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Recent Submissions

A comparative analysis of the prevalence and intensity of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections between preschool-aged children and school-going children in KwaZulu-Natal Province
(2025-05-14) Mindu, T.; Chanhanga, N.; Mogaka, J.; Chimbari, M.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends conducting a baseline survey to quantify the infection burden of schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminths (STH) in pre-school aged children (PSAC) and school-aged children (SAC) before implementing a schistosomiasis mass drug administration intervention. The objective of the study was to compare the prevalence and intensity of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections between preschool-aged children (PSAC) and school-age children (SAC) in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study was conducted in the province of KZN. The target population was PSAC and SAC, with a sample size of 2000 children (1176 primary school-aged children and 824 pre-school-aged children). Ethical clearance was obtained from the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of the University of KwaZulu-Natal; informed consent from parents/legal guardians and verbal assent from SAC were solicited. Data collection involved collecting stool and urine samples from children. The prevalence and intensity of infections were compared between PSAC and SAC, using statistical methods to assess differences. The results showed that 49 (4.2%) SAC were positive for Schistosoma haematobium, while only 3 (0.41%) PSAC were infected. The total number of STH infections among participants was 281 (22%), with 91 in PSAC and 190 in SAC. The chi-square test showed that SAC were infected with schistosomiasis more than PSAC counterparts in the same location. However, the difference in STH prevalence between PSAC and SAC was not statistically significant, suggesting that there was not much of a difference in the prevalence of STH among SAC and PSAC. Among the STH infections, Taenia was the most prevalent, affecting approximately 20.5% of SAC and 23.4% of PSAC. This species accounted for a substantial proportion of the overall STH burden in both age groups. The study concluded that while SAC has a higher overall prevalence, a real burden exists among PSAC indicating the need to include them in MDA programs targeting S. haematobium in the province.
Statistical modelling of spatio-temporal rainfall trends, dependence, and extremes in Zimbabwe (1984–2024)
(Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 2025-10-20) Hove, K.; Nyamugure, P.; Mdlongwa, P.; Awala S. K.; Nyathi, T.; Dube, T.
Understanding the spatio-temporal variability of extreme rainfall is critical for climate adaptation and for informed water-resource planning in Zimbabwe. This study develops a unified statistical framework to:(1) characterize annual rainfall variability and detect monotonic trends;(2) model extreme rainfall events via block maxima and peaks-over-threshold methods and quantify their long-range dependence;(3) assess the spatial autocorrelation patterns of rainfall across provinces; and (4) explore inter-provincial rainfall dynamics using a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model. Monthly rainfall totals for ten provinces (1984–2024) were retrieved from NASA POWER at provincial centroids. Descriptive statistics reveal a pronounced east–west gradient in mean annual rainfall (390.1 mm in Manicaland; 190.8 mm in Matabeleland South) and variability (Standard deviation up to 147 mm in Manicaland). The Mann–Kendall and block-bootstrap tests indicate no significant monotonic trends (all\(\varvec {p} _ {{\textbf {BBS}}}>\) 0.16), suggesting stationary annual totals over the study period. Extreme-value analysis shows uniformly positive Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) shape parameters (for example\(\varvec {\xi} _ {{\textbf {GEV}}}\varvec {= 0.05--0.38}\)) with anomalously large estimates in Harare and the Midlands; Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD) fits yield moderate heavy-tails (\(\varvec {\xi} _ {{\textbf {GPD}}}\varvec {= 0.02-0.32}\)) and scale parameters of 5.6–9.9 mm. Detrended fluctuation analysis produces Hurst exponents\(\varvec {H< 0.5}\)(0.25–0.35), indicating anti-persistence and mean-reversion in extreme-rainfall maxima. Spatial autocorrelation metrics (Global Moran’s I= 0.266,\(\varvec {p= 0.018}\); Geary’s\(\varvec {C= 0.631, p= 0.007}\)) confirm significant clustering. Local Moran’s I identifies northeastern hot-spots and southwestern cold-spots. A VAR (2) model—selected via minimum Akaike Information Criterion/Bayesian Information Criterion (also known as the Schwarz Criterion)(AIC/BIC)—highlights significant two-month persistence in Manicaland (\(\varvec {L} _ {\varvec {2}}\varvec {= 0.916}\),\(\varvec {p= 0.033}\)) and one-month memory in Matabeleland North (\(\varvec {L} _ {\varvec {1}}\varvec {= 1.319}\),\(\varvec {p= 0.049}\)). These findings reveal heterogeneous heavy-tailed behaviour, mean-reversion, and spatial clustering in Zimbabwe’s rainfall extremes, underscoring the need for region-specific risk assessments and infrastructure design tailored to local hydro-climatic regimes.
Drivers of woody plant phylogenetic and taxonomic beta diversity across an urban density gradient
(Urban Ecosystems, 2025-05-05) Muvengwi, J.; Ndagurwa, H. G.; Nyenda, T.; Witkowski, E. T.; Mbiba, M.
Urban plant diversity patterns are influenced by socioeconomic factors, yet our understanding of these relationships in Global South cities remains limited. We investigated how taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity of woody plants vary across Harare's socioeconomic gradient, examining patterns for indigenous and exotic species. We surveyed 300 household yards across 15 suburbs representing low-, medium-, and high-density areas, characterized by differences in property values, population density, and yard size. For combined species, both taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity showed significant positive relationships with property value and yard area, supporting the 'luxury effect' hypothesis. However, patterns differed when analysing species groups separately. Exotic species demonstrated strong socioeconomic filtering, with greater taxonomic diversity in wealthy areas but consistently low phylogenetic turnover across suburbs, suggesting selection of evolutionarily related species. Indigenous species showed unexpected resilience in high-density areas, maintaining greater phylogenetic diversity than affluent suburbs. While species turnover dominated overall beta-diversity patterns, phylogenetic nestedness contributed substantially more than taxonomic nestedness, particularly for exotic species. These findings challenge conventional urban ecology paradigms and highlight the importance of considering both taxonomic and phylogenetic dimensions when assessing urban biodiversity. The retention of phylogenetically diverse indigenous communities in high-density areas presents opportunities for biodiversity conservation in African cities.
Drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae from patients and hospital effluent: a correlation?
(BMC Microbiology, 2025-04-22) Masalane, N. S.; Bester, L. A.; Ismail, A.; Essack, S. Y.; Mbanga, J.
Background The application of wastewater-based epidemiology has gained traction as a cost effective tool in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance with studies showing a correlation between the presence of resistant bacteria from hospital sewage and patients. This study compared Klebsiella pneumoniae from patients and hospital effluent in terms of antibiotic resistance patterns, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and phylogenomic relationships. Results Pooled effluent samples were collected from the final effluent point of a regional hospital and K. pneumoniae isolates were identified on selective media. Clinical isolates were also collected from the same hospital. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) was performed using the VITEK® 2 system. DNA was extracted prior to whole genome sequencing (WGS). The resistome, mobilome, and phylogenetic lineages of sequenced isolates were assessed using bioinformatics analysis. A total of 10 randomly selected presumptive and 10 clinical K. pneumoniae constituted the sample and were subjected to AST. Total resistance was observed in the clinical samples to cefuroxime, cefotaxime, piperacillin/tazobactam, gentamicin, tobramycin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The effluent isolates exhibited total susceptibility to most antibiotics but showed resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and piperacillin/tazobactam (100%), and tigecycline (10%). The effluent isolates did not exhibit a diverse resistome, while the clinical isolates harboured genes conferring resistance to aminoglycoside (aph(6)-Id, aph(3’’)-Ib, aac(6’)-Ib-cr, aadA16), ß-lactam (blaSVH group, blaOXA group, blaTEM group), and fluoroquinolone (oqxA, oqxB) antibiotics. Only class 1 integrons were identified. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that effluent isolates from this study were not closely related to the clinical isolates. Conclusion This study showed no correlation between the resistance profiles of the clinical and effluent isolates. The relationship between AMR in hospital effluent and clinical resistance may depend on the antimicrobial agents and bacterial species studied.
Whole-Genome Sequencing and Bioinformatics Analysis of ESBL- producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Ghanaian teaching hospital
(BMC Microbiology, 2025-06-02) Asare Yeboah, E. E.; Mbanga, J.; Amoako, D. G.; Agyepong, N.; Abia, A. L. K.; Ismail, A.; Essack, S. Y.
Background Multidrug-resistant (MDR) ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae is widely implicated in community and hospital-acquired infections. Thus, the current study determined the prevalence and clonal relatedness of MDR K. pneumoniae from hospital environments, patients and healthcare workers in a Ghanaian hospital. Methods Patients (rectal and hand, collected on admission and 48 h post admission), healthcare workers (hands) and hospital environment samples were sampled for three months. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using VITEK-2. Ten MDR ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae isolates were further analysed by whole-genome sequencing. Results All the isolates were ceftazidime-resistant; 90% were resistant to cefepime, amoxicillin/clavulanic, acid piperacillin/tazobactam, and sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim. The isolates showed varying resistance to the cephalosporins and were susceptible to tigecycline. One environmental isolate isolate was resistant to meropenem but harboured no carbapenemase gene. The β-lactamase gene, blaSHV, was dominant and harboured by three environmental and five carriage isolates. Furthermore, three environmental and three carriage isolates harboured blaCTX-M-15. All isolates showed ompK36 and ompK37 mutations. Fluoroquinolone (qnrB), aminoglycosides (aadA1, aadA2, aac(3)-IIa, aac(6')-Ib-cr,aph(3'')-Ib, aph(6)-Id) and sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim (sul1, sul2, dfrA14, dfrA15) resistance-encoding genes were also detected. A diverse range of sequence types were identified, including ST39, ST307, ST815, ST1552, ST636, ST464, and ST1996, with ST39 being the most frequently observed (environmental = 3; carriage = 1). Three environmental and three carriage isolates harboured the Int1l integron. Many virulence genes, including irp1, irp2, iutA, gndA, ompA, fes, fep, mrkD and fimH, were detected in environmental and carriage isolates. IncFIB was the most abundant plasmid replicon in five environmental and four carriage isolates. A clonal relationship was identified between a carriage isolate (ST39) and three environmental isolates (ST39) with shared genetic elements, suggesting that environmental reservoirs may play a role in the transmission and persistence of resistant K. pneumoniae. Conclusion This study highlights the prevalence of MDR ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae in both hospital environments and patients, emphasizing the potential for cross-transmission within healthcare settings. These findings reinforce the urgent need for strengthened infection prevention and control measures, enhanced antimicrobial stewardship, and continuous genomic surveillance to mitigate the spread of resistant K. pneumoniae in healthcare settings.