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Typhoid fever, a classical disease of enteric origin caused by Salmonella species of bacteria, is among the most important diseases threatening public health in Africa. The African continent is a marker for both low resources within the healthcare system and poor disease control policy formulations in managing endemic infectious diseases. Since the colonial era, the Widal serological test has been used to confirm typhoid fever in Africa, however recent studies recommend blood culture, and when blood culture cannot be obtained, clinical findings, laboratory Widal test confirmation, and ruling out other febrile illnesses as confirmatory pathway to diagnose typhoid fever in Africa. Managing typhoid fever relies on antimicrobials. In 1980s chloramphenicol was the medication of choice. Years later, amoxicillin and co-trimoxazole were adopted. However, the instantaneous rise of resistant strains of Salmonella enterica confers an important challenge to treat the burdensome enteric fever. The current treatment algorithm of typhoid fever in Africa relies significantly on the use of fluoroquinolones, macrolides, and cephalosporins. Developed nations have successfully addressed and controlled typhoid fever via improvement in accessing safe water and food, better sanitary and hygienic behaviours, and vaccines development. Nevertheless, there is significant evidence to infer improvement in the diagnosis management of typhoid fever over the last few decades, and efforts are underway to control the disease spread in Africa. This review aims to provide an overview of the latest developments in typhoid fever diagnosis and management in Africa and provide key recommendations for a coordinated approach to mitigate typhoid in the continent.

Over the months of April and May 2021, South Africa has witnessed several outbreaks of highly infective avian influenza (H5N1) in different poultry farms. This came as a shock to a country that was already battling with the deadly COVID‐19 pandemic. The emergence of the virus has spurred import bans and massive culls in the poultry business. Local experts have also called for a restriction on the movement of people and cars in and out of their chicken farms. Employees have also been encouraged to shower in the mornings when they arrive at the farms and wear fresh clothes, as the flu spreads very quickly. In a country that is already facing the economic implications of the COVID‐19, this has the potential to cause a significant dent in the economy, as well as severely impact people's day‐to‐day life. Bird flu—also called avian influenza—is a viral infection that can infect not only birds but also humans and other animals. The threat of a new influenza pandemic has prompted countries to draft national strategic preparedness plans to prevent, contain and mitigate the next human influenza pandemic. This paper describes the South African burden, current efforts, and preparedness against the avian influenza virus.

A new rising incidence of Rift Valley fever (RVF) among livestock and humans in the African continent during the COVID‐19 pandemic has become of increasing concern. We analyzed the different ways COVID‐19 has contributed to the increase in RVF cases and how it has impacted the interventions allocated to the disease by comparing it with the status of the disease before the pandemic. There is enough evidence to conclude that the COVID‐19 pandemic has impacted the efforts being taken to prevent outbreaks of RVF. Therefore, with no definitive treatment in place and inadequate preventive measures and disease control, RVF may potentially lead to a future epidemic unless addressed urgently.

COVID-19 being a public health emergency of international concern has emerged in most African countries including Niger. Niger, a landlocked country, is tasked with controlling the pandemic. However, of the big challenges the country faced is the fragility of healthcare system which posed limitations to the fight against the virus. The virus overwhelmed the fragile healthcare system which led to inaccessibility of quality healthcare to the citizens coupled with issues of flooding and economic recession that happened during the pandemic. The healthcare sectored has further been crippled by exposure and infection of the already insufficient healthcare workers. In addition to this, there was the burden of NTDs and other communicable and non-communicable diseases that subverted the country in the depths of difficulties. As per the predictions of World Bank, the poverty curve is likely to escalate due to the outrageous impacts of COVID-19. Adding on to this, the occurrence of natural disasters such as flooding has further stretched the country. It's no coincidence that the country would confront plethora of challenges amidst the second wave. Therefore, timely decision and necessary interventions are needed to strengthen the country's fight against the pandemic. However, this is only feasible when Nigerien government, international allies and other wealthy nations work closely to ensure that the challenges faced by the healthcare system are tackled.

been one of the most affected since the pandemic has limited their access to healthcare everywhere in the world including Nigeria. Reduced access to healthcare services in hospitals has caused an increase in the number of patient visits to the community pharmacies. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of infections by community pharmacists. This study was a prospective cross-sectional study that was carried out among community pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Ibadan, Oyo state and Uyo, Akwa Ibom state due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases from July until August 2020. Data was collected through a pre-tested online questionnaire which was sent to the pharmacists upon provision of consent after the purpose of the study was explained. A total of one hundred and twenty two pharmacists consented to participate in this study out of which 65 (53.3%) were female. Malaria (81, 66.4%), respiratory tract infections (40, 32.8%) and sexually transmitted infections (1, 0.8%) were identified as infections with the highest frequency by the community pharmacists, while more than 96% (118) pharmacists reported that COVID-19 has affected the way they manage or treat other infections seen in their pharmacy. This study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way community pharmacists treat other infections in the community pharmacy setting. More studies are needed to explore the specific nature of this effect on specific infections.

COVID-19 has been predicted to cause mental health deterioration among inhabitants around the globe including university students. This study was aimed at evaluating the perceived effect of COVID-19 on the mental health and social activity of healthcare students in southwestern Nigeria. A cross-sectional online survey method was used in the evaluation where an online questionnaire was distributed to the Whatsapp groups of undergraduate and post-graduate healthcare students from May to June 2020 using convenience sampling technique. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social sciences version 25 and results were presented using descriptive statistics which included mean, frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics was done using the chi-square analysis. A total of 261 students consented to participate in the study. The mean age of the respondents was 23.77 + 3.85 years from various disciplines including pharmacy (31.4%), nursing (31%) and medicine (21.1%). Majority of the respondents (69.7%, 95%, 64.4% and 96.6%) had more than 50% perceived effect score showing considerable effect of COVID-19 on mental health, social life, safety and formal learning respectively. There was an association between gender and the perceived effect of COVID-19 on mental health and safety. There was no association between gender and perceived effect of COVID-19 on formal learning and social activity. COVID-19 has a considerable effect on mental health and social activity of healthcare students. There is a need for interventions to help reduce the effect of COVID-19 on mental health and encourage the use of online platforms to improve learning among college students.