TB infection in adults with diabetes mellitus in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: The diabetes mellitus (DM) and TB dual epidemic is growing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), yet the underlying mechanisms of increased TB risk in DM are incompletely understood. We determined the prevalence and factors associated with TB infection (TBI) among DM patients at a tertiary hospital outpatient clinic in Uganda.METHODS: Eligible consenting adults were recruited for this cross-sectional study at an outpatient diabetes clinic using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a pre-tested case report form. TBI was defined as a positive QuantiFERON® Gold Plus test (QFT-Plus) result. Factors associated with TBI were determined using modified Poisson regression analysis in Stata BE v.16.0.RESULTS: Among the 185 study participants, over two thirds were female and 87.6% (n = 162) were receiving metformin therapy. More than two thirds (143/185) had poor glycaemic control. TBI prevalence was 57.8% (107/185). Concurrent calcium channel blocker (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] 1.33, 95% CI 1.05-1.69) and pregabalin therapies (aPR 1.45, 95% CI 1.15-1.84) were independently associated with TBI.CONCLUSIONS: DM individuals on calcium channel blocker and pregabalin therapies should be routinely screened for TBI. Further studies should investigate the mechanisms of commonly used drugs for TBI in patients with DM in Uganda.

The Lys-76-Thr mutation in PfCRT and chloroquine resistance in Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Uganda.

Recent molecular studies of chloroquine (CQ) resistance of Plasmodium falciparum have demonstrated an association between a mutation in the PfCRT gene and CQ resistance. We identified wild type and mutant alleles of the PfCRT codon 76 in baseline pre-CQ treatment P. falciparum isolates collected during 1999 and investigated their relationship to CQ efficacy in 3 different sites with different levels of CQ parasite resistance in Uganda. Of 32 isolates from Mulago Hospital, all were mutant (100%), while of 45 isolates from Tororo, 5 (11%) were mixed wild type and mutant and 40 (89%) were mutants only. Of 41 isolates from Apac, 13 (32%) were mixed wild type and mutant whereas 28 (68%) were mutants only. The finding of 100% prevalence of the Thr-76 mutant allele in all isolates at the 3 sites was remarkable. We found no association between the presence of Thr-76 mutation and treatment outcome at all the sites. However, the prevalence of the wild-type Lys-76 allele was higher in Apac, an area with lower CQ parasite resistance, compared to Tororo and Mulago which have relatively higher CQ parasite resistance. The Thr-76 allele as a marker of CQ resistance is probably useful in regions where the allele frequency has not yet plateaued.