Successful Adjustment in Botswana

Barriers to successful application of information technology in Botswana

Successful introduction of routine opt-out HIV testing in antenatal care in Botswana.

BACKGROUND Botswana has high HIV prevalence among pregnant women (37.4% in 2003) and provides free services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. Nearly all pregnant women (>95%) have antenatal care (ANC) and deliver in hospital. Uptake of antenatal HIV testing was low from 1999 through 2003. In 2004, Botswana's President declared that HIV testing should be "routine but...

Tinea capitis in Botswana

BACKGROUND Tinea capitis (TC) is a common dermatophyte infection of the scalp that can also involve the eyebrows and eyelashes. AIM This study aimed to find the causative fungus responsible for TC in Botswana and determine its association with the clinical types of TC. METHODS Samples for potassium hydroxide 10% mounts and fungal cultures were collected in a microbiology laboratory at the N...

Bovine borreliosis in Botswana.

Clinical Borrelia theileri infection was reported for the first time in cattle from Botswana concurrent with Babesia bovis and Theileria mutans infections. Two animals, an ox and a cow of the Tswana breed demonstrated clinical signs of fever, haemoglobinuria, inappetance, diarrhoea, pallor of mucous membranes, enlarged superficial lymph nodes and rough hair coats. Examination of the blood smear...

Tuberculosis transmission in Botswana.

Lockman and colleagues recently described a study on conventional and molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in Botswana (4) and found a rate of clustering cases of pulmonary tuberculosis equal to 42%. The authors were surprised by the result, since they expected a higher rate of clustering in a country such as Botswana, where the incidence of tuberculosis is extremely high (over 500 per 100,00...