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Article History

Received: 23 January 2026

Accepted: 5 May 2026

First Online: 13 May 2026

Declarations

:

: This study was conducted using anonymised, routinely collected laboratory data from the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) of South Africa and was performed in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments. Ethical approval was granted by the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (BREC) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (protocol reference number BREC/00009026/2025). Approval included subsequent amendments to the study protocol, which were reviewed and approved by a BREC sub-committee. Permission to access and analyse NHLS data was obtained in accordance with NHLS policies and national and institutional data-governance requirements (NHLS reference number PR2560591). As the study involved secondary analysis of anonymised data and posed minimal risk to participants, a waiver of informed consent was granted.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.