Microbe Mail

A multi- country outbreak of cholera was reported by the WHO in May 2023. Since the beginning of 2023, a total of 24 countries have reported cases. South Africa is among the countries affected by the outbreak.

To aid HCWs in identifying, diagnosing and treating cholera, Microbe Mail has put together this bonus episode on th rapid review of cholera.

About our Guest:

Dr Amanda Khumalo is a clinical microbiologist in the Department of Medical Microbiology NHLS Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town. She has a passion for teaching and is involved in undergraduate and post graduate training. Her research interests include paediatric infectious disease and infection prevention and control.

Links to resources on Cholera:

www.nicd.ac.za/diseases-a-z-index/cholera/

https://www.health.gov.za/cholera/

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cholera

https://www.cdc.gov/cholera/index.html

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In this episode we discuss Dr Tom Boyles's new book: How to request a test: A clinician's guide to the interpretation and evaluation of medical tests

(https://global.oup.com/academic/product/how-to-request-a-test-a-clinicians-guide-to-the-interpretation-and-evaluation-of-medical-tests-9780192866615?cc=us&lang=en&)

Dr Tom Boyles – Short biography.

Dr Boyles qualified in medicine Oxford University in 2000 and moved to South Africa in 2007, where he spent 3 years as an HIV physician at Madwaleni hospital in the rural Eastern Cape. He trained as an infectious disease specialist in Cape Town from 2010-12 and continued to work at Groote Schuur Hospital until 2017 when he moved to Johannesburg. He currently works for Right to Care, the Clinical HIV Research Unit, and as a consultant at Helen Joseph Hospital. He maintains a passion for rural medicine and his research interests include appropriate diagnostic and treatment strategies for TB and the increased use of machine learning models to advance healthcare delivery in low resource settings.

Best care bundles are a set of practices tied together which are proven to prevent heathcare associated infections. Listen Vin has a chat with Lesley Devenish, a seasoned IPC nurse practitioner and teacher about these bundles.

About our Guest:

My basic nursing training was completed through the Rand Afrikaans University (now U.J.)

and post-grad courses through the University of South Africa. I started in Infection Control 25 years ago in the private sector. After gaining years of hospital experience, I moved into management and was head of Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) at the Netcare Group of hospitals for 11 years. I had loved the teaching part of my role at Netcare head office and pursued a more teaching-related role at Wits University and, although I am now semi-retired, still teach the IPC course through Wits Health Consortium. I am an avid reader and a very happy Granny, with four beautiful grandchildren.

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Have you ever played the game "Would you rather?" - listen to this episode to hear a virological take on this fun game. And more importantly - is there even a correct answer at all?

About our Guests:

Marvin Hsiao: is an associate professor and consultant virologist at University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Complex of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). In addition to his virology training, Marvin holds a master’s degree in public health. His research interests are viral diagnostics, surveillance of viral diseases, epidemiology of viral diseases and health systems issues related to laboratory medicine. He received research funding from Poliomyelitis Research Foundation (PRF), SAMRC, NHLS Research Trust and Wellcome Trust. He is currently a member of PRF scientific advisory panel and NHLS virology expert committee.

He can be found on twitter @HsiaoMarvin tweeting virology and COVID-19 related issues or just general nonsense.

Moepeng Maseko: graduated with her MBChB from the University of Cape Town in 2016, she holds a Diploma in HIV Management from the Colleges of Medicine South Africa and is currently working as a Virology Registrar at  the National Health Laboratory Services at Groote Schuur Hospital/ UCT.

You can find her at:

LinkedIn : Moepeng Maseko

Instagram : @moe_eeezy

Simon Fraser: is currently an intern at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH). He graduated from the GEMP program at Wits (MBBCh) in 2021, following postgraduate studies in palaeontology as well as theology. He's a husband and father of 3, and also the host of the Dr Coffee podcast, for junior doctors and medical students in South Africa.

You can find him at:

https://linktr.ee/drcoffeeza

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One Health is a concept which described the health not only of humans, but also of the envionment and animals. Our Guest, Dr Yogandree Ramsamy tells us about its origins, who governs the principles and how it can be applied to antimicrobial resistance and everyday clinical practice.

About our Guest:

Dr Yogandree Ramsamy, a medical doctor with a specialization in medical microbiology (MBChB, MMedPath (Microbiology), FCPath(SA)(Microbiology), PhD), is currently a Senior Pathologist in Medical Microbiology at JDJ Diagnostics. As a recipient of the One Health AMR Fellowship from the Université Paris Cité and Fondation Mérieux, the Institut Mérieux-ICAN Young Investigator Award in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Award and the SEDRIC-Wellcome Trust Travel Scholarship, Dr Ramsamy is extremely passionate about AMR and implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs). Currently a member of several local and international committees related to Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) and Infection Prevention and Control, Dr Ramsamy is committed to the fight against AMR. She has served on the provincial KZN Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) Committee, promoting the concept of AMR and AMS within the KZN public health sector in line with the South African National AMR Strategy. Her Master’s focused on AMR, AMS and surveillance in the South African landscape and her PhD entailed investigating Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) in a One Health context. She is a honorary research fellow in the Antimicrobial Research Unit at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her keen research interest in AMR, AMS and AMR surveillance has culminated in original research generating several publications + local and international conference presentations. Creating awareness of a bleak future without the prospects of lifesaving antimicrobials, mentoring up and coming individuals equally passionate about saving antimicrobials for future generations is one of her greatest ambitions.

You can find Yogandree at:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

linkedin.com/in/yogandree-ramsamy-16a74a86

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Have you ever played the game "Would you Rather?" - listen to this episode to hear a microbial take on this fun game. And more importantly - is there even a correct answer at all?

About our Guests:

Dr Lauren Richards: I am a specialist physician with a sub-specialty in infectious diseases. I currently work at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg in the internal medicine and infectious diseases departments. I obtained my MBBCh and MMED at Wits University. I love my job and am still finding my ID niche. I think ID is the most exciting, interesting and surprising specialty out there!

Follow Lauren on Twitter: @lolrichards

Dr Nokukhanya Khaniyle- Lenaka : a registrar in paediatrics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Khanya is also a social media influencer with > 150 000 followers on instagram. She is a keynote speaker, promoting physical and mental well-being . Khanya was nominated as one of the "100 most influential Young South Africans" in the Science and Technology category in 2019.

You can find her at:

• Social media: @dr_khanyile
• Tik Tok: @dr_khanyile_

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Microbe Mail recorded a collaborative episode with the ID:IOTS podcast. Jame, Callum and I talk about the challenge of multidrug resistant Gram negative bacterial infections, particularly from the perspective of a low- middle income setting, with poor access to the newer antimicrobial agents.

Callum is a medical microbiology and infectious diseases registrar working in Edinburgh, Scotland who has recently completed a medical education fellowship. Jame is an ex-Scottish newly Oxford, England, based infectious diseases and clinical pharmacology.

You can find Jame and Callum's podcast here: https://idiotspodcasting.buzzsprout.com/

Links:

References:

• Metallo-β-lactamase resistance in Enterobacteriaceae is an artefact of currently utilized antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods 
• Best practices: Appropriate use of the new β-
• lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combinations, ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam in South Africa
• Colistin Monotherapy versus Colistin plus Meropenem Combination Therapy for the Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Infection: A Meta-Analysis
• IDSA AMR Guidance
• ESCMID Gram Negative Treatment Guidelines

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What is HIV post exposure prophylaxis , who should get it and how should it be given. Vin and Ruan discuss these and other relevant issues related to this topic.

About our Guest:

Dr Avania Bangalee qualified as a pathologist in virology in 2018 with distinction and was awarded the Coulter Medal for Pathology in the CMSA examination.  She has experience working for large multinational and international organizations including Discovery, Novartis pharmaceuticals and the United States Peace Corps.  She has provided a diagnostic and clinical consultative service while employed with the National Health Laboratory serviceas a registrar and later as a pathologist. She has been instrumental in developing teaching programmes in the departments of Virology at the Universities of Witwatersrand and Pretoria and providing support for registrar teaching and learning including supervision of Master’s students.  She has published work in international and national peer-reviewed journals and presented at key conferences both locally and abroad.

Dr Bangalee currently serves as a Senior Medical Advisor: HIV Programmes at Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute

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Using aminoglycosides to treat infections often causes major distress amongst clinicians. Here we talk about how they should be used appropriately, in the hopes that we may calm some of this anxiety.

About our Guest:

Dr Veshni Pillay-Fuentes Lorente obtained an MBChB degree at Walter Sisulu University in 2010. Thereafter, completed a 2-year internship at King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban. Worked as a community service medical officer at the former Gordonia Hosptial, Upington. Thereafter, worked as a medical officer over a 4 year period in Internal Medicine at Dr Harry Surtie Hospital, Upington. Completed a 2 year post-graduate diploma in Medicines Development between 2016 - 2017 with the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Stellenbosch University. Obtained a Masters of Medicine in Clinical Pharmacology and completed a 4-year clinical pharmacology training programme before qualifying as a Specialist Clinical Pharmacologist in 2021. Employed at present as a Clinical Pharmacologist in Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Currently an applied pharmacometrics training fellow (APT program) and a PhD candidate in Stellenbosch University Cape Town. My interests are PK in special populations and dose optimization through pharmacometrics.

[email protected]

Twitter: @JennalPillay

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Wondering what the microbial "match- made- in- heaven" is? This is the perfect drug - bug...or which antibiotic is best for which specific microbe. Listen to this episode to find out more.

About our Guest:

Michel completed his Undergraduate degree at UCT, and his FC Path(micro) in Dec 2021.  He completed his MMed(micro) in July 2022.  He is currently working as a consultant pathologist microbiology in the East Rand of Johannesburg with Ampath Laboratories.  His main interests are molecular microbiology, antimicrobial resistance mechanisms and the lab-clinician interface. 

Outside of work, he attempts amateur pottery, enjoys moderate outdoor hiking and friendly and competitive board games.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-le-grange-a5070229

Twitter: @microbelearning

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