Restoring non-COVID-19 clinical research and surveillance in Oyo state, Nigeria during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Veronica O. Ogunleye; Okainemen P. Oluwalusi; Oluwafemi Popoola; Aderemi Kehinde; Olukemi Adekanmbi; Ifiok Udofia; Sarah Agbi; Ifeoluwa Akintayo; Jolaade J. Ajiboye; Folasade Bamidele; Temitope Alonge; Ondari D. Mogeni; Florian Marks; Iruka N. Okeke

doi:10.4081/jphia.2022.1720

Authors

Veronica O. Ogunleye Severe Typhoid in Africa Project, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4439-4083
Okainemen P. Oluwalusi Severe Typhoid in Africa Project, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Oluwafemi Popoola Severe Typhoid in Africa Project, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria; Department of Community Medicine, Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8535-7882
Aderemi Kehinde Severe Typhoid in Africa Project, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2200-2288
Olukemi Adekanmbi University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria; Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0290-9563
Ifiok Udofia Severe Typhoid in Africa Project, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0196-0551
Sarah Agbi Severe Typhoid in Africa Project, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3928-6766
Ifeoluwa Akintayo Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4234-7649
Jolaade J. Ajiboye Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Folasade Bamidele University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria; Infectious Disease Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Temitope Alonge University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria; Oyo State Government, COVID-19 Task Force, Ibadan, Nigeria; Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9999-1865
Ondari D. Mogeni International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea, Republic of. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5133-3735
Florian Marks International Vaccine Institute Seoul, Korea; Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Medicine, UK; Madagascr Institute for Vaccine Research, University of Antananarivo, Madagascar; Institute of Global Health, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Iruka N. Okeke
iruka.n.okeke@gmail.com
Severe Typhoid in Africa Project, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Pharmacy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1694-7587

Background: Many sub-Saharan African patients receive clinical care from extramurally-supported research and surveillance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pausing these activities reduces patient care, surveillance, and research staff employment, increasing pandemic losses. In Oyo State, Nigeria, we paused a multi-country invasive salmonellosis surveillance initiative and a rural clinical bacteriology project.
Objective: Working with research partners raises health facility con- cerns about SARS-CoV-2 transmission risks and incurs infection pre- vention costs, so we developed and implemented re-opening plans to protect staff and patients and help health facilities deliver care.
Methods: Our reopening plan included appointing safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) managers from existing project staff cadres, writing new standard operating procedures, implementing extensive assessed training, COVID-19 testing for staff, procuring and managing PPE, and providing secondary bacteraemia blood culture support for COVID-19 patients in State isolation facilities.
Results: Surveillance data showed that the pandemic reduced care access and negatively affected patient unsupervised antibacterial use. The re-opening plan repurposed human and material resources from national and international extramurally-supported programs to mitigate these effects on public health.
Conclusions: A structured reopening plan restarted care, surveillance, and infection prevention and control.

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Supporting Agencies

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Medical Research Council, Department for International Development

Ogunleye, V. O., Oluwalusi, O. P., Popoola, O., Kehinde, A., Adekanmbi, O., Udofia, I., Agbi, S., Akintayo, I., Ajiboye, J. J., Bamidele, F., Alonge, T., Mogeni, O. D., Marks, F., & Okeke, I. N. (2022). Restoring non-COVID-19 clinical research and surveillance in Oyo state, Nigeria during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Journal of Public Health in Africa, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/jphia.2022.1720

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Copyright (c) 2022 Veronica O. Ogunleye, Okainemen P. Oluwalusi, Oluwafemi Popoola, Aderemi Kehinde, Olukemi Adekanmbi, Ifiok Udofia, Sarah Agbi, Ifeoluwa Akintayo, Jolaade J. Ajiboye, Folasade Bamidele, Temitope Alonge, Ondari D. Mogeni, Florian Marks, Iruka N. Okeke