Background Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the leading cause of bloodstream infection among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected patients with sepsis in sub-Saharan Africa and is associated with high mortality rates. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of HIV-infected adults with sepsis at the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda to measure the proportion who received antituberculosis therapy and to determine the relationship between antituberculosis therapy and 28-day survival. Results Of the 149 patients evaluated, 74 (50%) had severe sepsis and 48 (32%) died. Of the 55 patients (37%) who received antituberculosis therapy, 19 (35%) died, compared with 29 of 94 (31%) who did not receive such therapy (odds ratio, 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], .56–3.18; P = .64). The 28-day survival rates did not differ significantly between these 2 groups (log-rank test, P = .21). Among the 74 patients with severe sepsis, 9 of 26 (35%) who received antituberculosis therapy died, versus 23 of 48 (48%) who did not receive such therapy (odds ratio, 0.58; 95% CI, .21–1.52; P = .27). In patients with severe sepsis, antituberculosis therapy was associated with an improved 28-day survival rate (log-rank test P = .01), and with a reduced mortality rate in a Cox proportional hazards model (hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, .13–.80; P = .03). Conclusions Empiric antituberculosis therapy was associated with improved survival rates among patients with severe sepsis, but not among all patients with sepsis.

COVID-19 has greatly impacted communities worldwide, more so in developing countries. To successfully resolve the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination coverage of more than 80% is required. However, this has been impacted by misinformation that has increased COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Limited studies have assessed the effect of COVID-19 misinformation on vaccine acceptance, especially in Africa. This assessed the current understanding of COVID-19 vaccination as well as the effect of circulating misinformation on vaccine uptake among healthcare workers (HCWs) versus the general public (GP) in Uganda. Methods: This was a quantitative cross-sectional study conducted among HCWs and the GP in Kampala, Uganda. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 564 participants were recruited, and of these, 311 were HCWs, and 253 were GP. Data were analyzed using frequency distributions and Chi-square tests. SPSS version 22.0 was used to conduct all study analyses. Results: This study revealed that the proportion of vaccinated HCWs (77.4%) was significantly higher than that of vaccinated GP (64.4%, p= 0.010). Nearly all study participants were aware of COVID-19 vaccines (96.7%). The study showed that the majority of the study participants (89.7%) were exposed to rumors about the unconfirmed bad COVID-19 vaccine side effects, and this information left the majority hesitant about getting vaccinated (81.1%) and not willing to take up the vaccines (55%). Conclusions: The study showed a negative impact of misinformation on vaccine uptake and could be the most significant contributor to vaccine hesitancy in future vaccine programs

Pineapple pulp fiber is highly palatable but is usually wasted during the processing of pineapple juice resulting in a loss in the pineapple value chain. It is known to contain both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, bromelain, and many important minerals. Changing lifestyles associated with most western diets characterized by excess intake of calories has led to increased incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Africa. Moreover, hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus is linked to increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to oxidative stress. ROS are known to damage cellular macromolecules including oxidation of lipids and nucleic acids. The need to formulate dietary formulas to achieve both reductions of calories with enhanced antioxidant potential inspired us to design a wheat flour-based formula enriched with pineapple pulp fiber of up to 10% of its weight. Pineapple pulp fiber-enriched wheat flour positively impacts the pineapple value chain. This study aimed at determining the antioxidant potential of the pineple pulp fibre enriched wheat flour. Pineapple pulp fiber-enriched wheat flour was prepared by mixing 10 g of dry and milled pineapple pulp with 90g of all-purpose wheat flour. The total polyphenolic content, total flavonoid content, and ferric reducing antioxidant power of the enriched and non-enriched wheat flour were determined using spectrophotometric method. The results were statistically analysedusing t-tests at a p < 0.05 level of significance. Enrichment of wheat flour with pineapple pulp fiber significantly increased the total polyphenolic content (p = 0.001), total flavonoids content (p = 0.002), and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) (p = 0.001) of the flour. These results indicate that pineapple pulp fiber has a potential to enhancing the nutritional quality of wheat flour through added antioxidant properties.