Assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) measures against tuberculosis in patients in the ambulatory department facilities in Pakistan: a cross-sectional analysis.

Tuberculosis (TB), at present, is the leading infectious aetiology of death globally. In Pakistan, there are approximately 510,000 new cases annually, with more than 15,000 of them developing into drug resistant TB, making the nation the fifth leading country in TB prevalence in the world. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, focus has drifted away from TB screening, diagnostic, health awareness campaigns and therapeutic measures endangering KAP (knowledge, attitude and practices) towards TB in our population. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study in Pakistan to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of Pakistani residents attending the adult outpatient departments of public hospitals for any health-related concern. Our sample size was of 856 participants, with a median age of 22 years. Occupation-wise, those who were employed had better knowledge of TB than those who were unemployed [odds ratio (OR): 1.011; 95% CI :1.005-1.8005]. No differences were observed in TB knowledge between those adherents to common preventive practices versus not adherent (OR 0.875, 95% CI: 0.757-1.403). More than 90 % of participants agreed that TB is dangerous for the community and a majority opted against stigmatising TB patients (79.1%). People who could read and write were 3.5 times more likely to have a good attitude towards TB compared to those who could not (OR: 3.596;95% CI: 1.821-70.230; p=0.037). Similarly, employed subjects had better attitude compared to unemployed ones (p=0.024), (OR: 1.125; 95% CI: 0.498, 1.852) and those having better knowledge of TB had a better attitude grade (OR:1.749; 95% CI: 0.832-12.350), p=0.020). Age, occupation, and educational status were statistically significant among the two groups (p=0.038, p=0.023, p=0.000) respectively. Literate subjects had thrice good practice towards TB than illiterate (OR: 3.081; 95% CI: 1.869-4.164; p=0.000). Future education and awareness programs should target specific groups such as the unemployed and illiterate with practice-focused approaches. Our study outcomes can enable the concerned officials and authorities taking appropriate evidence-based steps to direct the efforts in an efficient manner to curtail the burden of TB in Pakistan and to limit its progression that could potentially lead our nation to become an MDR-TB endemic territory.

Self-Medication in Africa during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Self-medication is known as "the usage of drugs, herbs or home remedies on one's own initiative, or on the advice of another person, without consulting a doctor'. In Africa, self-medication has reached a critical stage, with people using and taking any drug regardless of how poisonous the material may be as long as unprofessional suggestions advocate it as a solution to their health problem. In this article, we looked at the consequences, effects, and recommendations for reducing the use of self-medication as a habit among Africans.

Global impact of vaccine nationalism during COVID-19 pandemic.

Vaccines are the best chance to control the pandemic-unless leaders succumb to vaccine nationalism. Vaccine nationalism is a frequent recurrence, especially during a brand-new market distribution. The development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in such a short space of time is a testament to modern scientific abilities. It will also test the world's political will and moral commitment to end this pandemic. As desperate as the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine nationalism is already setting a foundation for itself and is considered socially and economically counterproductive. Vaccine equity is not just a theoretical slogan, and it protects people worldwide from new vaccine-resistant variants. Understanding and anticipating the consequences is vital, and creating a global solution approach to avoid them. This article evaluates the common issues previously faced and the plausible ones during this pandemic. A few recommendations are made to warn and accentuate the reality of this dire matter.

COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA): An added potential burden on India's pre-existing fungal superinfection.

The ongoing pandemic that initiated in Wuhan, China, has been an international public health emergency since January 2020. India has been battling a brutal COVID-19's second wave since April 2021. The healthcare system was struggling with a substantial increase in COVID-19 cases when the lack of necessary resources further aroused a major setback. Opportunistic fungal infections, specifically mucormycosis and candidiasis have become a pressing matter of concern. Recent cases of aspergillosis have also heightened public alarm. Hence, call for an immediate response to this public health crisis is the need of the hour by establishing countrywide surveillance, diagnostic, and management system, as well as public awareness to alleviate the burden of COVID-19 and fungal infections in India.

HIV/AIDS among children in Ratodero, Pakistan amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges, efforts, and recommendations.

In Pakistan, HIV has increased at an alarming rate in recent decades, and the death toll has risen. It is a public health challenge amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that is not being given due importance. The present article looks at the challenges and efforts being made to deal with HIV among children in Ratodero, Pakistan, and addresses measures that can be taken to control the disease in the child population epidemiologically.

Malaria amidst COVID-19 in India: Challenges, Efforts, and Recommendations.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in India, the country has faced a slew of new challenges, spawning a slew of other deadly viruses and diseases while also serving as a breeding ground for them. Not only did Malaria (a vector-borne disease) emerge as a coincidental outbreak during the pandemic, but many others did as well, causing severe diseases in humans due to flaws in health-care systems that were already overburdened with identifying, preventing, and treating the recently introduced coronavirus disease. Inadequate water cleanliness, as well as the delayed and misdiagnosis of Malaria with COVID-19 due to overlapping symptoms, are major impediments in the incidence of these unique outbreaks. Appropriate steps, such as providing clean water and diagnostic facilities to control Malaria cases, should be adopted to prevent such epidemics in the country.

Rampant Increase in Cases of Mucormycosis in India and Pakistan: A Serious Cause for Concern during the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 is a global health crisis that continues to pose new challenges all around the world. Amidst the growing pandemic, a spike in the number of mucormycosis cases in India and Pakistan has been reported in COVID-19 patients and in those who have recovered from COVID-19. This increase in cases may be related to the overuse of steroids and zinc, the use of industrial oxygen, unsterilized medical equipment, frequent intubation, a weakened immune system, and pre-existing comorbidities such as diabetes. As a result, it is critical to take steps to handle the current increase in mucormycosis cases. Therefore, this article aims to highlight the existence of mucormycosis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in India and Pakistan, focusing on possible causes and implications, and suggests important plans of action to be taken during this pandemic.

Epidemic of plague amidst COVID-19 in Madagascar: efforts, challenges, and recommendations.

The plague has been wreaking havoc on people in Madagascar with the COVID-19 pandemic. Madagascar's healthcare sector is striving to respond to COVID-19 in the face of a plague outbreak that has created a new strain on the country's public health system. The goal and activities of the gradual epidemic of plague in Madagascar during COVID-19 are described in this research. In order to contain the plague and the COVID-19 pandemic in this country, we have suggested long-term recommendations that can help to contain the outbreak so that it may spread to non-endemic areas.

Telesurgery and Robotics: An Improved and Efficient Era.

Telesurgery, or remote surgery, is widely known as a master-slave technology. It has achieved a milestone in surgical technology and intervention, providing widespread prospects of operating on a patient in a remote area with increased accuracy and precision. It consists of one or more arms controlled by a surgeon and a master controller in a remote area accessing all the information being transferred via a telecommunication system. This paper reviews the present advancements and their benefits and limitations in the field of telesurgery. A handful of operations have been done so far. However, due to time-lag (latency), global networking problems, legal issues and skepticism, and on top of the cost of robotic systems and their affordability have led to the concept of telerobotics and surgery to lag. However, with more information and high speed, 5G networking, which has been in a trial to reduce latency to its minimum, is beneficial. Haptic feedback technology in telesurgery and robotics is another achievement that can be improved; further, this allows the robotic arms to mimic the natural hand movements of the surgeon in the control center so that the master controller can perform surgeries with more dexterity and acuity. Due to coronavirus (COVID-19), this type of surgery approach can reduce the probability of contracting the virus, saving more lives and the future.