ABSTRACT
In response to the largest recorded monkeypox virus outbreak outside of endemic Central and Western Africa, the East African Community (EAC), in cooperation with the Bernhard-Nocht- Institute for Tropical Medicine, coordinated an emergency monkeypox diagnostic training for the East African Region. As of June 2022, the Democratic Republic of Congo reported a steady increase of suspected monkeypox cases, increasing the risk of spill-over into the remaining six EAC Partner States. Within the existing EAC Mobile Laboratories project, laboratory experts of the National Public Health Laboratories of the remaining six EAC Partner States (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan) participated in the workshop and were trained in the reception of suspect samples, DNA extraction and diagnosis using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The EAC region is now equipped with the tools to prepare and rapidly respond to any emerging monkeypox outbreak.
ABSTRACT
We assessed the impact of using dolutegravir or a protease inhibitor with an inactive nucleoside-reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) in children and adolescents. We observed high-levels of viral suppression among those on tenofovir-lamivudine-dolutegravir even in presence of an inactive NRTI backbone but lower levels among those on protease inhibitors, especially those retained on an inactive abacavir. Although tenofovir may be recycled with dolutegravir, more studies are needed to determine if abacavir can be reused with dolutegravir or protease inhibitors.
