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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1978

Economic losses resulting from bovine cysticercosis with special reference to Botswana and Kenya.

Economic losses from cysticercosis are determined by disease prevalence, grade of animals infested, potential markets, prices of cattle and treatment costs for detained carcasses. The main features of the livestock economics of Botswana and Kenya are discussed. Botswana is more dependent on meat exports than Kenya and its cattle prices are much higher. The incidence of cysticercosis at export abattoirs in Botswana and Kenya is about 8 and 20% respectively. Annual losses in Botswana now approach 0-5 million pounds, while in Kenya they are about 1 million pounds. The loss per animal slaughtered is 2-25 pounds in Botswana and 1-50 pounds in Kenya. Some implications for veterinary research in this area are examined. Blanket treatment with a drug or vaccine would only be economical where prevalence was very high. An in vivo diagnostic test would be of use mainly with high value cattle.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

A retrospective study of the cancer patterns among hospital in-patients in Botswana 1960-72.

Records of approximately 310,000 patients admitted to the 10 hospitals in Botswana between 1960 and 1972 have been studied and details of 1445 patients with malignant tumours abstracted. For the 894 tumours for which there was some supporting evidence--at best histological proof and minimally a clinical description of symptoms--proportional frequencies have been calculated for all sites and comparison made with the findings of other surveys. Cancer of the cervix uteri is overwhelmingly the most commonly occurring malignant tumour and the proportional frequency is among the highest observed in Africa south of the Sahara. Skin tumours are unusually common for Southern Africa in both sexes. In males, penile and prostatic tumours have a relatively high frequency whilst the frequencies for liver and lung are lower than in other parts of Southern Africa. Oesophageal cancer in males has a moderate frequency. Other tumours which show a marked variation of frequency within Africa--Kaposi's sarcoma and cancers of the stomach and bladder--are all low in frequency in Botswana. Tumours which are rare throughout Africa but common in Western Europe and North America--cancers of the colon, rectum and corpus uteri--are also rare in Botswana.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Primary and secondary resistance of mycobacterium tuberculosis in Eastern Botswana.

Of 51 patients in Eastern Botswana who denied previous anti-tuberculosis treatment, 6 (11.8 %) were excreting tubercle bacilli resistant to one of the first-line drugs in regular use: 4 patients (7.8 %) showed resistance to isoniazid, 2 (3.9 %) to thiacetazone and none to streptomycin. Of 44 patients known to have been on previous anti-tuberculosis treatment, 31 (70.5 %) were found to show resistance to one or more of the first line drugs: 31 (70.5 %) to isoniazid, 12 (27.2 %) to streptomycin and 11 (25.9 %) to thiacetazone. No appreciable resistance was found to second line drugs. These resistance patterns, which correspond quite well with other published results from Africa, are related to the overall problem in Botswana, namely the failure of a high proportion of patients, to complete a full course of first line treatment.

Antitubercular Agents↗
PubMed1990

[HIV infection, syphilis and genital diseases in Maun, Botswana].

The prevalence of HIV-infection was studied in a district hospital in Botswana, in southern Africa. Sera from 466 patients were analysed. The sexually transmitted diseases (STD) group consisted of 175 women and 178 men, who consulted the STD-clinic for complaints which could be attributed to STD or infertility and the antenatal clinic (ANC) group consisted of 113 pregnant women, who attended routine ANC. Sera were analysed with HIV-ELISA, and 3% were positive. All sera were negative in Western blot and were considered false-positive in HIV-ELISA. In the STD group, 42% of the women and 39% of the men, were seropositive for syphilis, while 41% were positive in the ANC group. The figures for clinically demonstrated genital lesions were 33%, 60% and 13%, respectively. It is concluded that HIV-infection is a new disease in Botswana, and that the prevalence is still low in the rural population examined in the present survey.

Botswana↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family nurse practitioners in Botswana: challenges and implications.

In 1981 Botswana established a one-year post-basic programme at the National Health Institute to prepare nurses to provide comprehensive primary health care services. The 80-odd graduates (as of 1989), called Family Nurse Practitioners, have been so competent in the clinic and willing to serve in even the remotest of communities that they are in high demand throughout Botswana's health care system. Below, a report on their expanding role and their educational needs.

Botswana↗
PubMed1977

Beef cattle productivity under traditional and improved management in Botswana.

A comparison of productivity over a 4-year period from indigenous type beef cattle under two production systems in Botswana is reported. The two systems are: the traditional system on unenclosed communal grazing (cattle post) and ranching within fenced paddocks. Calving percentages, 7-month old calf weight, calf mortality and post-weaning growth to 18 months of age under cattle post conditions were 46.4 per cent, 122.5 kg, 10.2 percent and 88.5 kg respectively. Corresponding figures for cattle on the fenced ranches were 74.0 per cent, 177.4 kg, 8.5 per cent and 105.8 kg. These results indicate overall productivity estimates of 51 and 120 kg of weaner calf per cow per year and 86 and 188 kg of 18-month old calf per cow per year for the cattle post and fenced ranch respectively.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed1978

Nutritional success in a semi-arid land: examination of Tswana agro-pastoralists of the eastern Kalahari, Botswana.

The cultural and environmental factors affecting the food quest and nutritional status of the Moshaweng Tlokwa, a Tswana agro-pastoral society occupying the semi-arid eastern Kalahari Desert of Botswana, are examined. Data are presented on methods of food procurement, storage, preparation, and preservation. Tlokwa diet is based on agriculture horticulture and animal husbandry but a surprising number of wild species are regularly used as food. This pattern is nutritionally protective and viewed by the author as a principal reason for Tlokwa dietary success in their semi-arid environment. Data are presented on food habits, dietary prohibitions, and characteristic diets of infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Many Tlokwa foods are encouraged or prohibited on the basis of the consumers age, sex, and social development. Such patterns reduce competition for dietary resources, assure a more equitable distribution of food, and sustain the nutritional quality of diet. During 1973 to 1975 the Tlokwa appeared healthy and well fed; heavy rain-fall had just broken a 7-year drought. Kwashiorkormarasmus, avitaminosis, or other classical signs of malnutrition were not observed. A trend towards bottle feeding was noted. Children and adolescents are rapidly losing their ability to identify edible wild food resources. The author concludes that the Tlokwa heretofore have coped satisfactorily with drought in their semi-arid territory and recommends continued diversification of their food quest. Diversity is viewed as essential if the Tlokwa are to maintain their nutritional well-being in coming decades.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Determinants for breast feeding and bottle feeding in Botswana.

In the Botswana Primary Health Care Survey 1983-84 data on breast and bottle feeding were collected as well as characteristics of households, mothers, and children. The country-wide median breast-feeding duration was 1 year and 7 months, with a tendency towards shorter duration in the urban areas. Better hygienic conditions, higher education of the mother, and wage employment of the mothers were associated with shorter breast-feeding duration. Similarly, the risk of starting bottle feeding was higher in households with better hygienic conditions. However, a substantial proportion of the bottle feeding took place in households lacking piped water indoors. These data may indicate a current shift from traditional feeding patterns towards shorter breast feeding and introduction of bottle feeding, starting among well-off families, but also threatening the health of children in less privileged conditions. The association with maternal factors such as type of occupation calls for breast feeding promotion including improved conditions for the salary employed mothers.

Botswana↗
PubMed1992

Case holding in patients with tuberculosis in Botswana.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of daily supervised short course chemotherapy in a national tuberculosis programme. DESIGN: Observation of programme during 1984-90. In October 1986 short course chemotherapy was introduced with patients receiving treatment daily from staff in their nearest health facility. SETTING: Botswana national tuberculosis programme. SUBJECTS: All patients with tuberculosis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportions of patients complying with and defaulting from treatment (missing > or = 43 days' treatment). RESULTS: 2938 cases of tuberculosis were recorded in 1990, 1528 of which were of sputum positive pulmonary disease. 2711 (92.3%) patients complied with treatment and 227 (7.7%) defaulted. Before introduction of short course chemotherapy compliance was about 60% compared with over 90% in 1987-90. CONCLUSIONS: A programme using daily supervised short course chemotherapy integrated into the primary health care system is an effective method of treating tuberculosis. The costs of the programme need to be evaluated.

Botswana↗
PubMed1975

Sero-genetic studies on the G/wi and G//ana San of Botswana.

The G/wi and G//ana San ('Bushmen') of the Central Kalahari Reserve, Botswana, live as cyclically migrant hunter-gatherer bands. They have some contact with one another, with the Negro Kgalagadi, and with White farmers near Ghanzi. Studies carried out on samples of these peoples from the Okwa Valley reveal a sero-genetic profile characteristic of the San in general, deviant from that of the Khoi ('Hottentots') and quite different from that of the Negroes. These findings help to substantiate the claim that the Khoisan peoples should be regarded as one of the major divisions of mankind and not simply as having comparatively recently evolved from a common stock with the Negroes.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1991

An experience in the control of plague in Botswana.

In October 1989, cases of human plague started to occur in Boteti district of Botswana. One hundred and seventy cases were recorded in total from 15 October 1989 to 6 April 1990. There were 12 deaths, giving a case fatality rate of 7%. All cases were of the bubonic type. A concerted control strategy based on sentinel surveillance, involving public education, flea and rodent control, chemotherapy and chemoprophylaxis controlled the epidemic.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

IV drugs: assessing pupils in Botswana.

This small study set out to establish the abilities of a group of pupil nurses in a rural hospital in Botswana to accurately calculate intravenous driprates and drug dosages, and how targeted teaching could improve their performance. Thirteen pupils were asked to complete a seven-item questionnaire comprising set questions on intravenous therapy, then take a second questionnaire after receiving targeted teaching. Comparison revealed that two specific problems, related to dripsets and dilutent displacement, remained after teaching, but that improvements in scores in the 'incorrect with little immediate risk' and 'correct' categories had been achieved. The author suggests that formal testing and targeted teaching are appropriate methods of helping pupil nurses evaluate and improve their skills and knowledge base.

Botswana↗
PubMed1990

Health manpower planning in Botswana.

Health manpower planning, launched in Botswana with external assistance, has resulted in a plan designed to meet national staffing needs up to the year 2002. The authors describe how the plan was developed, despite constraints such as the absence of a plan for the health sector as a whole, and explain why certain planning methods were chosen in preference to others.

Botswana↗
PubMed1990

Opinions of Botswana dental therapists and students about their professional education.

This paper presents an evaluation of the training programme for dental therapists in Botswana. It describes the impetus for the creation of the training programme and its content provided by the principles of Primary Health Care. The opinions of the students and serving dental therapists were investigated through self-complete questionnaires. Both groups wished to develop advanced restorative skills and wanted more time to be allocated to that section of the course which would allow this. In contrast, their interest was less in other sections of the course more specifically concerned with the principles of Primary Health Care, such as the development of communication skills. It is suggested that the findings reflect a confusion about the practice of Primary Health Care.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1979

Idiopathic cardiomyopathy in Botswana.

During a review of all cases of heart disease, including hypertensive cardiac failure, seen in Botswana during a period of sixteen months by one Specialist Physician observer, the importance of Idiopathic Cardiomyopathy as the commonest cause of cardiac failure clearly emerged. The aetiology of this condition and its relationship to hypertension and other factors causing an increased load on the myocardium are discussed. Viral myocarditis is presented as a separate entity, possibly playing a part in causation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Inequality in the distribution and differential utilization of health services: a Botswana case study.

The uneven provision of health care in a developing country, Botswana, is examined. Curative out-patient attendance and in-patient hospitalization rates were found to vary markedly for groups of the population living at different distances from health facilities. Those people living 10 miles or less from clinics and hospitals had far higher utilization rates than those living at further distances. If the disparity in service provision described is to be altered then the planning and development of health services should concentrate upon the provision of basic health care and adapt to the manpower and economic constraints within which such systems operate.

Botswana↗
PubMed1978

Investigations on the prevalence of trypanosome carriers and the antibody response in wildlife in Northern Botswana.

605 buffalo, 60 lechwe, 23 kudu, 23 impala, 15 tsessebe, 22 sable and two reedbuck from Northern Botswana were examined for trypanosome infections by serological and/or parasitological means. The indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), the haematocrit centrifugation technique (HCT) and rodent subinoculation were used. The overall prevalence of patent infection with trypanosomes in buffalo, lechwe and reedbuck was 15,7%. In the case of buffalo and lechwe it was possible to classify their origin into high and low tsetse fly density areas. Serological and parasitological results showed a significantly higher prevalence of infections in areas with a high fly density. Buffalo showed a predominance of infections with Trypanosoma (Duttonella) vivax and T. (Nannomonas) congolense, while in lechwe infections with T. (Trypanozoon) brucei were as frequent. Strains of T. (T.) brucei isolated from buffalo, unlike those from lechwe, failed to infect rodents, 6 strains from lechwe proved sensitive to human serum (Blood Incubation Infectivity Test). Parasitological positive cases, antibody response and the age of buffalo were correlated. The number of patent infections in animals over one year rose to a peak at the age of 2 1/2 years and dropped steadily in the older buffalo. The frequency of positive antibody titres and their levels also increased after the first years of age, reached its peak at the age of four years an then persisted for the rest of the animals' life. Serological tests carried out on serum samples of the remaining species showed that kudu were more frequently infected than impala, tsessebe or sable.

Animal Population Groups↗