MZUNI intensifies Pneumonia research
Kefasi, a four-year-old girl from Kaphatenga in Salima, experienced troubling symptoms of coughing and grunting while breathing. Despite receiving antibiotics for pneumonia at a local clinic, her condition deteriorated, leading to a diagnosis of viral pneumonia at Salima District Hospital.
Sadly, misdiagnosis of children under five is common in Malawi, often resulting in prolonged illness or even death. While Kefasi was fortunate, many children in Malawi are not as lucky, becoming mere statistics of this healthcare dilemma.
In response to this pressing challenge, Mzuzu University (MZUNI) has joined forces with University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland, to elevate pneumonia research aimed at enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of this disease in children.
Master Chisale, a researcher in the Department of Biological Sciences at MZUNI, says the University is well-placed to address most of the challenges that the country and the world face today.
“Research generates knowledge which can be used to address a number of challenges that we are grappling with. It is exciting that the project will build the capacity of students in the Department, create opportunities for more research and improve the diagnosis and treatment of Pneumonia which will be a huge contribution to the efforts being made in the health sector,” says Chisale who has collaborated with Prof. Balwani Mbakaya.
In its strategic plan, MZUNI recognises research and innovation as key in generating new knowledge and innovations needed for economic development of Malawi in line with Malawi 2063 and other global development goals.
Through collaboration, the Department of Biological Sciences has won the Science Foundation Ireland-Irish Aid Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Challenge Grant amounting to €893,000 for a period of two years.
“We are excited to win this grant. In this phase, the aim is to improve machine-learning models, finalise the best candidate biomarkers for pneumonia disease severity and conduct clinical studies in eight districts in Malawi using the diagnostic assay that was developed,” Chisale says adding that the project is a continuation of BIOmarkers TO diagnose PnEumonia 2 (BIOTOPE 2) which ran from December 2022 to July 2023.
Chisale says the project will also support and capacitate the Biological Sciences Department, particularly the Parasitology and Disease Vector Control (PDVC) Programme, in a number of ways.
“The Department will benefit from the project through experts in the field who will continue teaching. Most importantly, this Prize Phase Project will capacitate our department by equipping the laboratories,” he says.
The researchers were motivated by the burden of Pneumonia in Malawi and the world and the determination to address the challenges encountered in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease especially among children.
“The global burden of Pneumonia, especially under-five children cannot be over-emphasised as it is known to be one of the major causes of childhood death accounting for approximately 16 percent. However, there is no definitive diagnosis of etiological pathogens in developing countries and such, Pneumonia is treated with high usage of antibiotics which in itself is a precursor of antimicrobial resistance,” Chisale says.
During the first phase, the project aimed at developing a rapid diagnostic assay in a form of Point of Care capable to distinguish bacterial pneumonia against viral pneumonia.
“During the first phase, we were investigating some of the things that need to be improved in both diagnosis and management of Pneumonia in health care facilities. The diagnostic assay which we developed will be tried, evaluated and validated in eight districts in selected health facilities across the countries Malawi,” he says.
Research from sub-Saharan Africa has revealed that children often receive suboptimal assessments for pneumonia at health facilities, such as inadequate history-taking and physical examination, resulting in delayed or inadequate diagnosis and increased morbidity and mortality.
The Biological Science Department at MZUNI is endowed with a team of well-trained and dedicated staff to deliver adaptive curricula to learners that consist of courses blended with entrepreneurial thrusts in order to prepare learners for future careers and engagements.
Currently, the department is offering two unique five-year undergraduate programmes; BSc in Parasitology and Disease Vector Control (Honours) and BSc in Biodiversity Conservation and Management (Honours). In addition, the Department services many science-based undergraduate degree programmes in other faculties such as the Faculty of Education (Bachelor of Education (Sciences), Faculty of Environmental Sciences, and Faculty of Health Sciences in diverse Biological Sciences courses.
