Application of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems in Determining the Groundwater Potential in the Crystalline Basement of Bulawayo Metropolitan Area, Zimbabwe

This study is concerned with the identification and delineation of aquiferous zones for potential groundwater development across Bulawayo Metropolitan from remotely sensed data and geological inference. Attempts have been made to review literatures on groundwater exploitation in the study area and the constraints to effective and sustainable management of underground water in the study area. Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is useful in the recognition and delineation of aquiferous zones for potential groundwater in crystalline basement aquifers. LANDSAT ETM+ image, SRTM data, aeromagnetic data and other ancillary data sets were utilized to extract information on the groundwater storing controlling features of this study area. Six thematic maps were produced from remote sensing data and other ancillary data—Land use/landcover, drainage density, slope map, contact density, lithology and lineament density. GIS modeling technique of the index overlay method was used to produce the groundwater potential map. The study revealed that the regional lineaments correlate with faults, fracture zones, and lithological contrasts along fold belts in the crystalline basement rocks, while the main direction of faulting and jointing is north-north-west to north with several faults oriented, to the north-north-east, parallel to the Great Dyke. Proximity to lineaments is the highest zone of increased porosity and permeability which in turn have a greater chance of accumulating groundwater. The results have shown massive spatial variability of ground water potential ranging from very good to poor. The variability closely followed variations in the structures, geology, topography/slope, drainage density and land use/land cover in the project area. This work is a reconnaissance which needs to be validated by the use of high-resolution terrain data and satellite imagery and the quantitative analysis should be done using geophysical and hydrogeological surveys.

Uptake of Cervical Cancer Screening among Women Attending Health Facilities in the City of Bulawayo, 2012

Introduction: In Zimbabwe, where cervical cancer is the leading female malignancy, no systematic cervical screening program has been introduced. However, selective or opportunistic screening has been performed since the late 1980s. The Ministry of Health and Child Care is relying on screening, which allows early detection of pre-cancerous cells and diagnosis at early stages but many women are not going for the test and no studies have been done to find out why. This study investigated the women’s perception about cervical cancer and its screening using health belief model (HBM) in Bulawayo, where they are two new screening clinics. Methods: We conducted an analytic cross-sectional study. Women from 18 years and above attending health facilities were included in the study. Interviewer administrated questionnaire was used to determine the proportion of screened women and elicit their perception about cervical cancer and its screening. Epi-info version 3.3.2 was used to do bivariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Two hundred women were recruited into the study. The proportion of women who had cervical cancer screening was 52 (26%). Pap smear only had 35 (17.5%) had VIAC only, 13 (6.5%) and Pap smear and VIAC had 4 (2%). Knowledge of cervical cancer and its screening was poor among participants. In multivariate analysis, awareness of cervical cancer screening [adjusted OR 42.05 (95% CI 5.63 - 314.04)] was associated with the uptake of cervical cancer screening and perceiving that having multiple sexual partners[adjusted OR 0.33 (95% CI 0.12 - 0.88)] was independently associated to the uptake of cervical cancer screening. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that lack of awareness of cervical cancer screening is a barrier to the uptake of the screening. Perceiving multiple sexual partners was associated to the uptake of cervical cancer screening. It is therefore necessary to increase awareness in Bulawayo City and educate the community about other risk factors.

Evaluation of Perinatal Mortality Surveillance System in the City of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Background: In Zimbabwe, the perinatal mortality surveillance system is based on passive reporting of perinatal deaths using the perinatal death notification forms. Mpilo hospital recorded 74 perinatal deaths from January to September. No death was reported to the city and no perinatal mortality forms were found at the health information section. We aimed to assess the performance of perinatal mortality surveillance system in Bulawayo city. Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in all the maternity centres in Bulawayo City in 2011 using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for evaluating public health surveillance systems. We used interviewer-administrated questionnaires to collect data. We used a checklist to assess availability of resources. Perinatal death notification forms were reviewed. Results: We interviewed 67 workers. Knowledge on the system was poor. Eight (12%) were trained in IDSR (Integrated Disease Surveillance Response) and three (4.5%) were inducted on the perinatal mortality surveillance system. Sixty-one (91%) regarded the system as useful. City and private maternity centres were not notifying perinatal deaths due to lack of forms. In central hospitals, delay in notification was due to workload and shortage of trained staff. Conclusion: Poor knowledge on the system, lack of induction and trained staff could have contributed to the non-performance of the system in the City of Bulawayo. Most participants reported the system as useful. Lack of documentation made it difficult to follow up on actions plans.

Secondary Data Analysis of Tuberculosis Deaths in Bulawayo Province, Zimbabwe, 2016-2019

Background: Tuberculosis is a leading cause of death globally, and the third leading cause of death in Zimbabwe. Death from any cause following a diag-nosis of tuberculosis is classified as a tuberculosis death. Bulawayo Province reported high tuberculosis death rates from 15.3% in 2016 to 14.2% in 2019 against a threshold of 5%. We analyzed tuberculosis deaths for Bulawayo Province to characterize patients dying and to make recommendations for im-proving treatment outcomes for susceptible tuberculosis cases. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. We analyzed all (N = 469) records of tuberculosis deaths from 19/19 Bulawayo tuberculosis diagnosing centers from 01 January 2016 to 31 December 2019. Microsoft® Excel 2007 was used to generate graphs and Stata® version 17 was used to conduct chi-square tests for trends. Results: Males accounted for 278/469 (59.3%) of the deaths. The median age of death was 40 years (Q1 = 33: Q3 = 51). The proportion of TB deaths increased from 63/114 (55%) in 2016 to 57/90 (63%) in 2019 for males (p Conclusion: High death rates particularly in the intensive phase, could be attributed to sub-optimal clinical care. Tuberculosis programs should work towards adopting differentiated care models for tuberculosis patients and developing algorithms for patients at high risk of death.

津巴布韦Turk金矿黄铁矿矿物特征及成矿意义

采用光学和化学分析方法对津巴布韦Bubi绿岩带内Turk金矿伴生的黄铁矿进行形态、同位素和微量元素分布特征研究,认为碳酸盐岩中黄铁矿的硫同位素δ34S值,随黄铁矿形态变化而变化,表明硫来源是多元的。大多数样品硫同位素δ34S值近于0‰,反映了岩浆作用提供了硫的主要物质来源。少量样品的硫同位素δ34S值介于+4‰～+16‰之间,反映一部分硫来自海水。砷及其他元素的分布特征表明在碳酸盐岩层内存在几个不同世代的黄铁矿。早期富含砷的黄铁矿内金有一定程度的富集,但在碳酸盐岩内黄铁矿中金的浓度太低,不能产生金的显著富集。而在变玄武岩中,金明显富集,它是晚期含矿流体沿微细剪切带渗透,形成石英-方解石-黄铁矿组合,并把原来自形的黄铁矿破碎呈角砾状,伴随裂隙金生成。