Human microbiota research in Africa: a systematic review reveals gaps and priorities for future research
| dc.contributor.author | Allali, Imane | |
| dc.contributor.author | Abotsi, Regina E | |
| dc.contributor.author | Tow, Lemese A | |
| dc.contributor.author | Thabane, Lehana | |
| dc.contributor.author | Zar, Heather J | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mulder, Nicola M | |
| dc.contributor.author | Nicol, Mark P | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-04-03T18:04:30Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-04-03T18:04:30Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021-12-15 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2021-12-19T04:10:13Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Background The role of the human microbiome in health and disease is an emerging and important area of research; however, there is a concern that African populations are under-represented in human microbiome studies. We, therefore, conducted a systematic survey of African human microbiome studies to provide an overview and identify research gaps. Our secondary objectives were: (i) to determine the number of peer-reviewed publications; (ii) to identify the extent to which the researches focused on diseases identified by the World Health Organization [WHO] State of Health in the African Region Report as being the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in 2018; (iii) to describe the extent and pattern of collaborations between researchers in Africa and the rest of the world; and (iv) to identify leadership and funders of the studies. Methodology We systematically searched Medline via PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Academic Search Premier, Africa-Wide Information through EBSCOhost, and Web of Science from inception through to 1st April 2020. We included studies that characterized samples from African populations using next-generation sequencing approaches. Two reviewers independently conducted the literature search, title and abstract, and full-text screening, as well as data extraction. Results We included 168 studies out of 5515 records retrieved. Most studies were published in PLoS One (13%; 22/168), and samples were collected from 33 of the 54 African countries. The country where most studies were conducted was South Africa (27/168), followed by Kenya (23/168) and Uganda (18/168). 26.8% (45/168) focused on diseases of significant public health concern in Africa. Collaboration between scientists from the United States of America and Africa was most common (96/168). The first and/or last authors of 79.8% of studies were not affiliated with institutions in Africa. Major funders were the United States of America National Institutes of Health (45.2%; 76/168), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (17.8%; 30/168), and the European Union (11.9%; 20/168). Conclusions There are significant gaps in microbiome research in Africa, especially those focusing on diseases of public health importance. There is a need for local leadership, capacity building, intra-continental collaboration, and national government investment in microbiome research within Africa. Video Abstract | en_US |
| dc.identifier.apacitation | Allali, I., Abotsi, R. E., Tow, L. A., Thabane, L., Zar, H. J., Mulder, N. M., & Nicol, M. P. (2021). Human microbiota research in Africa: a systematic review reveals gaps and priorities for future research. <i>Microbiome</i>, 9(1), 241. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36245 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.chicagocitation | Allali, Imane, Regina E Abotsi, Lemese A Tow, Lehana Thabane, Heather J Zar, Nicola M Mulder, and Mark P Nicol "Human microbiota research in Africa: a systematic review reveals gaps and priorities for future research." <i>Microbiome</i> 9, 1. (2021): 241. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36245 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Allali, I., Abotsi, R.E., Tow, L.A., Thabane, L., Zar, H.J., Mulder, N.M. & Nicol, M.P. 2021. Human microbiota research in Africa: a systematic review reveals gaps and priorities for future research. <i>Microbiome.</i> 9(1):241. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36245 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.ris | TY - Journal Article AU - Allali, Imane AU - Abotsi, Regina E AU - Tow, Lemese A AU - Thabane, Lehana AU - Zar, Heather J AU - Mulder, Nicola M AU - Nicol, Mark P AB - Background The role of the human microbiome in health and disease is an emerging and important area of research; however, there is a concern that African populations are under-represented in human microbiome studies. We, therefore, conducted a systematic survey of African human microbiome studies to provide an overview and identify research gaps. Our secondary objectives were: (i) to determine the number of peer-reviewed publications; (ii) to identify the extent to which the researches focused on diseases identified by the World Health Organization [WHO] State of Health in the African Region Report as being the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in 2018; (iii) to describe the extent and pattern of collaborations between researchers in Africa and the rest of the world; and (iv) to identify leadership and funders of the studies. Methodology We systematically searched Medline via PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Academic Search Premier, Africa-Wide Information through EBSCOhost, and Web of Science from inception through to 1st April 2020. We included studies that characterized samples from African populations using next-generation sequencing approaches. Two reviewers independently conducted the literature search, title and abstract, and full-text screening, as well as data extraction. Results We included 168 studies out of 5515 records retrieved. Most studies were published in PLoS One (13%; 22/168), and samples were collected from 33 of the 54 African countries. The country where most studies were conducted was South Africa (27/168), followed by Kenya (23/168) and Uganda (18/168). 26.8% (45/168) focused on diseases of significant public health concern in Africa. Collaboration between scientists from the United States of America and Africa was most common (96/168). The first and/or last authors of 79.8% of studies were not affiliated with institutions in Africa. Major funders were the United States of America National Institutes of Health (45.2%; 76/168), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (17.8%; 30/168), and the European Union (11.9%; 20/168). Conclusions There are significant gaps in microbiome research in Africa, especially those focusing on diseases of public health importance. There is a need for local leadership, capacity building, intra-continental collaboration, and national government investment in microbiome research within Africa. Video Abstract DA - 2021-12-15 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town IS - 1 J1 - Microbiome KW - Microbiome KW - Next-generation sequencing KW - Systematic review KW - 16S rRNA sequencing KW - Metagenomics KW - Public health LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2021 T1 - Human microbiota research in Africa: a systematic review reveals gaps and priorities for future research TI - Human microbiota research in Africa: a systematic review reveals gaps and priorities for future research UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36245 ER - | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-021-01195-7 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36245 | |
| dc.identifier.vancouvercitation | Allali I, Abotsi RE, Tow LA, Thabane L, Zar HJ, Mulder NM, et al. Human microbiota research in Africa: a systematic review reveals gaps and priorities for future research. Microbiome. 2021;9(1):241. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36245. | en_ZA |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.language.rfc3066 | en | |
| dc.rights.holder | The Author(s) | |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_US |
| dc.source | Microbiome | en_US |
| dc.source.journalissue | 1 | en_US |
| dc.source.journalvolume | 9 | en_US |
| dc.source.pagination | 241 | en_US |
| dc.source.uri | https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/ | |
| dc.subject | Microbiome | en_US |
| dc.subject | Next-generation sequencing | en_US |
| dc.subject | Systematic review | en_US |
| dc.subject | 16S rRNA sequencing | en_US |
| dc.subject | Metagenomics | en_US |
| dc.subject | Public health | en_US |
| dc.title | Human microbiota research in Africa: a systematic review reveals gaps and priorities for future research | en_US |
| dc.type | Journal Article | en_US |