiology and economic analysis respectively. Dr. Kariuki Njenga and Mr. Tura Galgalo from CDC-Kenya also provided assistance during the laboratory course. A number of staff from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) participated in the training in an effort to build local capacity in the country.
  
  
• Residents of the Nigeria FELTP will be involved in activities to control a suspected measles outbreak in Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa State in the Riverine Zone of Southern Nigeria. Although laboratory tests are yet to confirm the outbreak, the clinical presentation is consistent with measles. The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has reported 100 suspected cases and 20 deaths since the last week of January 2010. FMOH has also completed a nationwide supplemental immunization exercise which is hoped to interrupt the outbreak by preventing transmission to susceptible children. Bauchi and Taraba States have also reported suspected measles outbreaks.
  
  
• The NFELTP is preparing for presentations by participants of the short courses on Zoonoses and Outbreak Investigation to be held in March 2010. The short courses were conducted in the last quarter of 2009. In the last two years, the program has conducted eight short courses in Outbreak Investigation, HIV and Zoonoses combined, and over 270 people have been trained in all 36 states of Nigeria. 

Updates from Tanzania

• Dr. Salma Masauni Yussuf, a resident of the first cohort, conducted her first district level workshop on cholera from 25-26 February 2010 in Zanzibar.  A total of 66 community health workers, teachers, leaders, and four members of the District Health Medical Team attended the workshop.

• The TFELTP Epidemiology Resident Advisor, Dr. Obinna Oleribe, had a meeting with regional site core supervisors at the Zanzibar Malaria Control Program on 26 February 2010. The participants discussed the roles and responsibilities of supervisors, as well as different field tools.

• Two residents, Dr. Salma Masauni and Mr. Elibariki Mwakapeje, and the Epidemiology Resident Advisor, Dr .Obinna Oleribe, will attend the 14^th International Congress on Infectious Diseases which will be held in Miami-Florida, USA from 9-12 March 2010. The team will make one oral and two poster presentations on the FELTP program in Africa, H1N1 and cholera outbreak investigations.

Updates from Zimbabwe

• The Zimbabwe FETP held its Master of Public Health (MPH) monthly conference on 26 February 2010 at the Department of Community Medicine. Seven presentations were made by the residents: one was a research proposal while six showcased results.  A special presentation was made by a PhD student, Mr. Nicholas Midzi. It was titled, “Impact of Combined School Based Deworming of Schistosomiasis, Soil Transmitte and Helminthes and Prompt Malaria Treatment of Anaemia’.  The following presentations were made during the conference:
  
  • Influenza A Outbreak Investigation at Driefontein Mission 2009
  • Evaluation of Harare Municipal Maternal Mortality Surveillance System, 2009
  • Evaluation of AFP Surveillance System in Bindura District
  • Analysis of the PMTCT Programme Dataset, Bulawayo City, 2009
  • Anthrax Outbreak Investigation in Bindura Commercial Farms, Mashonaland Central Province
  • Severity and Factors Associated with Burn Injuries among under 12 at the Harare and Chitungwiza Central Hospitals
  • Trends and Risk Factors Analysis for HIV Infection in VCT Clients in Masvingo City

• Year One MPH residents completed the first Biostatistics module last week, and are set to begin the Management module this week.

• Mr. Notion Gombe, the Avian Influenza and Other Zoonotic Infections Project (AIZIP) National Focal Point, attended a meeting of the National Taskforce on Epidemic Prone Diseases held on 25 February 2010 at the Ministry of Health . The meeting was attended by health officials from provinces and cities in Zimbabwe, as well as partners including World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). A number of issues were discussed during the meeting including:
  • Cholera updates including state of preparedness
  • Reports on Insecticide Residual Spraying activities: Most provinces reported that a high spraying coverage had been achieved although slightly below the WHO cut-off point of 85%
  • Drug status reports: Most provinces reported that they had adequate stock of essential drugs

• During the same meeting, the Permanent Secretary of Health, Dr. Gerald Gwinji, officially launched the National Health Information Strategy, 2009-2014.
  
  
  
  Dr. Gwinji (centre) officially launches the National Health Information Strategy 2009-2014 in the presence of Dr. Mhlanga (left)-Principal Director, Preventive Services, Dr. Basile Tambashe (2^nd left)- UNFPA Country Representative, Dr. Portia Manangazira (2^nd right)- Acting Director Epidemiology and Disease Control, and Dr. Tshuma (right)-Provincial Medical Director, Mashonaland Central

• Two abstracts from the Zimbabwe FETP will be presented at the upcoming Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference to be held in Atlanta, USA from 19-23 April 2010. One of the presentations is an oral presentation titled, “Determinants of Nondisclosure of HIV Status among Women Attending the Prevention of Mother to Child  

• Transmission Programme, Makonde District, Zimbabwe” authored by P. Mucheto, W. Nyamayaro, and D. Jones.  The poster presentation is titled, “Risk Factors for Child Sexual Abuse, Harare, 2009” and is authored by W. Mashumba, S.M. Midzi, J.C. Maradzika, and N. Ndlovu. 

Updates from Ghana

• First year residents of Cohort III are carrying out their eight-week field assignments to evaluate surveillance systems for Trypanosomiasis, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Rabies, Bovine Brucellosis, and mortality at district and national level.

• Two residents of the M.Phil in Applied Epidemiology and Disease Control, Florence Iddrisah and Dodzie Amerlor, are part of the District Health Management Team which is currently investigating a suspected outbreak of food poisoning in Berekum, Brong Ahafo region.
  
  
• Two resource people from the Management Sciences for Health in USA, Lisa Stone and Oscar Morales, participated in a meeting of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Facilitators and Tutors during their visit to the Ghana program from 23-26 February 2010. The meeting was held at the Ghana School of Public Health, and it discussed introduction and approval of the HPAI course, its modules, lesson plans, and time-table. The course is scheduled to take place from 29 March to 9 April 2010.

Updates from West Africa

• The West Africa FELTP held its first Seminar from 17-23 February 2010 with the aim of completing the didactic course which started on 18 January 2010. The facilitators were from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ministry of Health, and the University of Ouagadougou; and they made presentations on the following topics:
  • Epidemic-prone diseases
  • International Health Regulations
  • Emerging and re-emerging diseases
  • Vaccine preventable diseases
  • Measles
  • Malaria
  • Neglected Tropical Diseases
  • Non Communicable Diseases
  • High blood pressure

The Seminar provided residents with an opportunity to enhance their knowledge in public health and major  public health interventions.  The first evaluation of the Seminar will be held on 6 March 2010.

• All residents of the West Africa program will return to their home countries for the field placement which starts on 8 March until 28 May 2010.

Updates from Uganda

• Three trainees of the Uganda program will make poster presentations during the 14^th International Conference on Infectious Diseases to be held from 9-12 March in 2010 in Miami Florida, USA. The trainees will be accompanied by the program’s Resident Mentor, Dr. Raymond Tweheyo.  The poster presentations to be made are:
  • Prevalence and Factors Associated with Hospital Acquired Infections in Kayunga District Hospital, Central Uganda
  • Factors Influencing Access to HIV Care Services by Clients Referred from a District Home Based HIV Counselling and Testing Program in Eastern Uganda, 2009
  • Adherence to Infant Feeding Practices Among HIV Positive women with Infants Aged Less Than Six Months in Rakai District, South Western Uganda
  • Factors Associated with Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus (DPT) 1 – 3  Dropout in Kabarole District, Western Uganda, 2009

Updates from the Secretariat

• The Uganda Immunization Training Program (UITP) which is based at the AFENET Secretariat, together with the Uganda Expanded Program on Immunization (UNEPI), conducted a training workshop for Mid-Level Managers (MLM) from five districts of southwestern Uganda from 14-19 February 2010. The training was held in Kabale District and the participants included District Health Officers, District Cold Chain Assistants, District Nursing Officers, and persons in charge of health sub-districts. This was the third MLM training. The first two were held in Jinja and Hoima Districts respectively. UITP and UNEPI plan to conduct five more trainings throughout the country.
  
  
  Participants and facilitators of the Mid-Level Managers’ training held in Kabale District

• AFENET, in partnership with CDC-Atlanta, is piloting a Basic Laboratory Information System (BLIS) in public health laboratories in Uganda. These laboratories are at Health Centre III, Health Centre IV and at one district hospital. Mr. Mark DeZalia, a Laboratory Informatics Consultant based at CDC-Atlanta, visited the AFENET Secretariat, Uganda from 23-25 February 2010. During his visit, Mr. DeZalia together with the AFENET team (Mr. Ndlovu Nqobile – Laboratory Project Officer and Mr. Anthony Kimuli - IT Officer) visited three laboratories and held meetings with CDC Country Officers and Ministry of Health officials to plan for the implementation of the BLIS. BLIS is a software program designed by Georgia Institute of Technology, also called Georgia Tech, to enhance the capacity of laboratories to capture and analyze data. It is an easy to use system designed for low to mid-level laboratories, which makes laboratory data readily available for patient care and laboratory management decisions.
  
  
  Mr. DeZalia (left) and Mr. Nqobile (2^nd left) examine laboratory log books during their visit to Mityana District Hospital Laboratory

• Dr. Simon Antara and Ms. Asha Nakasi, the Resident Advisor and Administrator of the Rwanda FELTP respectively, visited the AFENET Secretariat from 21-26 February 2010 for a five-day orientation exercise on procedures and operations at the AFENET Secretariat. The objective of the orientation was to give Dr. Antara and Ms. Nakasi the necessary tools and techniques for executing day-to-day activities at the Rwanda FELTP in-tandem with operations at the Secretariat.