Background The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS) in Sierra Leone partially rolled out the implementation of Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) in 2003. After the Ebola virus disease outbreak in 2014–2015, there was need to strengthen IDSR to ensure prompt detection and response to epidemic-prone diseases. We describe the processes, successes and challenges of revitalizing public health surveillance in a country recovering from a protracted Ebola virus disease outbreak. Methods The revitalization process began with adaptation of the revised IDSR guidelines and development of customized guidelines to suit the health care systems in Sierra Leone. Public health experts defined data flow, system operations, case definitions, frequency and channels of reporting and dissemination. Next, phased training of IDSR focal persons in each health facility and the distribution of data collection and reporting tools was done. Monitoring activities included periodic supportive supervision and data quality assessments. Rapid response teams were formed to investigate and respond to disease outbreak alerts in all districts. Results Submission of reports through the IDSR system began in mid-2015 and by the 35th epidemiologic week, all district health teams were submitting reports. The key performance indicators measuring the functionality of the IDSR system in 2016 and 2017 were achieved (WHO Africa Region target ≥80%); the annual average proportion of timely weekly health facility reports submitted to the next level was 93% in 2016 and 97% in 2017; the proportion of suspected outbreaks and public health events detected through the IDSR system was 96% ( n = 87) in 2016 and 100% ( n = 85) in 2017. Conclusion With proper planning, phased implementation and adequate investment of resources, it is possible to establish a functional IDSR system in a country recovering from a public health crisis. A functional IDSR system requires well trained workforce, provision of the necessary tools and guidelines, information, communication and technology infrastructure to support data transmission, provision of timely feedback as well as logistical support. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-6636-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introductiondual contraception, the use of non-barrier contraceptive method in combination with condoms, is an effective strategy in the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (eMTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the achievement of zero new HIV infections. Despite its effectiveness, dual contraception use among HIV-infected women in Kenya remains low. We identified factors associated with dual contraceptive uptake in Bungoma County, Kenya.Methodsthis was a facility-based cross-sectional study in eight hospitals in Bungoma County. We interviewed women using structured questionnaires. We calculated descriptive statistics about the womens’ baseline characteristics, examined the association between dual contraceptive use and other factors by calculating Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) and performed logistic regression.Resultswe recruited 283 HIV-infected women.Among all enrolled women, 190 (67.1%) were aware of dual method and only 109 (38.5%) used dual contraception. The preferred dual pattern was male condom plus injectable contraceptive used by 53.2% of women (58/109). Among the 174 women who did not use dual contraception, 86 (49.4%) preferred using male condoms alone for contraception. Women were more likely to use dual contraception method if they were aware of dual contraception (AOR 12.2, 95% CI 4.7 – 31.7), used non-barrier contraceptives (AOR 9.8 95%; CI 4.5 – 21.3) and had disclosed their HIV status (AOR 7.1 95% CI 2.8 – 18.2) compared to those who did not.Conclusiondual contraceptive prevalence was low. Advocacy on dual contraception as an approach to preventing vertical transmission of HIV should be escalated in order to improve its uptake.

HBV was the most common TTI among the volunteers. KRBTC should be proactive and address issues of donor self-exclusion, strict adherence to donor selection criteria, and vaccination.

IntroductionKenya is ranked 15th on the list of 22 high-tuberculosis (TB) burden countries with a case notification rate of 440 cases per 100,000 persons. Interruption of TB treatment is one of the major obstacles to effective TB treatment and control. Since 2009, emphasis has been on direct observation treatment short-course (DOTS) to ensure adherence. This study assessed the factors associated with interruption of treatment among patients on DOTS in Nandi County, Kenya.Methodswe reviewed medical records and interviewed randomly selected persons from the County TB register, among those initiated on TB treatment between 1st January 2013 and 30th June 2014. Data on socio-demographics, clinical characteristics, behavioral factors, family support, health system factors, income, and lifestyle and treatment interruption (i.e., therapy discontinuation ≥ 2 weeks) were collected. We calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to evaluate factors associated with TB interruption and performed multivariable logistic regression to examine independent risk factors.Resultsfrom a total of 1,287 records in the TB register, we randomly selected 280 patients for interview, out of whom 252 were traced. Of the 252 participants interviewed, 149 (59.1%) were males and the mean age was 40.0 (SD ± 15.3) years. Seventy-eight (31.0%) interrupted treatment. Treatment interruption was associated with personal monthly income ≤ 10,000 Kenya shillings ($100) (AOR 4.3, CI = 2.13-8.62) compared to income > 10,000 Kenya shillings, daily alcohol consumption of > 3 days per week (AOR 3.3, CI = 1.72-6.23) compared to consumption of ≤ 3 days per week and average waiting time at the health facility ≥ 1 hour (AOR 3.5 CI = 1.86-6.78) compared to waiting time < 1 hour.Conclusionwe suggest expanding DOTS services to increase the number of service points for patients. This will probably reduce the waiting time by distributing the work load across many facilities. Intensifying patient counseling and education prior to initiation of treatment could also be adopted to cover effects of alcohol use during treatment and teach patients to take up some income generating activities.

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