Zhinya Kawa Othman

Dr. Zhinya Kawa Othman

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

View All Publications
6 March 2025 in Zoonotic Diseases
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MAMohamed Mustaf Ahmed
Mohamed Mustaf Ahmed
Okesanya John OlalekanOkesanya John Olalekan
Okesanya John Olalekan
ZOZhinya Kawa Othman
Zhinya Kawa Othman
AMAdamu Ibrahim Muhammad
Adamu Ibrahim Muhammad
Olaniyi Abideen AdigunOlaniyi Abideen Adigun
Olaniyi Abideen Adigun
DIDon Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III
Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III
Zoonotic diseases pose a significant global health threat, driven by factors such as globalization, climate change, urbanization, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and intensified human–animal interactions. The increasing interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health underscores the importance of the OH paradigm in addressing zoonotic threats in a globalized world. This review explores the complex epidemiology of zoonotic diseases, the challenges associated with their management, and the necessity for cross-sector collaboration to enhance prevention and control efforts. Key public health strategies, including surveillance systems, infection control measures, and community education programs, play crucial roles in mitigating outbreaks. However, gaps in governance, resource allocation, and interdisciplinary cooperation hinder effective disease management, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To illustrate the effectiveness of the OH approach, this review highlights successful programs, such as the PREDICT project, Rwanda’s National One Health Program, the EcoHealth Alliance, and the Rabies Elimination Program in the Philippines. These initiatives demonstrate how integrating human, animal, and environmental health efforts can enhance early detection, improve outbreak responses, and reduce public health burdens. Strengthening global health governance, enhancing surveillance infrastructure, regulating antimicrobial use, and investing in research and technological innovations are essential steps toward mitigating zoonotic risks. Ultimately, a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach is vital for addressing the dynamic challenges posed by zoonotic diseases and ensuring global health security in an increasingly interconnected world.

9 August 2024 in F1000Research
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MAMohamed Mustaf Ahmed
Mohamed Mustaf Ahmed
HAHodo Aideed Asowe
Hodo Aideed Asowe
NDNajib Isse Dirie
Najib Isse Dirie
AMAbdirahman Khalif Mohamud
Abdirahman Khalif Mohamud
DIDon Eliseo Lucero-Prisno Iii
Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno Iii
AAAbdullateef Abdulsalam
Abdullateef Abdulsalam
Climate change poses a significant threat to Somalia’s food security and stability. This review examines the complex interplay between climate change impacts, food insecurity, and conflict in Somalia. Recent climate data and forecasts paint a concerning picture: the rainfall probabilistic forecast for April- June 2024 indicates a high likelihood of above-normal rainfall across much of Somalia, thus increasing the flood risks. Concurrently, temperature forecasts project above-normal temperatures, potentially exacerbating drought conditions between the rainy seasons. Historical climatology data reveal Somalia’s vulnerability, with average temperatures ranging from 25°C to 30°C and significant seasonal variations affecting agriculture and water resources. These climate trends, combined with ongoing political instability and weak governance, have created a storm of challenges. This perspective explores how recurrent droughts and floods disrupt agricultural production, decimate livestock, and displace vulnerable populations, particularly those affecting rural and nomadic communities. It also examines how environmental stress exacerbates poverty and conflict, thereby creating a vicious cycle of vulnerability. This analysis draws on recent data on poverty rates, food expenditure patterns, and climate-related displacement, to illustrate the multifaceted nature of the crisis. Finally, this perspective proposed recommendations for building climate resilience, enhancing food security, and promoting sustainable development in Somalia, emphasizing the need for integrated approaches that combine immediate humanitarian assistance with long-term adaptation strategies.

11 July 2025 in BioData Mining
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MAMohamed Mustaf Ahmed
Mohamed Mustaf Ahmed
Okesanya John OlalekanOkesanya John Olalekan
Okesanya John Olalekan
MOMajd Oweidat
Majd Oweidat
ZOZhinya Kawa Othman
Zhinya Kawa Othman
SMShuaibu Saidu Musa
Shuaibu Saidu Musa
DIDon Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III
Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III
Data mining in healthcare offers transformative insights yet surfaces multilayered ethical and governance challenges that extend beyond privacy alone. Privacy and consent concerns remain paramount when handling sensitive medical data, particularly as healthcare organizations increasingly share patient information with large digital platforms. The risks of data breaches and unauthorized access are stark: 725 reportable incidents in 2023 alone exposed more than 133 million patient records, and hacking-related breaches surged by 239% since 2018. Algorithmic bias further threatens equity; models trained on historically prejudiced data can reinforce health disparities across protected groups. Therefore, transparency must span three levels–dataset documentation, model interpretability, and post-deployment audit logging–to make algorithmic reasoning and failures traceable. Security vulnerabilities in the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) and cloud-based health platforms amplify these risks, while corporate data-sharing deals complicate questions of data ownership and patient autonomy. A comprehensive response requires (i) dataset-level artifacts such as “datasheets,” (ii) model-cards that disclose fairness metrics, and (iii) continuous logging of predictions and LIME/SHAP explanations for independent audits. Technical safeguards must blend differential privacy (with empirically validated noise budgets), homomorphic encryption for high-value queries, and federated learning to maintain the locality of raw data. Governance frameworks must also mandate routine bias and robust audits and harmonized penalties for non-compliance. Regular reassessments, thorough documentation, and active engagement with clinicians, patients, and regulators are critical to accountability. This paper synthesizes current evidence, from a 2019 European re-identification study demonstrating 99.98% uniqueness with 15 quasi-identifiers to recent clinical audits that trimmed false-negative rates via threshold recalibration, and proposes an integrated set of fairness, privacy, and security controls aligned with SPIRIT-AI, CONSORT-AI, and emerging PROBAST-AI guidelines. Implementing these solutions will help healthcare systems harness the benefits of data mining while safeguarding patient rights and sustaining public trust.

2 April 2025 in Tropical Medicine and Health
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Okesanya John OlalekanOkesanya John Olalekan
Okesanya John Olalekan
MAMohamed Mustaf Ahmed
Mohamed Mustaf Ahmed
JOJerico Bautista Ogaya
Jerico Bautista Ogaya
BABlessing Olawunmi Amisu
Blessing Olawunmi Amisu
BUBonaventure Ukoaka
Bonaventure Ukoaka
DIDon Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III
Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III
Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a global health threat, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)–Cas system technology offers a promising tool to combat AMR by targeting and disabling resistance genes in WHO bacterial priority pathogens. Thus, we systematically reviewed the potential of CRISPR–Cas technology to address AMR. Methods: This systematic review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the Scopus and PubMed databases, focusing on publications from 2014 to June 2024. Keywords included “CRISPR/Cas,” “antimicrobial resistance,” and “pathogen.” The eligibility criteria required original studies involving CRISPR/Cas systems that targeted AMR. Data were extracted from eligible studies, qualitatively synthesized, and assessed for bias using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI)-standardized tool. Results: Data from 48 eligible studies revealed diverse CRISPR–Cas systems, including CRISPR–Cas9, CRISPR–Cas12a, and CRISPR–Cas3, targeting various AMR genes, such as blaOXA-232, blaNDM, blaCTX-M, ermB, vanA, mecA, fosA3, blaKPC, and mcr-1, which are responsible for carbapenem, cephalosporin, methicillin, macrolide, vancomycin, colistin, and fosfomycin resistance. Some studies have explored the role of CRISPR in virulence gene suppression, including enterotoxin genes, tsst1, and iutA in Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Delivery mechanisms include bacteriophages, nanoparticles, electro-transformation, and conjugative plasmids, which demonstrate high efficiency in vitro and in vivo. CRISPR-based diagnostic applications have demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity, with detection limits as low as 2.7 × 102 CFU/mL, significantly outperforming conventional methods. Experimental studies have reported significant reductions in resistant bacterial populations and complete suppression of the targeted strains. Engineered phagemid particles and plasmid-curing systems have been shown to eliminate IncF plasmids, cured plasmids carrying vanA, mcr-1, and blaNDM with 94% efficiency, and restore antibiotic susceptibility. Gene re-sensitization strategies have been used to restore fosfomycin susceptibility in E. coli and eliminate blaKPC-2-mediated carbapenem resistance in MDR bacteria. Whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatics tools have provided deeper insights into CRISPR-mediated defense mechanisms. Optimization strategies have significantly enhanced gene-editing efficiencies, offering a promising approach for tackling AMR in high-priority WHO pathogens. Conclusions: CRISPR–Cas technology has the potential to address AMR across priority WHO pathogens. While promising, challenges in optimizing in vivo delivery, mitigating potential resistance, and navigating ethical-regulatory barriers must be addressed to facilitate clinical translation.

26 November 2025 in Intelligence-Based Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
ZOZhinya Kawa Othman
Zhinya Kawa Othman
MAMohamed Mustaf Ahmed
Mohamed Mustaf Ahmed
OKOmar Kasimieh
Omar Kasimieh
SMShuaibu Saidu Musa
Shuaibu Saidu Musa
Francesco BrandaFrancesco Branda
Francesco Branda
SVSornkanok Vimolmangkang
Sornkanok Vimolmangkang

10 June 2025 in Intelligence-Based Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
SMShuaibu Saidu Musa
Shuaibu Saidu Musa
AMAdamu Ibrahim Muhammad
Adamu Ibrahim Muhammad
MAMuhammad Yasir Alhassan
Muhammad Yasir Alhassan
AMAbubakar Hafs Musa
Abubakar Hafs Musa
AJAbdulrahman Garba Jibo
Abdulrahman Garba Jibo
DIDon Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III
Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III