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Spatial epidemiology of tuberculosis

Kefyalew Alene BSc, MPH, PhD Head, Geospatial and Tuberculosis 0404705064 Kefyalew.alene@thekids.org.au Honorary Research Fellow Dr Kefyalew Alene

Geospatial and Tuberculosis (GeoTB)

The Geospatial and Tuberculosis (GeoTB) team led by Kefyalew Alene focuses on designing an innovative approach for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public health interventions to help control and ultimately eliminate tuberculosis in high-burden countries.

Prevention better than cure in race to slash rates of TB

The first global review of the effectiveness of current strategies to fight tuberculosis has found preventive therapy is the most effective intervention strategy.  

Mapping Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination coverage in Africa from 1990 to 2022: a novel spatiotemporal modelling study

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) protects children from severe tuberculosis and remains the only licensed vaccine for tuberculosis. Subnational estimates of BCG coverage are essential for identifying underserved populations across Africa. This study aimed to map BCG vaccination coverage in Africa from 1990 to 2022. 

Fine-scale spatial mapping of urban malaria prevalence for microstratification in an urban area of Ghana

Malaria is a focal disease and more localized in low endemic areas. The disease is increasingly becoming a concern in urban areas in most sub-Saharan African countries. The growing threats of Anopheles stephensi and insecticide resistance magnify this concern and hamper elimination efforts. It is, therefore, imperative to identify areas, within urban settings, of high-risk of malaria to help better target interventions.

Prioritizing high-risk populations for soil-transmitted helminth control in the Western Pacific Region

To achieve targets set within the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the 2021–2030 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Roadmap, the World Health Organization identify the need for improved data analytics to inform NTD control programs. 

Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile in children and adolescents in the community in Cambodia

Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile transmission between community and healthcare settings has been increasingly reported. We aimed to identify the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of C. difficile colonising adolescents and non-hospitalised children in Cambodia.

Mapping facility-based tuberculosis preventive treatment provision in Ethiopia: a geospatial analysis

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health challenge in Ethiopia, despite being a preventable disease. TB preventive treatment (TPT) is a critical intervention to prevent the progression from latent TB infection to active disease, particularly among household contacts of TB patients and people living with HIV due to weakened immunity. However, the initiation and completion rates of TPT at subnational and local levels have not been thoroughly investigated. This study aims to map facility-based TPT initiation and completion rates among household contacts of TB across Ethiopia.

Burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis among contacts of index cases: A protocol for a systematic review

People having close contact with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) patients are at increased risk of contracting and developing the disease. However, no comprehensive review has been undertaken to estimate the burden of DR-TB among contacts of DR-TB patients. Therefore, the current systematic review will quantify the prevalence and incidence of DR-TB among contacts of DR-TB patients.

Geospatial Overlap of Undernutrition and Tuberculosis in Ethiopia

Undernutrition is a key driver of the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, yet there is limited understanding regarding the spatial overlap of both diseases. This study aimed to determine the geographical co-distribution and socio-climatic factors of undernutrition and TB in Ethiopia.