Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, no global consensus treatment has been developed and generally accepted for the disease. However, eradicating the disease will require a safe and efficacious vaccine. In order to prepare for the eventual development of a safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccine and to enhance its uptake, it is imperative to assess vaccine hesitancy in Cameroonians. After obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Buea, a questionnaire was administered (May–August 2020) to consenting adults either online or in person. A qualitative thematic analysis was done to analyze the participants’ answers to the open questions. A deductive approach was used, that is, the codes and patterns according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) Working Group Matrix of Determinants of vaccine hesitancy. The number of consenting adult Cameroonians who completed the questionnaire were 2512 (Two thousand five hundred and twelve). Vaccine hesitancy to a COVID-19 vaccine was 84.6% in Cameroonians. Using the WHO recommended Matrix of Determinant of Vaccine hesitancy, the most prominent determinants observed in this study were: Communication and Media Environment, Perception of pharmaceutical industry, Reliability and/or source of vaccine and cost. Most Cameroonians agree that even though there are benefits of a clinical trial, they will prefer it should be done out of the continent and involving African scientists for eventual acceptance and uptake. The concerns of safety, efficacy and confidence has to be addressed using a Public Engagement approach if a COVID-19 vaccine has to be administered successfully in Africa or Cameroon specifically. Since this study was carried out following WHO standards, its result can be compared to those of other studies carried out in different cultural settings using similar standards.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major hospital acquired pathogen. In Cameroon, there is limited data on nasal carriage of MRSA and its antibiotic susceptibility testing and risk factors for multi resistance to antibiotics in hospitalized patients and medical staff. A prospective, qualitative, cross-sectional hospital-based study was carried out. Anterior nasal swabs were taken from 579 participants and bacterial strains were identified by conventional method and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Methicillin resistance was confirmed with cefoxitin and oxacillin disks. Of the 579 samples analysed, 53.0% were positive for S. aureus, 45.4% were MRSA. MRSA constituted 85.7% of all the S. aureus identified. The prevalence of MRSA in nasal carriage was significantly higher in females (49.6%) than in males (34.0%). The overall prevalence of MRSA in nasal carriage in both medical staff and hospitalized patients was 45.4%. The prevalence of MRSA in nasal carriage was significantly higher in RHL (49.0%) and RHB (48.5%) compared to the UTHY (36.3%). The prevalence of MRSA in nasal carriage was significantly higher in the surgical ward (59.7%) and paediatric ward (45.2%) compared to the other units. Among the MRSA isolates, the maximum sensitivity was observed with vancomycin (97.0%) and minocycline (95.1%), while the least sensitivity was observed with penicillin (0.0%) and ampicillin (0.8%). Binary logistic regression model showed that being aged 35 years an above and being hospitalized for more than 15 days were strongly associated with MDR to MRSA. Nasal carriage of MRSA is increasing rapidly and call for urgent preventive measures.
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