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Abstract The Ebola virus (EBOV) remains a major public health challenge due to its complex structure and the lack of appropriate and effective vaccines and therapies. This review characterizes the Ebola virus, its immune response, and its therapeutic challenges. Structural EBOV proteins include the envelope glycoprotein, nucleoprotein, RNA polymerase L, and viral proteins VP30, VP24, VP35, and VP40. The proteins play a role in the virus’s pathogenesis by evading the host's immune response. The immune system evasion mechanisms of EBOV are critical in its pathogenesis. Some vaccines, such as the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-Zaire Ebola virus (RVSV-ZEBOV), have proven to be very effective and have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) additionally, four other vaccines have been approved including Gam Evac-Combi (licensed in Russia), ad5-EBOV (approved in China), Zabdeno and Mvabea (approved in Europe). However, some challenges remain in developing effective vaccines, such as the selection of immunogens, cross-protecting immunity, long-term protection, mechanism of protection, and rapid response vaccination. Despite the progress made, there is still a need for an effective vaccine that offers durable and broad protection against multiple strains of the Ebola virus. This will be achieved through the collaboration of various organizations and government and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) agencies.

Introduction: Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is a global health concern during pregnancy. It accounts for 2%–15% of pregnant women globally. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of ASB, the leading cause of ASB during pregnancy, and the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of bacteria associated with ASB. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from September to December 2021 at Muhoza Health Centre. About 142 pregnant women without symptoms of urinary tract infections were recruited. The urine sample collected was put in a sterile Stuart plastic container and transported to INES Ruhengeri clinical microbiology for bacterial identification. The structured interview was conducted to assess factors associated with ASB among women. Logistic regression analysis was performed to test the relationship between demographic characteristics and ASB, while a Chi-square test (x2) was performed to test for association with ASB and other determinants considered in this study. Results: About 70.40% of participants had ASB. Pregnant women in the second trimester (28.16%) and first trimester (25.35%) were the most affected, while women aged 24–29 (28.16%) were the most affected. Escherichia coli (27.6%) and Klebsiella pneumonia (23.8%) were the predominant isolated bacteria in the urine and was observed to be the most coloniser of the urinary tract throughout all the pregnancy trimesters. Among demographic characteristics, urban residence (P = 0.005, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.717–4.160), primary education (P < 0.00001, 95% CI = 15.390–19.310), ordinary education (P < 0.00001, 95% CI = 16.550–20.455) and advanced level education (P < 0.00001, 95% CI = 17.194–20.650) were statistically significant to contribute to ASB. Hygiene (x2 = 6.81, P = 0.009) was significantly associated with ASB. K. pneumonia and Staphylococcus saprophyticus were the most resistant bacteria to selected antibiotics. Conclusion: ASB may be an epidemic in pregnancy. Early diagnosis of ASB is recommended in early pregnancy to prevent pregnancy-associated complications.

Background: Dental disease remains a public health concern of this era. In 2020, World Health Organization reported that 3.5 billion of oral disease occurs every year. About 2.3 billion case is attributed to dental caries while gum disease affects 10% of the global population. Methods: This was a case control study carried out from November 2020 to February 2021. About 120 participants were recruited, of them, 60 were oral diseased, while the remaining 60 were selected as a control group. Oral swab samples were collected with the swab stick, and put into plastic sterile container to avoid external microbial contamination. Samples were transported to INES clinical microbiology laboratory for microbial identification. chi square was performed to test for association, while odd ratios and relative risk were performed to test for pathogenic microbial fraction. Results: The common oral diseases were tooth decay (56.6%) and gum disease (43.4%). the most affected age range was 5-19years (53.33%), while females (63.3%) were the most affected sex. The most isolated microorganism was Lactobacillus spp (15.8%) for patients, while Staphylococcus aureus (11.2%) was the most isolate in the control group. The statistical significant association with oral microbial alteration and oral disease was observed on Streptococcus mutans (x2=8.9, P= 0.002852), Lactobacillus spp (x2=9.84, P=0.001708), Candida spp (x2=5.2, P=0.02258), Staphylococcus aureus (x2 = 15.6, P= 0.000078), and Providencia spp (x2 = 6, P=0.014306). The overall oral microbial alteration (x2=53, P< 0.00001) was statistically significant. The ratio of pathogenic microorganisms (OR=4, 95%CI:2.3786-7.062 and RR=1.477, 95%CI:1.2478-1.7153) was significantly associated with oral disease. Conclusion: Oral microbial alteration contributes to oral disease. Early detection of oral microbial alteration, and oral diseases are recommended.