PLoS One 2017 17;12(8):e0183270. Epub 2017 Aug 17.

Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.

Background: Despite availability of effective cure, tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of death in children. In many high-burden countries, childhood TB is underdiagnosed and underreported, and care is often accessed too late, resulting in adverse treatment outcomes. In this study, we examined the time to death and its associated factors among a cohort of children that commenced TB treatment in a large treatment centre in northern Nigeria. Read More

United European Gastroenterol J 2017 Aug 6;5(5):625-631. Epub 2016 Dec 6.

Departments of Gastroenterology and Clinical Immunology, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, County Durham, UK.

Background: Oesophageal candidiasis is a common, usually self-limiting opportunistic infection, but long-term infection with Candida is known to predispose to oral and oesophageal squamous cell cancer (SCC). Permissive factors that lead to immune deficiencies can underlie persistent or recurring candidiasis, called chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC). Secondary immune deficiencies are most often due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, antibiotic use and immunosuppressive treatment (steroids, chemotherapy). Read More

Pediatr Infect Dis J 2017 Aug 2. Epub 2017 Aug 2.

1IRD UMI233/ INSERM U1175/ Université de Montpellier, France; 2Epicentre Mbarara Research Centre, Uganda; 3Epicentre Paris, France; 4Mbarara Regional Reference Hospital, Uganda; 5Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda; 6IRD UMR196/CEPED, France.

Background: Mortality among children with presumptive tuberculosis (TB) empiric TB treatment can be high. We describe the predictors of death among children with presumptive TB, and the relation between treatment and mortality.

Methods: A prospective cohort of children with presumptive TB who underwent clinical assessment, chest radiograph, tuberculin skin test and sputum bacterial tests for TB was followed up for 3 months. Read More

BMJ Open 2017 Aug 4;7(8):e015741. Epub 2017 Aug 4.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Children's Medical Center affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Introduction: Childhood asthma is globally one of the most common respiratory disorders and accounts for more school absences and more hospitalizations than any other chronic illness. The worldwide economic burden of this disease exceeds those of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined. Proper intervention and effective management is of paramount importance for the control and prognosis of paediatric asthma. Read More

Pediatr Infect Dis J 2017 Aug 1. Epub 2017 Aug 1.

1. Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Manchester, UK 2. Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, UK 3. Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Hospitals Complex, South Africa 4. Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 5. Department of Microbiology, National Health Laboratory Service, South Africa 6. School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 7. Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, UK 8. Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, UK 9. Centre for Epidemiology, Institute of Population Health, University of Manchester, UK 10. Department of Neurology, Alder Hey Children's NHS Trust, UK.

Introduction: Early diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is crucial to achieve optimum outcomes. There is no effective rapid diagnostic test for use in children. We aimed to develop a clinical decision tool to facilitate the early diagnosis of childhood TBM. Read More

Public Health Action 2017 Jun;7(Suppl 1):S100-S105

MoH, Monrovia, Liberia.

Setting: The Liberian counties of Bong, with performance-based financing (PBF) for all 36 public primary-care facilities, and Margibi, with no PBF for its 24 public primary-care facilities. Objective: To compare whether specific maternal and child health indicators changed in the two counties during the pre-Ebola (2013), Ebola (2014) and post-Ebola (2015) disease outbreak periods from July to September each year. Design: This was a cross-sectional study. Read More

IDCases 2017 24;9:89-90. Epub 2017 Jun 24.

Department of virology, CH Toulouse, Toulouse, France.

Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) is a well-known virus that belongs to the Herpesviridae family which induces a self-limited disease except in specific cases in particular among stem cell transplant patients. This virus is not known however to trigger atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS). Here we report the case of a six-year-old boy who was hospitalized with fever and abdominal pains associated to pruritic and vesicular rash, thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. Read More

Rev Panam Salud Publica 2016 Dec;40(6):401-409

Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.

Objective: There is a growing body of data that demonstrates increased infectious disease outcomes for HIV-exposed uninfected (HIV-EU) infants as compared to their HIV-unexposed (HU) counterparts. We hypothesized that these HIV-EU infants are at greater risk for infectious morbidity and mortality when compared to the general childhood population. We therefore aimed to characterize infections and growth outcomes among HIV-EU infants in Jamaica during their first two years of life. Read More

J Int AIDS Soc 2017 Jul;20(1):1-7

Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Introduction: Globally, increasing numbers of HIV-infected children are reaching adolescence due to antiretroviral therapy (ART). We investigated rates of loss-to-follow-up (LTFU) from HIV care services among children as they transition from childhood through adolescence.

Methods: Individuals aged 5-19 years initiated on ART in a public-sector HIV clinic in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, between 2005 and 2009 were included in a retrospective cohort study. Read More

J Glob Health 2017 Jun;7(1):010904

Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Background: This paper assesses the effectiveness of community-based primary health care (CBPHC) in improving child health beyond the neonatal period. Although there has been an accelerated decline in global under-5 mortality since 2000, mortality rates remain high in much of sub-Saharan Africa and in some south Asian countries where under-5 mortality is also decreasing more slowly. Essential interventions for child health at the community level have been identified. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2017 Jul 6;17(1):471. Epub 2017 Jul 6.

Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Berlin, Germany.

Background: Herpes simplex infections (HSV1/2) are characterized by recurrent symptoms, a risk of neonatal herpes, and the facilitation of HIV transmission. In Germany, HSV1/2 infections are not notifiable and data are scarce. A previous study found higher HSV1/2 seroprevalences in women in East Germany than in women in West Germany. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2017 Jun;96(23):e6867

aDepartment of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine bDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main cDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.

Because of neurocognitive impairments in perinatally human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children and adolescents, this study aimed to demonstrate the effect of plasma viral loads and early initiation of sufficient combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) on neurocognitive development.In total, 14 perinatally infected HIV-positive children (median age 8.24 years [range: 6. Read More

J Int AIDS Soc 2017 May;20(Suppl 3):100-109

National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Maternal and Pediatric Infectious Disease Branch, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Introduction: Mental health is a critical and neglected global health challenge for adolescents infected with HIV. The prevalence of mental and behavioural health issues among HIV-infected adolescents may not be well understood or addressed as the world scales up HIV prevention and treatment for adolescents. The objective of this narrative review is to assess the current literature related to mental health challenges faced by adolescents living with HIV, including access to mental health services, the role of mental health challenges during transition from paediatric to adult care services and responsibilities, and the impact of mental health interventions. Read More

Front Pediatr 2017 2;5:95. Epub 2017 May 2.

Department of Medicine of Systems, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.

WHIM syndrome is a condition in which affected persons have chronic peripheral neutropenia, lymphopenia, abnormal susceptibility to human papilloma virus infection, and myelokathexis. Myelokathexis refers to the retention of mature neutrophils in the bone marrow (BM), which accounts for degenerative changes and hypersegmentation. Most patients present heterozygous autosomal dominant mutations of the gene encoding CXCR4. Read More

Exp Hematol 2017 Aug 11;52:32-39. Epub 2017 May 11.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Virology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address:

Sterile alpha motif and histidine/aspartic acid domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) is a (deoxy)guanosine triphosphate (dGTP/GTP)-activated deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) triphosphohydrolase involved in cellular dNTP homoeostasis. Mutations in SAMHD1 have been associated with the hyperinflammatory disease Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS). SAMHD1 also limits cells' permissiveness to infection with diverse viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), and controls endogenous retroviruses. Read More

Crit Rev Microbiol 2017 Aug 17;43(4):466-480. Epub 2017 Feb 17.

d Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR) , Bhubaneswar , India.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem, invading all age groups world-wide. It is an opportunistic infection affecting the individuals alone or with co-infections. Childhood TB is a neglected aspect and a significant health problem in epidemic areas. Read More

J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2017 Jun;75 Suppl 2:S216-S223

*INSERM U1219-Centre Inserm Bordeaux Population Health, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; †Université de Bordeaux, ISPED, Centre INSERM U1219-Bordeaux Population Health, Bordeaux, France; ‡Organization for Public Health Interventions and Development, Harare, Zimbabwe; §Clinical Research Centre, Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe; ‖University of Zimbabwe, College of Health Sciences, Harare, Zimbabwe; ¶North West University, School of Basic Sciences, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa; #Family AIDS Caring Trust, Mutare, Zimbabwe; and **Mutare Provincial Hospital, Mutare, Zimbabwe.

Background: In Southern Africa, groups of mothers living with HIV successfully provide peer psychosocial support during pregnancy and early childhood. We report patterns of attendance at Mother Support Groups (MSGs) sessions among women and mothers living with HIV in rural Zimbabwe.

Methods: In the Elimination of Pediatric AIDS cluster-randomized trial, MSGs were established in 14 health facilities in Mutare and Makoni districts. Read More

Am J Epidemiol 2017 Aug;186(4):435-444

The limited capability in most low- to middle-income countries to study the benefit of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in protecting against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) calls for alternate strategies to assess this. We used a mathematical model to predict the direct and indirect effectiveness of PCV by analyzing serotype-specific colonization prevalence and IPD incidence prior to and following childhood PCV immunization in South Africa. We analyzed IPD incidence from 2005 to 2012 and colonization studies undertaken in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-uninfected and HIV-infected child-mother dyads from 2007 to 2009 (pre-PCV era), in 2010 (7-valent PCV era), and in 2012 (13-valent PCV era). Read More

Trop Parasitol 2017 Jan-Jun;7(1):37-40

Division of Clinical Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

Background: Diarrhoea is an important cause of both morbidity and mortality among children in India. Coccidian parasitic infections are an important cause of diarrhea in immunocompromised patients, but their investigations are rarely sought by the treating physicians in seemingly immunocompetent children. This study was aimed to find the incidence rate of coccidian parasites in all children presented with diarrhoea, irrespective of their immune status. Read More

Balkan Med J 2017 May 6;34(3):239-245. Epub 2017 Apr 6.

Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, İstanbul University İstanbul School of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey.

Background: Paediatric HIV infection is different from the adult type of disease in many ways, including transmission routes, clinical findings and treatment strategies.

Aims: To evaluate clinical data of paediatric patients with HIV disease.

Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Read More

Am J Clin Nutr 2017 Jun 19;105(6):1415-1423. Epub 2017 Apr 19.

Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)/Wellcome Trust Research Program, Kilifi, Kenya.

Background: There is an increasing recognition of malnutrition among infants under 6 mo of age (U6M). Current diagnosis criteria use weight-for-length z scores (WLZs), but the 2006 WHO standards exclude infants shorter than 45 cm. In older children, midupper arm circumference (MUAC) predicts mortality better than does WLZ. Read More

Case Rep Oncol 2016 Sep-Dec;9(3):815-825. Epub 2016 Nov 29.

Jacques Monod Institute, CNRS, University of Paris VII, Paris, France.

Introduction: At the onset of the 20th century, ancient clinical observations of cancer epidemics in Bantu populations of Sub-Saharan Africa were discovered. They were reported from 1914 to 1960, but remained unexplained. In 1983, in San Francisco, Calif. Read More

Case Rep Oncol 2017 Jan-Apr;10(1):161-168. Epub 2017 Feb 15.

Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and AIDS are risk factors for the development of malignant neoplasms, including hematological malignancies, such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma. NF1 is an autosomal dominant disease that primarily manifests as café-au-lait spots, dermal neurofibromas, axillary and/or inguinal ephelides or freckles, plexiform neurofibromas, Lisch nodules, and bone deformities. In this report, we present a 38-year-old female patient with NF1 from childhood and AIDS who developed peripheral T-cell lymphoma with good response to chemotherapeutic treatment. Read More

J Am Acad Dermatol 2017 Mar 26;76(3):538-550. Epub 2016 Oct 26.

Division of Dermatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, Ohio. Electronic address:

Although classic viral exanthems of childhood are well described, they are rarely differentiated in adults. Laboratory techniques for viral identification have advanced without substantial literature to suggest how a dermatologist ought to conduct a cost-effective and diagnostic viral panel. Certain clinical features such as petechiae, vesicles, and dusky macular or morbilliform exanthems point strongly toward a viral exanthem. Read More

Hum Resour Health 2017 Apr 13;15(1):29. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, United States of America.

Background: Task shifting has become an increasingly popular way to increase access to health services, especially in low-resource settings. Research has demonstrated that task shifting, including the use of community health workers (CHWs) to deliver care, can improve population health. This systematic review investigates whether task shifting in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) results in efficiency improvements by achieving cost savings. Read More

BMC Womens Health 2017 Apr 13;17(1):31. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health, MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, Groote Schuur Hospital, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms in people living with HIV/AIDS, whether or not they are receiving anti-retroviral therapy. A recent systematic review identified a paucity of studies exploring pain in women in low and middle income countries. The prevalence and characteristics of pain in women living with HIV/AIDS may differ from that of men as many chronic pain conditions are more prevalent in women. Read More

J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2017 May;75 Suppl 1:S17-S26

*Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Durban, South Africa; †Department of Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; ‡Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY; and §Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator, US Department of State, Washington, DC.

The Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive (Global Plan) has ensured that more infants in high-HIV burden countries survive childhood HIV-free. Although equal numbers of boy and girl children have survived to age 10, a gender divergence starts to emerge as they enter adolescence. Up to 3 times as many young women aged 15-24 years in eastern and southern Africa are living with HIV compared with their male peers. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2017 Apr;5(2)

Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030.

One million children develop tuberculosis disease each year, and 210,000 die from complications of tuberculosis. Childhood tuberculosis is very different from adult tuberculosis in epidemiology, clinical and radiographic presentation, and treatment. This review highlights the many unique features of childhood tuberculosis, with special emphasis on very young children and adolescents, who are most likely to develop disease after infection has occurred. Read More

Eur Respir J 2017 Apr 5;49(4). Epub 2017 Apr 5.

Respiratory, Critical Care and Anaesthesia section in III, UCL Great Ormond Street, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.

Early nutritional insults may increase risk of adult lung disease. We aimed to quantify the impact of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) on spirometric outcomes 7 years post-treatment and explore predictors of impaired lung function.Spirometry and pulse oximetry were assessed in 237 Malawian children (median age: 9. Read More

Trials 2017 Mar 31;18(1):152. Epub 2017 Mar 31.

Centre for Intervention Science in Maternal and Child Health, Centre for International Health, University of Bergen.

Background: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination may have nonspecific effects, i.e., effects on childhood morbidity and mortality that go beyond its effect on the risk of childhood tuberculosis (TB). Read More

Exp Ther Med 2017 Feb 23;13(2):364-377. Epub 2016 Dec 23.

Department of Clinical Virology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion 71003, Greece.

The '2nd Workshop on Paediatric Virology', which took place on Saturday the 8th of October 2016 in Athens, Greece, provided an overview on recent views and advances on Paediatric Virology. Emphasis was given to HIV-1 management in Greece, a country under continuous financial crisis, hepatitis B vaccination in Africa, treatment options for hepatitis C virus in childhood, Zika virus in pregnancy and infancy, the burden of influenza on childhood, hand-foot-mouth disease and myocarditis associated with Coxsackie viruses. Other general topics covered included a critical evaluation of Paediatric Accident and Emergency viral infections, multimodality imaging of viral infections in children, surgical approaches of otolaryngologists to complex viral infections, new advances in the diagnosis and treatment of viral conjunctivitis and novel molecular diagnostic methods for HPV in childhood. Read More

J Urban Health 2017 Jun;94(3):375-383

University at Albany-SUNY, Albany, NY, USA.

Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) are a population at the intersection of two minority statuses-racial minority and sexual minority. Membership in either group, compared to white or heterosexual group membership, may increase one's risk of negative childhood and adult experiences. Baseline data from an HIV intervention efficacy trial (the Black Men Evolving Study) were used to explore the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among 536 BMSM and associations between ACEs and adult mental and physical health outcomes. Read More

Pediatrics 2017 Apr 16;139(4). Epub 2017 Mar 16.

Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Stanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California.

Background And Objective: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of mortality before age 5, but few studies examine details of childhood response to pneumococcal vaccine in less-developed settings. Although malnutrition, HIV, and concurrent infections can impair response, evidence suggests that chronic parasitic infections can also contribute to poor vaccination results. The objective of this study was to determine whether response to pneumococcal vaccine varied among children either exposed to parasitic infections in utero, previously infected in infancy, or infected at the time of immunization. Read More

J Nat Sci Biol Med 2017 Jan-Jun;8(1):114-118

Department of Medicine, Melton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Melton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among children. The vague symptoms, the uncertain diagnostic tests and lack of adequate awareness among families all contributed in masking the actual prevalence of the disease. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of childhood TB in River Nile State (RNS), North Sudan. Read More

Pediatrics 2017 Mar;139(3)

Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, and.

Background: Research in high-income countries has repeatedly demonstrated that intimate partner violence (IPV) experienced by women negatively affects the health and behavior of children in their care. However, there is little research on the topic in lower- and middle-income countries. The population-based Asenze Study gathered data on children and their caregivers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Read More

J Med Case Rep 2017 Feb 26;11(1):52. Epub 2017 Feb 26.

Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, WC1N 3JH, UK.

Background: Tuberculosis is an infection that requires at least 6 months of chemotherapy in order to clear the bacteria from the patient's lungs. Usually, therapeutic monitoring is dependent on smear microscopy where a decline in acid-fast bacilli is observed. However, this might not be indicative of the actual decline of bacterial load and thus other tools such as culture and molecular assays are required for patient management. Read More

S Afr Med J 2017 Jan 30;107(2):123-126. Epub 2017 Jan 30.

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Viruses have emerged as important aetiological agents of childhood pneumonia.

Objective: To investigate the clinical presentation, severity and outcome of adenovirus-associated pneumonia (AVP) in children.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of AVP cases over 12 months was performed, including demographic, clinical course and outcome (death, persistent lung disease (PLD)) data. Read More

Pathog Glob Health 2017 Mar 21;111(2):98-106. Epub 2017 Feb 21.

a Department of Pediatrics , University of Alberta , Edmonton , Canada.

In zones of violent conflict in the tropics, social disruption leads to elevated child mortality, of which malaria is the leading cause. Understanding the social determinants of malaria transmission may be helpful to optimize malaria control efforts. We conducted a cross-sectional study of healthy children aged 2 months to 5 years attending well-child and/or immunization visits in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2017 Feb 20;17(1):158. Epub 2017 Feb 20.

British HIV Association, London, UK.

Background: The potential for HIV transmission between a pregnant woman and her unborn child was first recognized in 1982. Since then a complex package of measures to reduce risk has been developed. This project aims to review UK management of HIV in pregnancy as part of the British HIV Association (BHIVA) audit programme. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2017 Feb 6;17(1):123. Epub 2017 Feb 6.

The Global Tuberculosis Program, Texas Children's Hospital, Global and Immigrant Health, Department of Pediatrics Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.

Background: As access to Xpert expands in high TB-burden settings, its performance against clinically diagnosed TB as a reference standard provides important insight as the majority of childhood TB is bacteriologically unconfirmed. We aim to describe the characteristics and outcomes of children with presumptive TB and TB disease, and assess performance of Xpert under programmatic conditions against a clinical diagnosis of TB as a reference standard.

Methods: Retrospective review of children evaluated for presumptive TB in Mbeya, Tanzania. Read More

Transl Pediatr 2017 Jan;6(1):32-39

Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon;; Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital Yaounde, Yaounde, Cameroon.

Background: Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a major health problem, and the cause of more than half of childhood deaths in children less than 5 years in developing countries. Globally, 20 million children under 5 years of age are severely malnourished according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In Cameroon, the prevalence of SAM remains high and estimated at 1. Read More

J Adolesc 2017 Apr 19;56:1-10. Epub 2017 Jan 19.

Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education, Groenkloof Campus, University of Pretoria, Corner of George Storrar and Leyds Streets, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Electronic address:

There is a growing discourse worldwide on the impact of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) on "at risk youths". In response, five HIV-positive Nigerian adolescent girls were qualitatively investigated in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Ibadan, an urban settlement in Nigeria in 2013. Using a secondary data analysis from a photo voice component of the research, combined with narratives, we show that participants possess the capacity to overcome their adversities from the effects of HIV infection and remain resilient. Read More

Expert Rev Respir Med 2017 Feb 20;11(2):159-165. Epub 2017 Jan 20.

b Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences , Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Children's Hospital , Cape Town , South Africa.

Background: Bronchoscopy, an important investigation for the diagnosis and management of respiratory diseases, is widely used in high income countries. There is limited information on value of paediatric bronchoscopy in low and middle income countries (LMIC).

Aims And Objectives: Aim was to describe the indications, findings and complications of bronchoscopy in a middle income country with a high prevalence of tuberculosis and HIV. Read More

Pediatr Infect Dis J 2017 Feb;36(2):e38-e44

From the *Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa; †School of Population & Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; ‡Department of Pathology, Division of Medical Microbiology Immunology Unit, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa; §Division of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa; ¶Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, BC Children's Hospital and University of British Columbia, and ‖Faculty of Medicine, School of Population & Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Background: Much evidence of HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infant infectious morbidity predates availability of maternal combination antiretroviral therapy and does not control for universal risk factors (preterm birth, low birth weight, suboptimal breastfeeding and poverty).

Methods: This prospective cohort study identified HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected mothers and their newborns from South African community midwife unit. The primary outcome, infectious cause hospitalization or death before 6 months of age, was compared between HEU and HIV-unexposed (HU) infants and classified for type and severity using validated study-specific case definitions. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2017 Jan;96(2):e5881

aMedical Research Council: Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit bDepartment of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation: Vaccine Preventable Diseases, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa cNational Institute for Communicable Diseases: a Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa dGSK, Wavre, Belgium.

Background: Phase III, open-label, single-center, controlled study in South Africa (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00829010) to evaluate immunogenicity, reactogenicity, and safety of the 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected (HIV+), HIV-exposed-uninfected (HEU), and HIV-unexposed-uninfected (HUU) children.

Methods: Children stratified by HIV status received PHiD-CV primary vaccination (age 6/10/14 weeks; coadministered with routine childhood vaccines) and booster dose (age 9-10 months). Read More

AIDS 2017 Mar;31(5):669-679

aAnschutz Medical Center, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado, USA bDepartment of Pediatrics, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil cWestat, Rockville, Maryland, USA dDepartamento de Medicina da Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos, Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo eEscola de Medicina da Universidade de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais fHFSE - Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado, Rio de Janeiro gEscola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil hEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland iUniversity of California, San Francisco, California, USA.

Objective: HIV-exposed uninfected (HEUs) infants have frequent severe infection, hospitalization, and death. We performed a serologic investigation to determine the role of common childhood respiratory pathogens in the excess incidence of infections in HEUs.

Design: Prospective cohort study of mother-infant pairs. Read More

Int J Mycobacteriol 2016 Dec 20;5 Suppl 1:S4-S5. Epub 2016 Sep 20.

Molecular Diagnostics for Childhood Tuberculosis, Avenida Hispanidad 85-5E 36203 Vigo, Spain. Electronic address:

Expanding tuberculosis (TB)-diagnostic services, including access to rapid tests, is a World Health Organization (WHO) strategy to accelerate progress toward ending TB. Faster and more sensitive molecular tests capable of diagnosing TB and drug-resistant TB have the technical capacity to address limitations associated with smears and cultures by increasing accuracy and shortening turnaround times as compared with those of these conventional laboratory methods. Nucleic acid amplification assays used to detect and analyze Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-complex nucleic acids can be used directly on specimens from patients suspected of having TB. Read More

Pneumonia (Nathan) 2016 24;8. Epub 2016 Nov 24.

Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.

In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared tuberculosis (TB) to be responsible for more deaths than any other single infectious disease. The burden of TB among children has frequently been dismissed as relatively low with resulting deaths contributing very little to global under-five all-cause mortality, although without rigorous estimates of these statistics, the burden of childhood TB was, in reality, unknown. Recent work in the area has resulted in a WHO estimate of 1 million new cases of childhood TB in 2014 resulting in 136,000 deaths. Read More