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One health analysis of antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli from humans, animals, and the environment
(Oxford University Press, 2026-04-03) Lyimo, Beatus
Summary: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a critical public health threat, with evidence suggesting the transfer of re
sistance genes between humans, animals, and the environment. This study investigates the distribution of AMR genes,
plasmid types, and the population structure of Escherichia coli isolates from humans, livestock, fish, and the environment
in Tanzania, with a subset of data from Kenya, using a One Health approach. A total of 174 Whole-genome sequencing
(WGS) data were analyzed to identify AMR genes and evaluate their population structure. The findings reveal widespread
dissemination of AMR genes across all sources. Aminoglycoside resistance genes and β-lactam resistance genes were prev
alent across all environments. Quinolone resistance mutations were detected in isolates from humans, livestock, fish, and
the environment. Tetracycline resistance genes were found in humans, livestock, and fish. Plasmid types IncFIA, IncI1,
and IncFII exhibited extensive cross-source sharing, with strong connectivity between human and livestock. Principal
Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that E. coli isolates from Kenya formed a tight, distinct cluster, while other isolates
were more dispersed. These findings emphasize the interconnected nature of AMR across human, animal, and environ
mental sectors and underscore the need for integrated surveillance under a One Health framework to monitor and control
the spread of clinically significant AMR genes.
Availability and Implementation: The genomic datasets analyzed in this study are available from public repositories.
Bioinformatics analyses were conducted using established pipelines and standard tools for AMR gene detection, plasmid
typing, and population structure analysis.
Unprecedented Burning in Tropical Peatlands During the 20th Century Compared to the Previous Two Millennia
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2026-03-17) Wang, Yuwan; Feldpausch, Ted; Swindles, Graeme; Moss, Patrick; McGowan, Hamish; Sim, Thomas; Morris, Paul; Benfield, Adam; Courtney‐Mustaphi, Colin; Wahl, David; Montoya, Encarni; Githumbi, Esther; Coronado, Eurídice; Augustijns, Femke; Verstraeten, Gert; Donnell, Jess; Tibby, John; Benavides, Juan
Tropical peatland wildfire incidence has risen in recent decades, driven by drainage for land use and intensified by severe droughts with global climate change. These disturbances have altered vegetation structure, disrupted ecosystem functioning, and increased carbon emissions, particularly in Southeast Asia. However, the long-term history and characteristics of wildfires in tropical peatlands remain largely unknown. Here, we compiled fifty-eight macro-charcoal records from peatlands across the tropics, ranging from lowland forested to montane peatlands, to assess millennia-scale changes and controlling factors of tropical peatland burning. We divided the datasets into four main sub-regions: Neotropical, Afrotropical, Indomalayan and Australasian ecoregions to explore regional variability. Tropical peatlands had high burning levels between 0 and 850 ce, followed by a relatively low and stable period until a marked increase during the 20th century. The general trend in tropical peatland burning follows changes in global temperature, and climate variables that control the length and severity of drought events have a notable influence on peat burning before 1900 ce. During the 20th century, regional differences were observed, with declining fire trends in the Neotropical and Afrotropical regions and increasing fire trends in the Indomalayan and Australasian regions. This difference is likely attributable to human activities, and such intervention is also evident in palm swamps and hardwood swamps under similar wet, weakly seasonal climates. With the increase in anthropogenic pressures on peatlands and greater climate variability, future wildfires in peatlands are likely to become more frequent and widespread across all tropical ecoregions. Conservation and sustainable land-use practices could be used to mitigate and control peatland burning and protect these carbon-rich sinks.
Towards a Secure Central Bank Digital Currency System:A Case Study of Tanzania
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2026-04-05) Minja, Godbless; Sam, Anael; Nyambo, Devotha
This study contributes to the implementation of a secure Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) system in Tanzania. It identified the challenges faced by Tanzania's digital financial services (DFS), proposed relevant mitigations, and designed a secure CBDC system suitable for Tanzania. It also seeks to support ongoing CBDC research by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and provide insights to other stakeholders exploring CBDCs. It employed a mixed research approach to collect and analyse data from a representative Tanzanian population, revealing that security concerns (53.3%) and high transaction charges (21.9%) were the main challenges in adopting DFS. Additionally, unreliable electricity and internet connectivity and low digital literacy were reported. Despite showing potential to address the identified challenges, a CBDC must be carefully designed to attract users and integrate smoothly with existing DFS. Furthermore, efforts should be made to address infrastructural and digital literacy challenges to maximise the practical realisation of CBDC benefits in Tanzania. This study is the first of its kind in Tanzania to combine stakeholder-informed insights with a context-specific CBDC design focused on security. Furthermore, it contributes to BoT's ongoing CBDC research and to other countries’ CBDC initiatives, particularly in the developing world.
Impact Statement: This study seeks to provide evidence-based insights to guide the design and implementation of a secure and context-aware CBDC for Tanzania. Its value lies in integrating stakeholder-informed analysis with a focus on the challenges within the DFS ecosystem of Tanzania. It supports the BoT's ongoing CBDC research efforts and contributes to the broader discourse on secure and context-aware DFS, particularly in the developing economies.
The role of environmental contamination in the dynamics of HIV–TB co-infection with control strategies: Caputo fractional-order approach
(Elsevier B.V., 2026-03-06) Luambano, Dickson; Stephano, Mussa; Mayengo, Maranya
This study investigates the effectiveness of integrated environmental and medical interventions in controlling HIV–TB co-infection. A Caputo fractional-order modeling framework is developed to capture memory and nonlocal effects inherent in chronic infections, while explicitly incorporating environmental reservoirs of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as an additional transmission pathway. The mathematical well-posedness of the model is established through existence, uniqueness, positivity, boundedness, and Ulam–Hyers stability analysis. Numerical solutions are obtained using an Adams–Bashforth–Moulton predictor–corrector scheme, and unknown parameters are calibrated using World Health Organization HIV–TB co-infection data from Tanzania spanning 2000–2023. The estimated fractional order is
, indicating strong memory effects that reflect the cumulative impact of past infection history, delayed immune responses, prolonged treatment effects, and persistent environmental contamination characteristic of HIV–TB co-infection dynamics. Model validation using an independent dataset from Kenya (2000–2023) demonstrates the robustness and geographic transferability of the proposed framework. Sensitivity analysis identifies key epidemiological parameters governing transmission and control, emphasizing the joint importance of clinical treatment and environmental sanitation. A comparative analysis between the fractional-order model (
) and the classical integer-order model (
) reveals that the fractional formulation provides an improved fit to observed data and captures long-term disease dynamics more accurately, particularly in reproducing persistent infection trends. Overall, the results show that coordinated medical interventions combined with environmental control substantially reduce HIV–TB co-infection prevalence, underscoring the necessity of integrated, multi sectoral strategies for sustainable disease management in high-burden settings.
The invasive bark beetle, Pagiocerus frontalis (Fabricius): as an emerging maize storage pest in Tanzania2
(Frontiers, 2026-02-09) Chidege, Maneno; Venkataramana, Pavithravani; Ndakidemi, Patrick
In Tanzania, smallholder farmers often sell maize immediately after harvest to avoid post-harvest losses caused by storage pests, a practice that exacerbates food insecurity. The invasive bark beetle Pagiocerus frontalis (Fabricius, 1801) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), which infests maize and avocado seeds, was first detected in Tanzania in December 2018 in stored provitamin A yellow maize (CP 201). Host plant resistance represents a safe and sustainable strategy for managing storage insect pests. In this study, we evaluated the susceptibility of 27 maize varieties commonly cultivated in Tanzania. The varieties were assessed for grain damage, weight loss, progeny production, time to progeny emergence, and adult insect mortality. Significant differences were observed in grain damage and adult mortality, whereas no significant differences were detected in grain weight loss, progeny number, or time to progeny emergence. These findings demonstrate that P. frontalis can inflict substantial damage across all major maize varieties in Tanzania. This study provides the first evidence of varietal susceptibility to this invasive pest and establishes a foundation for developing integrated pest management strategies aimed at safeguarding maize production and enhancing food security in Tanzania and across Africa.