SEARCH · PubMed Health
Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The distribution of African great apes has remained unconfirmed regarding their southern limit, particularly on the western side of the continent. IUCN maps include the Mayombe forest of Angola as part of the estimated distribution of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes). However, until now no published evidence-based records had confirmed the continued presence of both species. The Mayombe forest is a key biodiversity hotspot and a potentially important stronghold for the conservation of great ape populations in Africa. Here, we report the first systematic evidence of both species in the Mayombe National Park, Cabinda, Angola. In 2023, a grid of camera traps was systematically deployed, producing the first visual records of gorillas and chimpanzees. Building on these findings, in 2024, a pilot survey including ad libitum field observations was carried out along exploratory trails to maximise data collection. The combination of these records identified a hotspot of great ape activity where six transects were established, and systematic direct and indirect evidence was documented. Chimpanzees were recorded more times across a broader range of evidence categories, while gorillas appeared less and seemed more spatially restricted. Notably, both species were detected at overlapping sites but never simultaneously, indicating sympatric coexistence with spatio-temporal partitioning. These findings confirm the southernmost predicted distribution of both species for this part of Africa, filling critical gaps in the understanding of great ape evolution and biogeography, and providing a baseline for the first demographic and ecological census of great apes in Angola.
There is a dearth of published literature on health care systems in Angola. Like many sub-Saharan African countries, Angola is experiencing rapid urbanization. The authors provide an analysis of the health status, environmental health conditions, and health-related behavior of the urban poor in Luanda, Angola. Although data are patchy and rarely disaggregated to reveal severe conditions in the shanty towns, a grave picture emerges. An average infant mortality rate of 104/1,000, with malaria and intestinal infections the main causes of death in children under 1 year old, reflects the poor environmental conditions, which are worsening as urbanization continues at a rapid rate. Use of health services is limited; for example, 50 percent of women give birth at home, mainly unassisted, and only 28 percent of children are covered by measles immunization (as validated by card). A discussion of existing health strategies, programs, and their constraints is set in the context of the future possibilities of the ending of the 15-year war and the introduction of structural adjustment policies.
Angola free-tailed bats and little free-tailed bats occur in diverse habitats throughout most of Africa south of the Sahara. This study investigated the reproductive strategies and related biology of these species in Malawi where they were sympatric, and analysed data from elsewhere in Africa to show how the strategies varied along a gradient of habitats from approximately 12 degrees N to 25 degrees S. Both the Angola free-tailed bat and the little free-tailed bat were normally monotocous. Angola free-tailed bats invariably had 2 births/year, and the interval between consecutive births decreased with increasing latitude. When the interval was shortest (approximately 90 days) a post-partum oestrus occurred. Little free-tailed bats differed by having a shorter gestation (approximately 60 days), and the ability to have up to 5 births/year with a postpartum oestrus after each birth. The extent to which this potential is achieved varies with latitude and rainfall, mainly so that lactation can coincide with peaks in the abundance of food. The interaction between rainfall and reproductive characteristics results in the two species having patterns of reproduction which are sometimes similar, but more often different. Competition between the species is unlikely to be affected by differences in their reproduction.
Training and service delivery in maternal and child health are high priorities for Angola's national health system. Maternal and infant mortality are very high, and there is a severe shortage of physicians. Most reproductive health care is provided by nurses and midwives. Appropriate education, resources, and support can assist these professionals in their struggle to improve mother and infant outcomes. A teacher training seminar for experienced nurses and midwives was carried out in Luanda, Angola in the summer of 1988. Content focused on family planning, sexually transmitted diseases, and human sexuality. Teaching methodology emphasized participation, active learning, group work, and practice teaching sessions. The steps involved in the training process are described--including needs assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the seminar.
A serological survey was made comprising 4,590 human sera collected in 16 areas of Angola, in order to determine the distribution of arboviruses. The results obtained with the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test have shown that the activity of the arboviruses is more prevalent in northern Angola, where a larger number of sera reacted in the HI test against group A and B arboviruses (7% and 32..6%, respectively). Several sera with HI reactions against Bunyamwera, group C, and Rift Valley fever viruses were also found.
A seroepidemiological study was carried out to determine the distribution of the human immunodeficiency viruses type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2 (HIV-2) in the People's Republic of Angola, where HIV-2 existence was previously unknown and HIV-1 seropositivity was only reported to be present in Luanda and Cabinda. A total of 1,695 serum samples were obtained from healthy persons (control group) and from a group of patients in the provinces of Zaire (13), Lunda-Norte (L.N.) (749), Luanda (556), Huambo (154), Kuando-Kubango (K.-K.) (49), and Namibe (119). All samples were tested for HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an indirect immunofluorescence assay using MOLT-T4 cells. Positive samples were confirmed by the Western-blot technique. Sera giving cross reactivity at the level of HIV-1 and HIV-2 large glycoproteins were further tested by radioimmunoprecipitation assay and by reactivity against a peptide corresponding to the dominant epitope of the transmembrane protein. The overall seroprevalance was 14.2%, with significantly higher values in the patient group [19.4% (HIV-1 = 8.8%; HIV-2 = 8.4%; HIV-1 + HIV-2 = 2.2%)] than the control group [9.3% (HIV-1 = 3.3%; HIV-2 = 5.3%; HIV-1 + HIV-2 = 0.7%)]. HIV-2 as well as HIV-1 infection is actually present in Angola in all studied provinces. Higher seroprevalence was seen in the provinces of Zaire, Lunda Norte, and Huambo. People displacements, mainly as a consequence of the war, certainly play an important role in spreading HIV infection from the northern frontier areas of the country to the central and southern regions.
A seroepidemiological study of human immune deficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV-2/human T-lymphotropic virus type IV (HIV-2/HTLV-IV) infections was performed in Angola in October 1986. Until then five cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) had been registered in Angola. During this study, another three cases with clinical AIDS were found and confirmed by HIV-1 serology. A total of 1,215 sera from groups of healthy persons and patients were tested for HIV-1 and HIV-2/HTLV-IV antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Sera positive by ELISA were also tested by Western blot (WB) analysis. In Luanda, the capital, HIV-1 antibodies were demonstrated in 0.4% (2/452) of male blood donors, in 0.3% (1/357) of pregnant women, in 1% (1/100) of tuberculosis patients, in 4% (4/94) of patients at medical wards, and in none of 22 women hospitalized with pelvic infections. In the Cabinda province, 11% (4/38) of postnatal women at a maternity ward were found to be HIV-1 seropositive, but only 2% (1/55) of other hospitalized patients and none of 32 male blood donors or 59 healthy persons in a village on the border to Zaire. Specific antibodies to HIV-2/HTLV-IV were not found in any of the sera. However, 16 out of 17 HIV-1 positive sera cross-reacted with HIV-2/HTLV-IV core proteins by WB. In October 1987, 280 of the blood donors from Luanda were retested for HIV-1 antibodies and one of them was found to have seroconverted during the previous year.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
At the ENT clinic in Luanda, Angola, 110 consecutive cases of children with chronic otitis media (COM) were studied to find out some clinical characteristics regarding age of onset and duration of otorrhea as well as the general state of health of the children. Eighty-five percent of the children had had longstanding otorrhea. In 75% of all the cases ear discharge had started during early childhood. It was possible to institute a simple conservative treatment of COM. Fifty percent returned to the clinic for a follow-up. The majority of the children came from families who lived under fairly good social conditions. One-hundred and five children with sensorineural hearing loss consulted the clinic. Many of them had had their hearing loss for several years before coming to the clinic. The etiology was in 39 cases infectious disease, meningitis being the most common one. Seventy-two percent had severe to profound hearing loss. Children with slight to moderate hearing loss rarely appeared at the clinic. Some of the hearing-handicapped children could be sent to a special school for rehabilitation.
In common with many countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa, some of the many tribes which comprise the indigenous population of Angola practise various forms of tooth mutilation. Three examples associated with distinctive tribes are described and compared with similar practices in neighbouring countries and their references from the literature.
The Njinga, a matrilineal kiMbundu-speaking Negro people of northern Angola, inhabited the coast near Luanda during the sixteenth century, and were driven inland by Portuguese expansion subsequently. There is no evidence from the present sterogenetic study that they have received any appreciable contribution of Caucasoid genes. Nor is there any evidence of San ('Bushman') admixture apart from a moderate frequency of Gm; their genetic profile and their anthroposcopic traits disclose a greater similarity to West African than to Southern African Negroes. The present study confirms previous findings on the ABO, MNSs, Kell, Duffy, erythrocyte acid phosphatase, adenosine deaminase and adenylate kinase systems, and contributes the first account of the peptidase A, B, C and D, first and second locus phosphoglucomutase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, esterase D, haptoglobin, transferrin, Gm and Inv systems in the Njinga.
Coelomomyces angolensis, n. sp., a fungus found parasitizing larvae of the mosquito Culex guiarti in northern Angola, Africa, is described and illustrated. Its taxonomy, known geographical distribution, and host specificity are briefly considered.
Among 87 strains of Vibrio choleare (78 Ogawa serotype and 9 Inaba serotype strains) isolated in Angola in 1987-1990, 86% exhibited multiple resistance to antimicrobials. Eighty-four to 86% of strains were resistant to ampicillin with beta-lactamase production (MIC greater than or equal to 512 mg/l), streptomycin (MIC greater than or equal to 64 mg/l), spectinomycin (MIC greater than or equal to 1,024 mg/l), and trimethoprime-sulfisoxazole (MIC greater than 1,024 mg/l). Seventy-four per cent of strains were resistant to kanamycin (MIC = 512 mg/l), 26% to chloramphenicol (MIC = 32 mg/l), 10% to tetracycline (MIC = 16 mg/l), and 10% to gentamycin (MIC greater than or equal to 32 mg/l). Transfer to E. coli K12 was associated with a substantial increase in expression of resistance to tetracycline and chloramphenicol (CAT type I), with MICs in the 128-512 mg/l range. Transfer rates to E. coli K12 of plasmids for the various resistance phenotypes were 10(-6)/10(-8). The size of the isolated plasmids was 100 Md in diameter and belonged to the incompatibility group inc 6-C.
An epidemiological survey on bovine babesiosis was carried out in South-Western Angola. Both parasitological and serological methods were used. Use of the packed cell volume (PCV) technique increased up to five times the detection of infected cattle as compared with the thin blood smear method. Although the PCV method provided better information on the parasitological diagnosis, the indirect fluorescent antibody test represents a better approach for the evaluation of endemic situations. Results obtained by this method proved that in most herds and farms investigated there was an endemic stability. The disease did not present any problem in the traditional sector. Cases of babesiosis were only reported in some commercial farms where the control of ticks was inadequate and responsible for endemic instability.
The epidemiological analysis of infectious morbidity for recent years has been made and the main nosological forms existing in Angola (malaria, tuberculosis, lepra, African trypanosomiasis, plague, intestinal diseases, etc.) have been briefly characterized on the basis of primary medical reports and the data provided by the literature and experimental work. This analysis creates the necessary prerequisites which enable the local public health organs to determine the regularities of the epidemic process, thus making it possible to take rational prophylactic measures and to organize proper epidemiological supervision.
A yellow fever epidemic broke out in Luanda, Angola, in January 1971 and was halted in less than 3 months by prompt mass vaccination and intensive antimosquito measures. Nine strains of yellow fever virus were isolated from hospitalized cases, but attempts to isolate the virus from Aedes aegypti mosquitos failed. A serological survey for antibodies to arboviruses in 589 sera from unvaccinated persons showed that two arboviruses were circulating in the epidemic area: the yellow fever virus and the Chikungunya virus responsible for an outbreak of dengue-like disease that occurred shortly before the yellow fever epidemic.
An outbreak of dengue-like disease was observed in Luanda, Angola, at the end of 1970 and beginning of 1971. Chikungunya virus was isolated from the blood of a patient with typical symptoms of dengue and from a pool of Aedes aegypti mosquitos. A survey for antibodies to arboviruses in the sera of persons living in Luanda showed that the Chikungunya virus was indeed responsible for the outbreak. The fact that this outbreak immediately preceded and continued concurrently with a yellow fever epidemic in Luanda shows that two arboviruses from different antigenic groups may circulate simultaneously in the same ecological area.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.