Natalia Blanco
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View article: Variant patterns and influence of inter-regional travel during the SARS-CoV-2 expansion in South Africa
Variant patterns and influence of inter-regional travel during the SARS-CoV-2 expansion in South Africa Open
We evaluated the dynamic impacts of three types of human mobilities—provincial inflows, cross-district flows, and within-district flows—on daily reported COVID-19 cases for 2020. Using a structural equation modeling approach, we conducted …
View article: Genomic diversity and surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Nigeria
Genomic diversity and surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Nigeria Open
View article: SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and COVID-19 vaccination coverage in two states of Nigeria from a population based household survey
SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and COVID-19 vaccination coverage in two states of Nigeria from a population based household survey Open
SARS-CoV-2 population-based seroprevalence surveys are useful for estimating the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infections, which may be underestimated by COVID-19 case counts. Surveys conducted in October 2020 in four Nigerian states showed that SA…
View article: Moiré‐Induced Enhanced Hydrogen Adsorption on Graphene
Moiré‐Induced Enhanced Hydrogen Adsorption on Graphene Open
The periodic patterning induced by moiré superstructures enables the synthesis of spatially functionalized graphene surfaces owing to changes in the local reactivity of the material. However, quantitative characterization of the effect of …
View article: The effects of the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) program on HIV incidence and other health-related outcomes among adolescent girls and young women: a systematic review and meta-analysis
The effects of the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) program on HIV incidence and other health-related outcomes among adolescent girls and young women: a systematic review and meta-analysis Open
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View article: ‘Does human papillomavirus (HPV) cause cancer?’ – A cross-sectional study of HPV awareness among sexual minority men in Nigeria
‘Does human papillomavirus (HPV) cause cancer?’ – A cross-sectional study of HPV awareness among sexual minority men in Nigeria Open
Background Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers are a global concern, particularly for sexual minority men (SMM). Understanding awareness and the determinants of these beliefs is crucial for developing educational programs to redu…
View article: Enhanced adherence counselling completion rates, viral load suppression in people with HIV in Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis
Enhanced adherence counselling completion rates, viral load suppression in people with HIV in Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis Open
Background The World Health Organization recommended enhanced adherence counselling (EAC) sessions among people with HIV on ART with persistent viremia (viral load > 1000 copies/ml). There have been variations on the impact of EAC on viral…
View article: 'My Heart Is at Peace because I Know that I Am Protectet': Understanding the Factors that Facilitate Adolescent Girls and Young Women’S Uptake of Long-Acting Injectable PrEP in Zambia
'My Heart Is at Peace because I Know that I Am Protectet': Understanding the Factors that Facilitate Adolescent Girls and Young Women’S Uptake of Long-Acting Injectable PrEP in Zambia Open
View article: Social vulnerability index associated with higher COVID-19 seroprevalence in Nigeria
Social vulnerability index associated with higher COVID-19 seroprevalence in Nigeria Open
Social vulnerability has been shown to be a strong predictor of disparities in health outcomes. A common approach to estimating social vulnerability is using a composite index, such as the social vulnerability index (SVI), which combines m…
View article: Craft: a machine learning approach to dengue subtyping
Craft: a machine learning approach to dengue subtyping Open
Motivation The dengue virus poses a major global health threat, with nearly 390 million infections annually. A recently proposed hierarchical dengue nomenclature system enhances spatial resolution by defining major and minor lineages withi…
View article: Review of open-source software for developing heterogeneous data management systems for bioinformatics applications
Review of open-source software for developing heterogeneous data management systems for bioinformatics applications Open
Summary In a world where data drive effective decision-making, bioinformatics and health science researchers often encounter difficulties managing data efficiently. In these fields, data are typically diverse in format and subject. Consequ…
View article: Hybrid Mentorship of Medical Laboratories to Achieve ISO 15189:2012 Accreditation in Malawi: The University of Maryland Malawi Experience
Hybrid Mentorship of Medical Laboratories to Achieve ISO 15189:2012 Accreditation in Malawi: The University of Maryland Malawi Experience Open
We demonstrated that using a hybrid mentorship model for accreditation was a successful strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time in Malawi, this strategy resulted in accrediting 9 of the 10 HIV molecular laboratories in 3 …
View article: Effects of Multimonth Dispensing on Viral Suppression and Continuity in Treatment Among Children Living With HIV Aged 2–9 Years: A Cohort Study in Western Kenya
Effects of Multimonth Dispensing on Viral Suppression and Continuity in Treatment Among Children Living With HIV Aged 2–9 Years: A Cohort Study in Western Kenya Open
Background: In Kenya, of the 82,000 children living with HIV, only 59% are receiving ART and 67% are virally suppressed. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health recommended 3 multimonth dispensing (3MMD) of ART to all people…
View article: Effects of Multi-Month Dispensing on Clinical Outcomes: Retrospective Cohort Analysis Conducted in Kenya
Effects of Multi-Month Dispensing on Clinical Outcomes: Retrospective Cohort Analysis Conducted in Kenya Open
View article: Factors associated with enrollment into differentiated service delivery model among adults with HIV in Kenya
Factors associated with enrollment into differentiated service delivery model among adults with HIV in Kenya Open
Introduction: Differentiated service delivery (DSD) such as multimonth dispensing (MMD) aims to provide client-centered HIV services, while reducing the workload within health facilities. We assessed individual and facility factors associa…
View article: Effect of Test and Treat on clinical outcomes in Nigeria: A national retrospective study
Effect of Test and Treat on clinical outcomes in Nigeria: A national retrospective study Open
Background In Nigeria, results from the pilot of the Test and Treat strategy showed higher loss to follow up (LTFU) among people living with HIV compared to before its implementation. The aim of this evaluation was to assess the effects of…
View article: Feasibility and acceptability of peer-delivered interventions using mHealth for PrEP services among adolescent girls and young women in DREAMS program in Botswana
Feasibility and acceptability of peer-delivered interventions using mHealth for PrEP services among adolescent girls and young women in DREAMS program in Botswana Open
mHealthpeer-delivered interventions appear to be feasible and perceived acceptable among adolescent girls and young women in Botswana. This modality should be incorporated into PEPFAR's programmatic toolkit of implementation strategies to …
View article: Revealing human mobility trends during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Nigeria via a data-driven approach
Revealing human mobility trends during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Nigeria via a data-driven approach Open
We employed emerging smartphone-based location data and produced daily human mobility measurements using Nigeria as an application site. A data-driven analytical framework was developed for rigorously producing such measures using proven l…
View article: Achieving HIV Epidemic Control and Improving Maternal Healthcare Services with Community-Based HIV Service Delivery in Zambia: Mixed-Methods Assessment of the SMACHT Project
Achieving HIV Epidemic Control and Improving Maternal Healthcare Services with Community-Based HIV Service Delivery in Zambia: Mixed-Methods Assessment of the SMACHT Project Open
View article: IXX Jornadas del comité de Graduados SAD, octubre 2021 Tema: “Diabetes y órganos no clásicos”. Mesa 3: Complicaciones de la diabetes en piel, músculo, hueso y articulaciones
IXX Jornadas del comité de Graduados SAD, octubre 2021 Tema: “Diabetes y órganos no clásicos”. Mesa 3: Complicaciones de la diabetes en piel, músculo, hueso y articulaciones Open
Las complicaciones en piel, músculo, hueso y articulaciones asociadas a diabetes son frecuentes, múltiples y no siempre diagnosticadas en etapas tempranas. En esta revisión evaluaremos las características de las que consideramos de mayor r…
View article: Development and implementation of clinical mentorship in Rwanda: successes and challenges
Development and implementation of clinical mentorship in Rwanda: successes and challenges Open
Rwanda has prioritized the decentralization and integration of HIV services over the past decade to ensure universal access to HIV services throughout the nation. Improving the capacity of healthcare providers to provide high-quality HIV p…
View article: Peer community health workers improve HIV testing and ART linkage among key populations in Zambia: retrospective observational results from the Z‐CHECK project, 2019–2020
Peer community health workers improve HIV testing and ART linkage among key populations in Zambia: retrospective observational results from the Z‐CHECK project, 2019–2020 Open
Introduction Zambia has made tremendous progress towards HIV epidemic control; however, gaps remain among key populations (KPs), such as female sex workers (FSWs), men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID) and people …
View article: Reaching transgender populations in Zambia for HIV prevention and linkage to treatment using community‐based service delivery
Reaching transgender populations in Zambia for HIV prevention and linkage to treatment using community‐based service delivery Open
Introduction Transgender and gender‐diverse communities in Zambia are highly vulnerable and experience healthcare differently than cisgender persons. The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) supports projects in Zambia to improve HIV ca…
View article: Facilitators of HTS uptake among children of parents living with HIV in Nigeria
Facilitators of HTS uptake among children of parents living with HIV in Nigeria Open
Background In 2019, 36% of the 150,000 children less than 15 years of age living with HIV in Nigeria knew their status, and were receiving antiretroviral therapy. Literature on HIV-positive parents getting their children tested for HIV is …
View article: Implementing an intensified mentorship approach towards accelerated medical laboratory accreditation in 10 counties in Kenya
Implementing an intensified mentorship approach towards accelerated medical laboratory accreditation in 10 counties in Kenya Open
Background: Despite Kenya’s roll-out of the Strengthening Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation programme in 2010, most laboratories had not made significant or tangible improvements towards accreditation by 2016. In April 2016, the …
View article: Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A case series from 4 Colombian cities during the pandemic
Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A case series from 4 Colombian cities during the pandemic Open
View article: Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in four states of Nigeria in October 2020: A population-based household survey
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in four states of Nigeria in October 2020: A population-based household survey Open
The observed epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in sub-Saharan Africa has varied greatly from that in Europe and the United States, with much lower reported incidence. Population-based studies are needed to estimate true cumulative incidence of SA…
View article: Factors Associated with Retention in HIV Prevention and Treatment Clinical Services Among Female Sex Workers Enrolled in a Sex Workers’ Outreach Program (SWOP) in Nairobi, Kenya
Factors Associated with Retention in HIV Prevention and Treatment Clinical Services Among Female Sex Workers Enrolled in a Sex Workers’ Outreach Program (SWOP) in Nairobi, Kenya Open
View article: Outcomes of HIV Positive Children and Adolescents Initiated on Antiretroviral Treatment in Nigeria (2007-2016)
Outcomes of HIV Positive Children and Adolescents Initiated on Antiretroviral Treatment in Nigeria (2007-2016) Open
Background: This manuscript aimed to examine treatment outcomes of HIV-positive children and adolescents. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of a sample of patients aged 0–19 years who initiated ART (October 2007–September 2016) in …
View article: Nigeria COVID-19 Household Seroprevalence Survey
Nigeria COVID-19 Household Seroprevalence Survey Open
Results of population-based age stratified seroepidemiological investigation in Nigeria