Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Lesotho”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Congenital syphilis in an immunocompromised neonate: case report.

Syphilis is a notifiable and preventable disease, congenital syphilis more so. Consequently, attention has been recently focused on prenatal diagnosis of foetal syphilis by the use of ultrasonography apart from the conventional serologic screening. Congenital syphilis has not been reported from the Kingdom of Lesotho. We report the case of a 3.0 kg male neonate with florid joint and bone lesions of congenital syphilis associated with HIV infection seen at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho. Co-existing HIV infection influences the clinical manifestation of syphilis, the progression of neurosyphilis and the response to standard therapy. The baby had the recommended standard treatment with good response and he was followed-up for a period of twelve months with serologic screening and radiographic evaluation.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed2005

AIDS, drought, and child malnutrition in southern Africa.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate trends in child malnutrition in six countries in southern Africa, in relation to the HIV epidemic and drought in crop years 2001/2 and 2002/3. DESIGN: Epidemiological analysis of sub-national and national surveys with related data. SETTING: Data from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, compiled and analysed under UNICEF auspices. SUBJECTS: Secondary data: children 0-5 years for weight-for-age; HIV prevalence data from various sources especially antenatal clinic surveillance. RESULTS: Child nutritional status as measured by prevalence of underweight deteriorated from 2001 onwards in all countries except Lesotho, with very substantial increases in some provinces/districts (e.g. from 5 to 20% in Maputo (Mozambique, 1997-2002), 17 to 32% in Copperbelt (Zambia, 1999-2001/2) and 11 to 26% in Midlands province (Zimbabwe, 1999-2002)). Greater deterioration in underweight occurred in better-off areas. Areas with higher HIV/AIDS prevalences had (so far) lower malnutrition rates (and infant mortality rates), presumably because more modern areas--with greater reliance on trade and wage employment--have more HIV/AIDS. Areas with higher HIV/AIDS showed more deterioration in child nutrition. A significant area-level interaction was found of HIV/AIDS with the drought period, associated with particularly rapid deterioration in nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS: First, the most vulnerable may be households in more modern areas, nearer towns, to whom resources need to be directed. Second, the causes of this vulnerability need to be investigated. Third, HIV/AIDS amplifies the effect of drought on nutrition, so rapid and effective response will be crucial if drought strikes again. Fourth, expanded nutritional surveillance is now needed to monitor and respond to deteriorating trends. Finally, with or without drought, new means are needed of bringing help, comfort and assistance to the child population.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Criminal Procedure and Evidence (Amendment) Order, 1988 (No. 11 of 1988).

Among other things, this Order authorizes the Director of Public Prosecutions of Lesotho to issue a certificate stipulating that "in the public interest a person charged, committed for trial or sentence" for rape should not be admitted to bail, with the effect that no court shall have the power to admit such a person to bail.

Africa↗
PubMed1983

On vagrancy and psychosis.

Paradoxically, due to recent mental health legislation, the mentally handicapped of the developed world find themselves in the same situation as the majority of those in the developing world who never had contact with a mental health service. A survey of the literature and of the situation in Egypt and Lesotho suggests marked coincidence of vagrancy and chronic mental illness. In both the developed and developing world, adequate services to support these people are lacking.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed2006

Alien plant invasions--incorporating emerging invaders in regional prioritization: a pragmatic approach for Southern Africa.

Plant invasions are a serious threat to natural and semi-natural ecosystems worldwide. Most management-orientated research on invasions focuses on invaders that are already widespread and often have major impacts. This paper deals with "emerging" invaders-those alien species with the potential to become important problems without timely intervention. A climate matching procedure was developed to define areas of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland that could be invaded by 28 plant species that had previously been classified as emerging invaders. Information on the location of populations of these species in the study area was combined with information on their distributions (as native or alien) in parts of Australia and the United States of America. These two countries had the best available distribution data for this study. They also share many invasive alien plant species with South Africa. Climatic data obtained for weather stations near points of known occurrence in these countries were used to define the climatically suitable areas for each species in the study area. Almost 80% of the remaining natural environment in southern Africa was found to be vulnerable to invasion by at least one of these species, 50% by six or more and 24% by 16 or more species. The most vulnerable areas are the highveld grasslands and the eastern escarpment. The emerging invaders with the greatest potential range included Acacia podalyriifolia and Cortaderia selloana. The globally important invaders Ulex europaeus and Lythrum salicaria had a more limited invasion potential but could still become major invaders. There was no relationship between the extent of the climatically suitable areas for the different species and an expert ranking of their invasion potential, emphasising the uncertainties inherent in making expert assessments based on very little information. The methods used in this analysis establish a protocol for future modelling exercises to assess the invasion potential of other emerging invaders.

Acacia↗
PubMed2005

Variation in antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity of different growth forms of Malva parviflora and evidence for synergism of the anti-inflammatory compounds.

Malva parviflora leaves and roots were collected from five sites within the Qacha's Nek District in Lesotho. These plants had two distinct growth forms--upright and prostrate. Hexane, methanol and water extracts were made from the plant material and tested for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity using the disc diffusion and cyclooxygenase-1 (Cox-1) bioassays, respectively. Hexane, methanol and water extracts made from Malva parviflora with a prostrate growth form inhibited the growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, while extracts made from plants with an upright growth form inhibited the growth of Gram-positive bacteria only. Cox-1 anti-inflammatory activity of hexane, methanol and water extracts did not show any variation between the two growth forms. The hexane extracts of both the leaves and roots were the most inhibitory. The water extracts had the least inhibitory activity. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the root dichloromethane extract showed that Cox-1 anti-inflammatory activity was caused by at least two compounds that acted synergistically to produce the biological effect.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1997

Midwifery education for safe motherhood.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the useability (relevance, clarity and quality of content), applicability (ease of use) and accessibility (structure and form) of a series of new safe motherhood midwifery education modules. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey and focus group discussions, preceded by a two week clinical skills course and an eight day orientation to using the modules. SETTING: Nursing and midwifery education institutions, regional training centres, acute-care hospital facilities and community settings in Ethiopia, Fiji, Lesotho, Mozambique and Nepal. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-six teachers, 82 midwives, nurse-midwives and auxiliary nurse-midwives from practice settings, and 60 post basic midwifery students. KEY FINDINGS: Overall it was found that the introductory information and the technical content of the modules were easy to understand and use as were the instructions for both teachers and students. The presentation of the material was orderly and easy to follow; the language was comprehensible; and the illustrations were appropriate, clear and facilitated teaching. The teachers found that they were able to use most of the teaching/learning methods, teach most of the skills in the modules, and use the guidelines for assessing competence. The main difficulties encountered included adherence to the recommended time frame for some of the classroom sessions; the limited availability of clinical cases for teaching the specific skills in the modules and time limitations in the clinical area for practising the skills; and the provision of transport for community visits, data to complete community profiles, and time to complete other planned community activities. The students identified the need for a set of learning materials which they could take with them for future reference, and both teachers and students expressed concern about resources to support, and legislation to cover, the application of the skills taught/learned. KEY CONCLUSIONS: The modules have the potential to strengthen and support the education of midwives in developing countries, enabling them to make motherhood safer and contribute to a reduction in maternal mortality by providing better midwifery care.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Unnecessary water supplementation for babies: grandmothers blame clinics.

UNLABELLED: This study was designed to obtain policy-and programme-relevant data on exclusive breastfeeding in Lesotho at a time when global recommendations for exclusive breastfeeding were new. During both phases of field research, conducted in 1991 and 1992, qualitative information was obtained through focus groups and individual interviews with mothers, grandmothers and nurses. This was complemented during the second phase with quantitative data collected through a clinic-based survey of mothers. The qualitative and the quantitative findings consistently converged, illustrating a culture of infant feeding in which breastfeeding was central, but exclusive breastfeeding was an unknown concept and not practised. Grandmothers seemed to be more in tune with the ideal of exclusive breastfeeding as they had given their young infants thin gruel only occasionally. Contemporary mothers, in contrast, were regularly giving their young infants water. Mothers and grandmothers frequently cited nurses as the source of advice for giving water. Grandmothers were adamant in pointing out that they had never given water to their own young infants and asserted that they avoided giving it to their grandchildren as they considered it unnecessary and harmful. According to the grandmothers, water supplementation was a new practice that had been introduced through the clinics. CONCLUSION: Efforts to discourage water supplementation and encourage exclusive breastfeeding in this setting need to be directed both at mothers and health providers.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Enabling households to support successful migration of AIDS orphans in southern Africa.

Most southern African orphans are cared for by extended families but the implications of the spatial dispersal of such families are seldom recognized: orphans often have to migrate to new homes and communities. This paper, based on qualitative research conducted with children and guardians in urban and rural Lesotho and Malawi, examines orphans' migration experiences in order to assess how successful migration might best be supported. Most children found migration traumatic in the short term, but over time many settled into new environments. Although much AIDS policy in southern Africa stresses the role of communities, the burden of care lay with extended family households. Failed migrations, which resulted in renewed migration and trauma, were attributable to one of two household-level causes: orphans feeling ill-treated in their new families or changes in guardians' circumstances. Policy interventions to reduce disruption and trauma for young AIDS migrants should aim at facilitating sustainable arrangements by enabling suitable households to provide care. Reducing the economic costs of caring for children, particularly school-related costs, would: allow children to stay with those relatives (e.g. grandparents) best able to meet their non-material needs; reduce resentment of foster children in impoverished households; and diminish the need for multiple migrations.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Risk factors for fatal diarrhea: a case-control study of African children.

Few studies have determined risk factors for diarrheal deaths in developing areas. The Ministry of Health of Lesotho, southern Africa, reported that 9.5% of children under five years of age who were hospitalized for diarrhea in 1984 died. Of 104 children under five years of age who died during hospitalization for diarrhea, 85% were aged 24 months or younger and had nonbloody diarrhea during the warm season. We conducted two retrospective case-control studies of children aged 24 months or younger admitted for diarrhea at two hospitals in 1983 and 1984, comparing 44 who died with 89 who survived. Eight factors were significantly associated (p less than 0.05) with death at one or both hospitals by univariate analysis: diagnosis of a major infection, age under six months, illness for seven days or more before admission, thrush or stomatitis on admission, severe dehydration, history of vomiting, dehydration that had not improved after 12 hours in the hospital, and fever or subnormal temperature. Multivariate analysis of data from one hospital showed the first three factors to be significantly associated with death. Cases and controls were similar in sex and in degree of malnutrition. This study identified children at high risk for death from diarrhea.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2005

Quality of life and the concept of "living well" with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

PURPOSE: To increase understanding of the meaning of quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design and convenience sample, we administered a survey and collected data on demographic characteristics, measures of severity of illness, and perceptions of quality of life. The purposefully selected sample (N=743) consisted of community-based people living with HIV/AIDS in 2002. Based on the Wilson and Cleary framework for organizing variables related to quality of life, a hierarchical multiple regression was conducted with quality of life as the dependent variable. RESULTS: The sample of 743 persons was 61.2% female with a mean age of 34 years. Approximately 62 % of the sample reported having received an AIDS diagnosis. Ten predictor variables explained 53.2 % of the variance in life satisfaction. Those participants with higher life satisfaction scores were less educated, had worries about disclosure and finances, did not have an AIDS diagnosis or other comorbid conditions, had lower symptom intensity, had greater functioning, and had fewer health worries. None of these participants was taking antiretroviral medications at the time of this study. CONCLUSIONS: Several dimensions of the Wilson and Cleary model of quality of life were significantly related to life satisfaction for people living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Quality of life for this sample was primarily defined as overall functional ability and control over symptom intensity. These findings are similar to studies in developed countries that have shown the significant relationships among functional abilities, symptom control, and perceived quality of life. As antiretroviral medications become more available in these areas, community members and care providers can help clients realize the possibility of living well with HIV/AIDS, and can work with clients to improve functional ability and control symptom intensity to make living well a reality.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

HIV and AIDS stigma violates human rights in five African countries.

The situation and human rights of people living with HIV and AIDS were explored through focus groups in five African countries (Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland and Tanzania). A descriptive qualitative research design was used. The 251 informants were people living with HIV and AIDS, and nurse managers and nurse clinicians from urban and rural settings. NVivo software was used to identify specific incidents related to human rights, which were compared with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The findings revealed that the human rights of people living with HIV and AIDS were violated in a variety of ways, including denial of access to adequate or no health care/services, and denial of home care, termination or refusal of employment, and denial of the right to earn an income, produce food or obtain loans. The informants living with HIV and AIDS were also abused verbally and physically. Country governments and health professionals need to address these issues to ensure the human rights of all people.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Maintenance payments for child support in southern Africa: using law to promote family planning.

This article presents some of the legal, social, cultural, and practical constraints facing women who attempt to enforce their right to maintenance (child support) payments in southern Africa. It is based on research by the Women and Law in Southern Africa Trust, a network of women who research women's legal rights in six countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Statutes in all countries in the region provide that a man must support his legitimate and illegitimate children; there are, however, weaknesses in the laws on the books. The social and cultural constraints that influence the enforcement of maintenance laws include women's lack of knowledge of the law, attitudes toward child support influenced by customary law, allegations of women's abuse of maintenance payments, financial and practical problems, and fear of physical violence or other forms of retribution. Maintenance laws are relevant to family planning in that if such laws were more effectively enforced, so that the financial burden of children were more equally shared between women and men, men would have a financial stake in controlling their fertility.

Africa, Southern↗
PubMed2005

"Health for all" in a least-developed country.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) concept of primary healthcare as the basis for comprehensive healthcare delivery for developing countries has not been effectively applied in many of these countries. The Kingdom of Lesotho, one of the world's least-developed countries, has been able to provide a fairly comprehensive healthcare system for its citizenry based on prmary healthcare principles and a strong commitment on the part of the government despite severe limitations of finance and human resource capacity as well as difficult mountainous terrains. This paper presents the highlights of this system of healthcare delivery with the hope that other developing countries would draw some lessons from the model.

Comprehensive Health Care↗
PubMed1989

Getting the best value for money in health care.

A study of the implications of a proposal to establish a college of medicine and an associated 600-bed teaching hospital in Lesotho has convinced the government that its scarce resources could be more effectively spent on primary care and other programmes directly capable of improving health status.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1984

Methods for comparing groups of growth curves when patterns of observation times vary among subjects.

A variety of statistical techniques is available if growth is to be compared for two groups followed up over a certain period. In practice straightforward application of such techniques may be hampered if patterns of observation times vary among subjects. Different approaches to deal with such variation are illustrated by analysing data from infants (0-18 months) living in Lesotho, Southern Africa. Data comprises 236 individual series of multiple measurements on five anthropometric variables. Individual patterns of observation times differ because of variation in a) age at entry, b) length of follow-up, and c) observation intervals (nominally 4 weeks). First an ad hoc approach is followed by taking a few summary measures for each individual series, e.g. 'growth velocity'. By contrast two other approaches hinge on preliminary data transformation required to make standard techniques applicable. The pros and cons of the different approaches are discussed.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1994

[Eye trauma in southern Africa].

The population of southern Africa living in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique is 50 million. Because of intertribal hostility, the particular family structure, and the widespread use of alcohol and cannabinoid drugs, violence is very common. Trauma results mainly from "cold" weapons, which are an essential part of the traditional accoutrements of the African male. 202 patients (31.86% of those who underwent eye surgery in 2 years) needed surgery for severe ocular trauma in Mbabane, Swaziland. In a similar period, 100 patients (19.49%) required similar surgery in Boksburg, South Africa.

Civil Disorders↗
PubMed1993

Interpersonal violence: patterns in a Basotho community.

This study was conducted to quantify the importance of trauma and death due to interpersonal violence in rural Lesotho and to gain an insight into the profile of the assault victims, the circumstances of the violent incidents and the type of weapons wielded and wounds inflicted. During a one-year period starting June 1988 information was recorded on all patients with assault trauma attending Quthing District Hospital. The annual incidence rate of assault on men between 20 and 49, the most affected age group, was estimated to be as high as 30 per 1000. The crude homicide rate could reliably be calculated as 44 per 100,000 per year. The male to female sex ratio amongst the 506 identified victims was 1.7:1. The assailants were male in 89% of the incidents; other men were their victim in 68% of these events. Only 26% of the consulting women suffered at the hands of their husband or partner. Over 55% of injuries (and deaths) inflicted by men were caused by beating with traditional sticks; 15% were due to stabbing. Women used stones, teeth or bare hands and feet equally frequently. The limited presence of firearms may have prevented higher death rates. It is suggested that the disruption of the social structure of the Basotho society through its dependence on migrant labour leads to weakened normative reference, the moral net, which is the underlying cause for the serious violence problem of the country.

Adolescent↗