Background The public health impact of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is often underestimated. Usually considered a mild condition of short duration, recent outbreaks have reported greater incidence of severe illness, fatality, and longer-term disability. In 2018/19, Eastern Sudan experienced the largest epidemic of CHIKV in Africa to date, affecting an estimated 487,600 people. Known locally as Kankasha, this study examines clinical characteristics, risk factors, and phylogenetics of the epidemic in Kassala City. Methodology/Principal findings A prospective cohort of 102 adults and 40 children presenting with chikungunya-like illness were enrolled at Kassala Teaching Hospital in October 2018. Clinical information, socio-demographic data, and sera samples were analysed to confirm diagnosis, characterise illness, and identify viral strain. CHIKV infection was confirmed by real-time reverse transcription-PCR in 84.5% (120/142) of participants. Nine (7.5%) CHIKV-positive participants had concurrent Dengue virus (DENV) infection; 34/118 participants (28.8%) had a positive Rapid Diagnostic Test for Plasmodium falciparum; six (5.0%) had haemorrhagic symptoms including two children with life-threatening bleeding. One CHIKV-positive participant died with acute renal injury. Age was not associated with severity of illness although CHIKV-infected participants were younger (p = 0.003). Two to four months post-illness, 63% of adults available for follow-up (30) were still experiencing arthralgia in one or more joints, and 11% remained moderately disabled on Rapid3 assessment. Phylogenetic analysis showed all CHIKV sequences from this study belonged to a single clade within the Indian Ocean Lineage (IOL) of the East/Central/South African (ECSA) genotype. History of contact with an infected person was the only factor associated with infection (p = 0.01), and likely related to being in the same vector environment. Conclusions/Significance Vulnerability to CHIKV remains in Kassala and elsewhere in Sudan due to widespread Aedes aegypti presence and mosquito-fostering household water storage methods. This study highlights the importance of increasing awareness of the severity and impact of CHIKV outbreaks, and the need for urgent actions to reduce transmission risk in households.

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is still one of the most critical issues impeding worldwide TB control efforts. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to give an updated picture of the prevalence of DR-TB in Sudan. A comprehensive systematic search was performed on four electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar) to identify all published studies reporting prevalence data of DR-TB in Sudan. Sixteen eligible studies published during 2002–2020 were included. Using meta-analysis of proportions, the pooled prevalence of TB cases with resistance to any anti-TB drugs was 47.0% (95% CI: 35.5–58.6%). The overall prevalence of mono, multi, poly and extensive drug resistance were estimated to be 16.2% (95% CI: 9.0–23.4%), 22.8% (95% CI: 16.0–29.7%), 6.8% (95% CI: 0.5–13.0%) and 0.7% (95% CI: 0–2.1%), respectively. Considering any first-line anti-TB drugs, the resistance prevalence was highest for isoniazid (32.3%) and streptomycin (31.7%), followed by rifampicin (29.2%). In contrast, resistance against second-line drugs was reported for only two antibiotics, namely, ofloxacin (2.1%) and kanamycin (0.7%). Of note, the resistance profile of the previously treated patients was found to be remarkably high compared with the newly diagnosed TB patients. The relatively high prevalence estimation of anti-TB drug resistance warrants strengthening TB control and treatment strategies in Sudan.

Background: Concomitant infections with HBV,

Background The public health impact of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is often underestimated. Usually considered a mild condition of short duration, recent outbreaks have reported greater incidence of severe illness, fatality, and longer-term disability. In 2018, Eastern Sudan experienced the largest epidemic of CHIKV in Africa to date, affecting an estimated 487,600 people. Known locally as Kankasha, this study examines the clinical characteristics, risk factors, and phylogenetics of the CHIKV epidemic in Kassala City. Methodology and Principal Findings A prospective cohort of 142 cases (102 adults, 40 children) were enrolled at Kassala Teaching Hospital in October 2018. Clinical information, socio-demographic data and sera samples were analysed to confirm diagnosis, characterise illness, and identify the viral strain. CHIKV infection was confirmed by real-time reverse transcription-PCR in 84·5 percent of participants. Nine had concurrent CHIKV and Dengue virus (DENV) infection and 28·8 percent had a positive Rapid Diagnostic Test for malaria. Five percent had haemorrhagic symptoms including two children with life-threatening haemorrhage. One CHIKV-positive participant died with acute renal injury. Ninety to 120 days post-illness, 63 percent of those followed-up were still experiencing arthralgia in one or more joints, and 11 percent remained moderately disabled using Rapid3 assessment. Phylogenetic analysis showed all CHIKV infections belonged to a single clade within the Indian Ocean Lineage (IOL) of the East-Central-South African (ECSA) genotype. History of contact with an infected person was the only socio-demographic factor associated with infection (p 0·01), suggesting that vector transmission in households is important. Conclusions and Significance The epidemic is estimated to have affected approximately 50 percent of Kassala City's population. Substantial vulnerability to CHIKV remains here and elsewhere in Sudan due to widespread Aedes aegypti presence and mosquito-fostering household water storage methods. This study highlights the importance of increasing awareness of the severity and socio-economic impact of CHIKV outbreaks and the need for urgent actions to reduce transmission risk in households.