The origin of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan China has been reported to be one of the lethal pandemics the world has ever faced. Though the first case was reported in December 2019, COVID-19 spread so rapidly to the majority of countries by March 2020 and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID-19 pandemic led to increased morbidity and mortality within a very short period of time. COVID-19 pandemic caused schools, colleges, and universities to come to a closure in order to avoid further transmission and spread of the disease. The physical closure of schools, colleges, and universities has impacted students in several ways in that some students have reported suffering from anxiety, depression, and mood swings. COVID-19 has disrupted social interaction among students and has affected their family life. These impacts on students will eventually affect their academic performance and progression. Thus, learning institutions should put in measures to help students recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory tract infection that emerged from China in December 2019 and is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Due to the airborne nature of its transmission, COVID-19 spread to the rest of the world rapidly. Thus, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. This paper evaluated the factors that lead to self-medication in people suffering from respiratory tract infections such as COVID-19, and the consequences of practicing self-medication using antimicrobial agents. Most of the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 are also seen in infections such as malaria, flu, and the common cold. For this reason, and also due to poor healthcare-seeking behaviour, most people tend to self-medicate using medicines that are known to be effective against malaria, common cold, and COVID-19. Among the commonly used medicines in the practice of self-medication include antibacterials, antimalarials, and antivirals. Some vitamins such as vitamin C boost the immune system enabling it to provide effective defence mechanisms against microbes. However, self-medication may pose consequences such as the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, hypersensitivity reactions as well as dose-dependent toxicities viz dermatoxicity, cardiotoxicity, and hepatoxicity. Infectious diseases caused by antimicrobial-resistant microbes are difficult and, in some instances, impossible to treat thereby leading to increased morbidity and mortality among infected people. Consequently, antimicrobial resistance poses another global public health problem and requires a multisectoral approach to curb. It is our recommendation that all governments ensure that there are adequate medicines and efficient human resources in healthcare facilities as well as sufficient public awareness to prevent people from seeking self-medication.
Background: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a serious global health problem that has negatively impacted the mental health of students.Methods: We conducted an online descriptive cross-sectional study among 273 undergraduate pharmacy students at the University of Zambia from August to September 2020. A partial proportional odds regression model was used to determine the predictors of anxiety. All statistical tests were set at 95% confidence level (p<0.05).Results: A response rate of 70% was obtained with the majority of the students being female 51.6%. Of the 273 respondents, 23.8% did not experience anxiety, 34.4% experienced mild anxiety, 24.9% experienced moderate anxiety while 16.9% experienced severe anxiety about COVID-19. It was also found that 61.2% of students reported that their attention to mental health increased during the COVID-19 pandemic whereas 44.3% reported an increased resting time with a significant reduction in relaxation 51.3% and physical activity 45.4% time. Factors that affected mental health included; reduced family care (OR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.09-4.74), not changing attention to mental health (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.18-0.62), being in the final year of study (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.13-0.84), reduced time of resting (OR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.26-3.50) and feeling helpless (OR: 0.42; 95% CI:0.23-0.75).Conclusions: COVID-19 negatively impacted the mental health and physical activity of pharmacy students at the University of Zambia. This can have negative health and academic outcomes for students going forward. Higher learning institutions and key stakeholders should implement measures to aid students to recover from the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health and physical activity.
BackgroundThe novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a serious global health problem that has negatively impacted the mental health of students.MethodsWe conducted an online descriptive cross-sectional study among 273 undergraduate pharmacy students at the University of Zambia. A partial proportional odds regression model was used to determine the predictors of anxiety. All statistical tests were set at 95% confidence level (p<0.05).ResultsA response rate of 70% was obtained with the majority of the students being female 51.6%. Of the 273 respondents, 23.8% did not experience anxiety, 34.4% experienced mild anxiety, 24.9% experienced moderate anxiety while 16.9% experienced severe anxiety about COVID-19. It was also found that 61.2% of students reported that their attention to mental health increased during the COVID-19 pandemic whereas 44.3% reported an increased resting time with a significant reduction in relaxation 51.3% and physical activity 45.4% time. Factors that affected mental health included; reduced family care (OR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.09-4.74), not changing attention to mental health (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.18-0.62), being in the final year of study (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.13-0.84), reduced time of resting (OR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.26-3.50) and feeling helpless (OR: 0.42; 95% CI:0.23-0.75).ConclusionCOVID-19 negatively impacted the mental health and physical activity of pharmacy students at the University of Zambia. This can have negative health and academic outcomes for students going forward. Higher learning institutions and key stakeholders should implement measures to aid students to recover from the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health and physical activity.
Background: Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) has significantly improved Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients’ survival rates. However, the emergence of HIV Drug Resistance (HIVDR) has markedly reduced the effectiveness of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). Aim: This narrative review was conducted to review published studies on HIV drug resistance and its consequences. Materials and methods: A literature search for this narrative review was carried out and the following databases were used PubMed, Google Scholar, and The Lancet. The cited articles were published from 1999 to 2021. The keywords used in the search of literature included ‘Antiretroviral therapy’, ‘resistance’, and ‘Human Immunodeficiency Virus drug resistance’, ‘HIV’, ‘HIV drug resistance’, ‘HIV vaccines’, and the Boolean word ‘AND’. Results: There is a high prevalence of HIV drug resistance globally that has been associated with some factors such as older age, non-adherence to treatment, long treatment duration, lower cell count and high viral load. HIV drug resistance may lead to treatment failure, prolongation of the time required to achieve viral suppression and leads to increased mortality. Increasing access to viral load monitoring can help mitigate HIV drug resistance. Conclusion: HIV drug resistance is a global threat to public health and has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Therefore, there is a need for more research to be carried out and various strategies like the use of antiretrovirals with a high genetic barrier to resistance need to be put in place to prevent further spread resistance. HIVDR must be monitored frequently taking into consideration the geographic variability. There is an urgent need for the development of anti-HIV vaccines that will help to prevent further transmission and spread of HIV.
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