Mzuni embarks on pneumonia study

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 breathing difficulty kept deteriorating until she was diagnosed with 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 the country are not as lucky. They become mere statistics of this healthcare dilemma, one of the leading causes of death among children under the age of five.

Children are at increased risk of pneumonia because of their weak immunity.

In response to this pressing challenge, Mzuzu University (Mzuni) has joined forces with University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland, in a research project aimed at enhancing the pneumonia diagnosis and treatment in children.

Researcher Master Chisale, from Mzuni’s Department of Biological Sciences, says the university is well-placed to address most of the challenges the country and the world face today.

“Research generates knowledge we can use to address several challenges 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.

The researcher has collaborated with Professor Balwani Mbakaya on this project.

Mzuni’s strategic plan recognises research and innovation as key in generating new knowledge and innovations needed for economic development in line with the Malawi2063 agenda and global development goals.

Through collaboration, the department has won the Science Foundation Ireland-Irish Aid Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Challenge Grant amounting to €893 000 for two years.

“We are excited to win this grant,” says Chisale. “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.”

He added that the project is a continuation of Biomarkers to diagnose Pneumonia 2 (Biotope 2) initiative from December 2022 to July 2023.

According to Chisale, the project will also support and increase the department’s capacity, particularly the Parasitology and Disease Vector Control (PDVC) Programme.

“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, motivated by the global disease burden, are determined to address the challenges encountered in pneumonic diagnosis and treatment, especially among children in Malawi.

“Pneumonia is known as 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. As such, pneumonia is treated with high usage of antibiotics which in itself is a precursor of antimicrobial resistance,” Chisale says.

The project seeks to develop a rapid diagnostic assay, a device with the capacity to determine and distinguish bacterial pneumonia from viral pneumonia at the point of care.

Chisale states: “During the first phase, we were investigating some aspects that need to be improved in both diagnosis and management of pneumonia in health care facilities.

“The diagnostic assay we developed will be tried, evaluated and validated selected health facilities in eight districts.”

Research from sub-Saharan Africa shows that children often receive suboptimal assessments for pneumonia at health facilities.

The gaps include inadequate history-taking and physical examination, resulting in delayed or inadequate diagnosis and increased morbidity.

Mzuni’s Biological Science Department is endowed with a team of well-trained and dedicated staff to offer learners adaptive courses blended with entrepreneurial thrusts to prepare them for future careers and engagements.

The department offers two unique five-year undergraduate programmes.

The honours degrees include bachelor of science in parasitology and disease vector Control and BSc in biodiversity conservation and management.

It also serves many science-based undergraduate degree programmes in other faculties such as the faculties of Education, Environmental Sciences and Health Sciences in diverse biological sciences courses.