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Exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in Africa

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a persistent challenge to public health and presents a substantial menace, especially in developing nations of sub-Saharan Africa. It exerts a considerable strain on healthcare systems in these regions. Effective control requires reliable surveillance, which can be improved...

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Autores principales: Mtetwa, Hlengiwe N., Amoah, Isaac D., Kumari, Sheena, Bux, Faizal, Reddy, Poovendhree
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10318412/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37105295
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.115911
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author Mtetwa, Hlengiwe N.
Amoah, Isaac D.
Kumari, Sheena
Bux, Faizal
Reddy, Poovendhree
author_facet Mtetwa, Hlengiwe N.
Amoah, Isaac D.
Kumari, Sheena
Bux, Faizal
Reddy, Poovendhree
author_sort Mtetwa, Hlengiwe N.
collection PubMed
description Tuberculosis (TB) remains a persistent challenge to public health and presents a substantial menace, especially in developing nations of sub-Saharan Africa. It exerts a considerable strain on healthcare systems in these regions. Effective control requires reliable surveillance, which can be improved by incorporating environmental data alongside clinical data. Molecular advances have led to the development of alternative surveillance methods, such as wastewater-based epidemiology. This studyinvestigated the presence, concentration, and diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, the cause of TB, in from six African countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, and South Africa. Samples were collected from wastewater treatment plants. All samples were found to contain Mycobacterium species that have been linked to TB in both humans and animals, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium africanum, and Mycobacterium caprae, at varying concentrations. The highest median concentration was found in Ghana, reaching up to 4.7 Log copies/ml for MTBC, 4.6 Log copies/ml for M. bovis, and 3.4 Log copies/ml for M. africanum. The presence of M. africanum outside of West Africa was found in South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda and could indicate the spread of the pathogen. The study underscores the usefulness of wastewater-based epidemiology for tracking TB and shows that even treated wastewater may contain these pathogens, posing potential public health risks.
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spelling pubmed-103184122023-08-15 Exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in Africa Mtetwa, Hlengiwe N. Amoah, Isaac D. Kumari, Sheena Bux, Faizal Reddy, Poovendhree Environ Res Article Tuberculosis (TB) remains a persistent challenge to public health and presents a substantial menace, especially in developing nations of sub-Saharan Africa. It exerts a considerable strain on healthcare systems in these regions. Effective control requires reliable surveillance, which can be improved by incorporating environmental data alongside clinical data. Molecular advances have led to the development of alternative surveillance methods, such as wastewater-based epidemiology. This studyinvestigated the presence, concentration, and diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, the cause of TB, in from six African countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, and South Africa. Samples were collected from wastewater treatment plants. All samples were found to contain Mycobacterium species that have been linked to TB in both humans and animals, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium africanum, and Mycobacterium caprae, at varying concentrations. The highest median concentration was found in Ghana, reaching up to 4.7 Log copies/ml for MTBC, 4.6 Log copies/ml for M. bovis, and 3.4 Log copies/ml for M. africanum. The presence of M. africanum outside of West Africa was found in South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda and could indicate the spread of the pathogen. The study underscores the usefulness of wastewater-based epidemiology for tracking TB and shows that even treated wastewater may contain these pathogens, posing potential public health risks. Elsevier 2023-08-15 /pmc/articles/PMC10318412/ /pubmed/37105295 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.115911 Text en © 2023 The Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Mtetwa, Hlengiwe N.
Amoah, Isaac D.
Kumari, Sheena
Bux, Faizal
Reddy, Poovendhree
Exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in Africa
title Exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in Africa
title_full Exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in Africa
title_fullStr Exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in Africa
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in Africa
title_short Exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in Africa
title_sort exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in africa
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10318412/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37105295
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.115911
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