Factors associated with dengue fever IgG sero-prevalence in south Kordofan state, Sudan, in 2012: Reporting prevalence ratios

Dengue fever [DF] is a vector-borne virus transmitted to humans by infected Aedes mosquitoes. In this study, we identified the most important factors associated with the prevalence of IgG antibodies in a border state between Sudan and the new republic of South Sudan. To quantify the association of specific factors with the prevalence of DF IgG antibodies in Lagawa among subjects aged 16-60 years in 2012. Analytical cross-sectional community-based study conducted in Lagawa in 2012. Indoor mosquito breeding was the most significant predictor affecting DF IgG serology. Household water storage was also strongly associated with the presence of IgG antibodies. Residence in urban areas, younger age and a history of travel to the Red Sea State were significant predictors of DF IgG seroprevalence in South Kordofan state. Indoor [household] behaviors associated with DF infection should be modified to mitigate the infection risk in the study area. Awareness should be raised regarding DF in Lagawa to ensure community participation in all control measures, and the surveillance system at the border between Sudan and the republic of South Sudan should be strengthened

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of pubmed-indexed biomedical publications in Oman from years 2005-2009

Research activities are promoted at the government and the institutional levels in Oman. However, the quantity and quality of research conducted in various institutes of Oman has not been measured. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the quantity and quality of biomedical publications emanating from Oman over the last five years [2005-2009]. Data regarding the biomedical publications of Omani origin published from January 2005 to December 2009 were retrieved from Pubmed. All abstracts were manually checked to exclude false retrievals. The journal impact factor [IF] for 2008 was applied for every publication. Full-length original articles, review articles and publications mentioning new research methods/new technique were assigned full IF of the journal. However, half of the journal IF were assigned to correspondences/commentaries, case reports/series and short communications. Of biomedical publications, 752 were retrieved from Pubmed and 519 publications were included for final analysis after excluding false positives. The number of biomedical publications steadily increased over the last five years, but it was not statistically significant. Original research articles constituted more than half [54.3%] of all the publications, followed by case reports/series [30.1%]. Sultan Qaboos University [SQU] contributed more than half of the biomedical publications [51.5%], followed by the Ministry of Health [MoH], which contributed 38% of the publications. Interestingly, the mean IF of the publications was not significantly different throughout the years. The number of publications emanating from Oman increased over the last five years; however, the quality of research has not improved. Furthermore, the research in Oman is mainly conducted by the government-run institutions and there is hardly any contribution from the private institutions