Indoor air pollution from cooking with biomass fuels is a major cause of chronic bronchitis among women in a rural district of Rwanda

In the developing world, households are using biomass fuel for cooking and heating this leads to high concentration of toxic pollutants indoor causing several respiratory diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the association between biomass fuels and chronic bronchitis among women leaving in a rural district of Rwanda.Methods: A prospective study was conducted for a period of 15 months between March 2015 and May 2016 and all patients willing to participate were recruited from test villages selected randomly in the district of Gisagara. Obtained data were compared with those from control villages from the distric Huye. 448 women aged 20 years and above were recruited for the study, among them 302 were using biomass fuel for cooking and there was a control group of 146 age-matched women who were using either liquefied gas petroleum or had not been cooking the last 3 years.Results: Out of 448 women recruited for the study, 12 (2.6%) were excluded for various reasons, among them 298 (68.3%) were using biomass fuel for cooking and 138 (31.7%) belonged to the control group. Using our case definition of chronic bronchitis the overall prevalence was 10.7% of all participants. Chronic bronchitis was significantly associated with cooking indoor (OR: 8.14; 95%, CI 3.45 to 16.84), age (OR: 2.32; 95% CI 1.93 to 3.59) and education level (OR: (OR: 1.66; 95% CI , 0.90 to 3.11).Conclusion: This study showed that cooking indoor with biomass fuel, age and the level of education are the main risk factors for chronic bronchitis

Implementing radiotherapy in Africa: Focus on the needs in Rwanda.

Cancer care is a concern in low- and middle-income countries. The needs of structure to treat patients are huge. Because of the cost of radiotherapy, and the need for highly specialized workers, providing radiation therapy in these nations is a challenge. However, some solutions exist that can dramatically improve future care. In this article, we reviewed the plight of cancer treatment organization in Africa, and more specifically, the status of radiotherapy needs and concerns within Rwanda.

Asthma, atopy and COPD in sub-Saharan countries: the challenges.

Asthma and COPD are the most important chronic airways diseases worldwide. Urbanization and westernization of African countries are important factors for the development of chronic respiratory diseases. Unfortunately for many reasons, only few studies on atopy, asthma and COPD have been carried out in Africa and risk factors are not well known on the continent. Moreover, in many African countries drugs for asthma and COPD are either lacking or expensive. There is a need for setting up clear strategies to stop progression of asthma and COPD by reducing risk factors such as tobacco consumption and environment pollution.