Pizga Kumwenda

• University of Birmingham

Objective The aim of our study was to determine the extent of exposure of the student population to SARS-CoV-2 and its associated factors. 166 students were enrolled in our study representing a 100% response rate. Results The SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in the sampled student population was 78%. Gender of the respondents was a significant m...

Candida albicans is a commensal of the urogenital tract and the predominant cause of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). Factors that increase circulatory estrogen levels such as pregnancy, the use of oral contraceptives, and hormone replacement therapy predispose women to VVC, but the reasons for this are largely unknown. Here, we investigate how adap...

Objective The aim of this study was to characterize Covid-19 cases and explore risk factors associated with mortality among hypertensive patients with COVID-19 country-wide. Methods We used a retrospective case control study design to provide a detailed account of cases and explore risk factors associated with mortality among hypertensive patients...

We estimated the seroprevalence of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in residents of African countries and explored its associated factors. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, AMED, CINAHL, DOAJ and Google Scholar databases for peer reviewed articles and pre-prints that reported anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody...

Candida albicans infections range from superficial to systemic and are one of the leading causes of fungus-associated nosocomial infections. The innate immune responses during these various infection types differ, suggesting that the host environment plays a key role in modulating the host–pathogen interaction. In addition, C. albicans is able to r...

Background Bacterial infections are a significant cause of sickness and death in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed at establishing the prevalence, distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of major bacterial isolates from patients accessing medical care at a tertiary hospital in Malawi. Methods We retrospectively reviewed bacteria c...

Gender is a risk factor for several infections that, for many pathogens, has been linked to sex hormones impacting host immunity and directly affecting microbial virulence. Candida albicans is a commensal of the urogenital tract and the predominant cause of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). Factors that increase circulatory oestrogen levels like preg...

Background Bacterial infections are a significant cause of sickness and death in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed at establishing the prevalence, distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of major bacterial isolates from patients attending a tertiary hospital in Malawi. Methods We retrospectively reviewed bacteria culture and antibi...

Background Bacterial infections are a significant cause of sickness and death in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed at establishing the prevalence, distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of major bacterial isolates from patients accessing medical care at a tertiary hospital in Malawi. Methods We retrospectively reviewed bacteria cu...

Candida albicans is able to proliferate in environments that vary dramatically in ambient pH, a trait required for colonising niches such as the stomach, vaginal mucosal and the GI tract. Here we show that growth in acidic environments involves cell wall remodelling which results in enhanced chitin and β-glucan exposure at the cell wall periphery....

Release of the outer phosphomannan does not result in unmasking of inner cell wall components. C. albicans strains were grown to mid-log phase in YPD and YPD buffered at pH4, fixed with 4% PFA and carbohydrate exposure quantified by immunofluorescence. Fluorescence was quantified by FACS analysis of 10,000 events per strain, per condition, per repe...

De-cloaking of the fungal cell wall in response to environmental pH is an active process. C. albicans cells were grown overnight in YPD. Cells were killed by fixing with 4% PFA, heat killing at 65°C for 2 h, treatment with 1 J UV light, or 100 mM thimerosal for 45 mins. Cells were washed and incubated in YPD buffered at pH2, 4 and 6 for 4 h. Cells...

C. albicans strains used in this study. (DOCX)

Supplemental references. (DOCX)

Unmasking of β-glucan in response to environmental pH is not mediated via conventional cell wall or pH sensing pathways. a) β-glucan unmasking in kinase mutants grown to mid-log phase in YPD buffered to pH4 as quantified by FACS analysis of immunofluorescent staining and repressed as fold change relative to YPD. Data represent the mean ± SEM from t...

The rim101Δ and bcr1Δ mutants display reduced phagocytosis. C. albicans strains were grown in YPD at the appropriate pH to mid-log phase, co-incubated with J774.1A macrophages at an MOI = 5 for 1 h and the a) phagocytosis index and b) association index determined. Data represent the mean ± SEM from three independent repeats. c) PBMCs were incubated...

The ability to cause disease extends from the ability to grow within the host environment. The human host provides a dynamic environment to which fungal pathogens must adapt to in order to survive. The ability to grow under a particular condition (i.e., the ability to grow at mammalian body temperature) is considered a fitness attribute and is esse...

Background: Reference ranges for haematological and other laboratory tests in most African countries are based on populations in Europe and America and, because of environmental and genetic factors, these may not accurately reflect the normal reference ranges in African populations. Aim: To determine the distribution of haematological parameters...