Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

AIDS 2018 Jun 20. Epub 2018 Jun 20.

Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Objective: To investigate CD4 cell count recovery following ART initiation in perinatally HIV-infected children diagnosed in later childhood.

Design: Observational prospective cohort study of newly diagnosed children aged 6-15 in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Methods: Participants were enrolled into a cohort at seven primary healthcare clinics between January 2013 and January 2015. Read More

J Trauma Stress 2018 Jun 20. Epub 2018 Jun 20.

British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Childhood traumatic experiences can disrupt attachment, influence personality development, and precipitate chronic disease. Although the repercussions of these experiences may also pose a barrier to healthcare, few studies have examined the association between childhood trauma and access to healthcare. Therefore, we sought to investigate whether a history of childhood trauma is associated with self-reported inability to access hospital care among persons who inject drugs (PWID). Read More

J Clin Virol 2018 May 25;105:64-71. Epub 2018 May 25.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.

Background: Women living with HIV (WLWH) have elevated risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) related cancers.

Objectives: To assess prevalence, distribution and concordance of cervical, oral, and anal HPV infection, and predictors of oral and anal HPV in WLWH in Denmark.

Study Design: WLWH followed in the Study on HIV, cervical Abnormalities and infections in women in Denmark (SHADE) were enrolled and examined for cervical, oral, and anal HPV infection. Read More

Environ Health Perspect 2018 06 14;126(6):067006. Epub 2018 Jun 14.

Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Background: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticides, conducted in low- and middle-income countries to control malaria, may result in high exposure to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), its breakdown product dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), or pyrethroids. Animal studies suggest exposure to these chemicals may increase childhood infection frequency.

Objectives: We investigated associations between maternal DDT/E and pyrethroid metabolite concentration and child infection associations in an IRS setting in which susceptibility factors are common and infections are leading causes of child morbidity and mortality. Read More

MMWR Surveill Summ 2018 Jun 15;67(8):1-114. Epub 2018 Jun 15.

Problem: Health-risk behaviors contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among youth and adults in the United States. In addition, significant health disparities exist among demographic subgroups of youth defined by sex, race/ethnicity, and grade in school and between sexual minority and nonsexual minority youth. Population-based data on the most important health-related behaviors at the national, state, and local levels can be used to help monitor the effectiveness of public health interventions designed to protect and promote the health of youth at the national, state, and local levels. Read More

J Pediatr 2018 Jun 6. Epub 2018 Jun 6.

University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Objectives: To describe the epidemiology of childhood tuberculosis (TB) in Kenya, assess the magnitude of TB/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection and identify risk factors for mortality during TB treatment.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the Kenyan national TB program data for patients enrolled from 2013 through 2015. A total of 23 753 children aged less than 15 years were included in the analysis. Read More

Trop Med Int Health 2018 Jun 7. Epub 2018 Jun 7.

Département Méthodes Quantitatives en Santé Publique, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique, Rennes, France.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between prenatal geophagy, maternal prenatal haematological indices, malaria, helminth infections and cognitive and motor development among offspring.

Methods: At least a year after delivery, 552 of 863 HIV-negative mothers with singleton births who completed a clinical trial comparing the efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and mefloquine during pregnancy in Allada, Benin, responded to a nutrition questionnaire including their geophagous habits during pregnancy. During the clinical trial, helminth infection, malaria, haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations were assessed at 1st and 2nd antenatal care visits (ANV) and at delivery. Read More

J Christ Nurs 2018 Jul/Sep;35(3):184-190

Barbara J. Braband, EdD, RN, is an associate professor in nursing and RN-to-BSN program director at the University of Portland, Oregon. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in addition to an interdisciplinary theology course on suffering and an interdisciplinary course on social determinants of health. Tamara Faris, MSN, RN, has spent the 12 years training caregivers of thousands of children experiencing loss and grief, and initiating the use of a simple scrapbook to preserve and tell children's stories in the U.S., Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. Kaye Wilson-Anderson, DNS, RN, is an associate professor of Nursing at the University of Portland and has been teaching nursing for 32 years. Currently, she is engaged in international teaching and research related to postabortion care and recovery.

Children who are orphaned and vulnerable due to poverty, war, or disease (HIV/AIDS) may experience childhood traumatic grief. A qualitative phenomenological approach was implemented to explore and compare the lived experiences of orphaned children, adolescents, and caregivers who had used the Memory Book intervention at six children's homes in India, Kenya, and South Africa. Study findings revealed similar themes between the countries, with primary themes of identity and relationships, and secondary themes of coping, hope, and emotion. Read More

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018 May 18;67(19):552-555. Epub 2018 May 18.

Rapid disease progression and associated opportunistic infections contribute to high mortality rates among children aged <15 years with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (1). Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has decreased childhood HIV-associated morbidity and mortality rates over the past decade (2). As accumulating evidence revealed lower HIV-associated mortality with early ART initiation, the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines broadened ART eligibility for children with HIV infection (2). Read More

PLoS One 2018 10;13(5):e0196722. Epub 2018 May 10.

Department of Biology, Science College, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

Background: Asymptomatic pharyngeal colonization by potential bacteria is the primary reservoir for bacterial species within a population and is considered a prerequisite for development of major childhood diseases such as sinusitis, otitis media, pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis. However, there is dearth of data on the colonization and drug resistance pattern of the main bacterial pathogens in the pharynx of HIV infected children in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study determined the pharyngeal colonization and drug resistance profile of bacterial pathogens in HIV infected children attending ART clinic of Felegehiwot Referral Hospital (FHRH), Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Read More

Epidemiol Infect 2018 May 10:1-10. Epub 2018 May 10.

Division of Epidemiology & Biostatistics,School of Public Health,University of Illinois at Chicago,IL,USA.

Community-led total sanitation (CLTS) is an intervention that strives to end the practice of open defaecation. This study measured the effectiveness of CLTS in Nyando District by examining the association between community open defaecation-free (ODF) status and childhood diarrhoeal illness. A cross-sectional study design was used among households with children ⩽5 years old to ascertain information on acute diarrhoea in the past year (outcome), sanitation and health behaviours. Read More

J Interpers Violence 2018 Jun;33(11):1710-1730

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) exhibit a dose-response association with poor health outcomes in adulthood, including HIV. In this analysis, we explored the relationship between ACEs and HIV sexual risk-taking behaviors among young adults in Malawi. We analyzed responses from sexually active 19- to 24-year-old males and females ( n = 610) participating in the Malawi Violence Against Children Survey. Read More

Front Pediatr 2018 20;6:91. Epub 2018 Apr 20.

Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Complex sugars found in breastmilk, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), may assist in early-life immune programming and prevention against infectious diseases. This study aimed to systematically review the associations between maternal levels of HMOs and development of immune-mediated or infectious diseases in the offspring. PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched (last search on 22 February 2018) according to a predetermined search strategy. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2018 Jul 3;53:261-262. Epub 2018 May 3.

Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. Electronic address:

We report a 58-year-old woman with slowly progressive facio-scapulo-peroneal muscle weakness due to congenital nemaline myopathy (NM) caused by a novel ACTA1 mutation (c.118A>G, p.Met271Val). Read More

Paediatr Int Child Health 2018 May 4:1-6. Epub 2018 May 4.

a Allergy Immunology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Advanced Pediatrics Centre , PGIMER , Chandigarh , India.

There is a paucity of literature on renal diseases associated with HIV infection in Asian countries. Renal disease in HIV-infected children can involve the glomerulus, interstitium, tubules or blood vessels of the kidney. In this case series, five HIV-infected children with various forms of renal disease are reported. Read More

Pediatric Health Med Ther 2018 19;9:35-46. Epub 2018 Apr 19.

Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Children's Foundation Malawi, Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative at Texas Children's Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi.

The global experience with pediatric Kaposi sarcoma (KS) has evolved immensely since the onset of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). In this review, current perspectives on childhood KS are discussed in the context of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Endemic (HIV-unrelated) KS was first described over 50 years ago in central and eastern Africa, regions where human herpesvirus-8, the causative agent of KS, is endemic. Read More

Br J Haematol 2018 May 20;181(4):505-514. Epub 2018 Apr 20.

Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) occurs as three subtypes: endemic BL, immunosuppression-related BL and sporadic BL. Descriptive studies of BL age-specific incidence patterns have suggested multimodal peaks near 10, 40 and 70 years of age, but the risk factors for BL at different ages are unknown. We investigated risk factors for BL in the United Kingdom among 156 BL cases and 608 matched BL-free controls identified in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) between 1992 and 2016. Read More

Blood 2018 Jun 18;131(23):2596-2598. Epub 2018 Apr 18.

Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

J Med Virol 2018 Aug 1;90(8):1418-1422. Epub 2018 May 1.

Liver Disease and Hepatitis Program, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage, Alaska.

In the United States, the incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection has been reduced through universal childhood vaccination. However, the duration of immunogenicity for the hepatitis A vaccine is not known. We report on the 22 year follow-up time point of a cohort of Alaska children who were randomized to three different vaccine schedules: A) 0, 1, and 2 months; B) 0, 1, and 6 months; and C) 0, 1, and 12 months. Read More

Am J Clin Nutr 2018 Apr;107(4):626-634

KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya.

Background: Goals of treating childhood severe acute malnutrition (SAM), in addition to anthropometric recovery and preventing short-term mortality, include reducing the risks of subsequent serious infections. How quickly and how much the risk of serious illness changes during rehabilitation are unknown but could inform improving the design and scope of interventions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in the risk of life-threatening events (LTEs) in relation to anthropometric recovery from SAM. Read More

Soc Sci Med 2018 Jun 30;206:117-122. Epub 2018 Mar 30.

Harvard Medical School and The Massachusetts General Hospital, United States; Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda. Electronic address:

The concept of a syndemic was proposed more than two decades ago to explain how large-scale social forces might give rise to co-occurring epidemics that synergistically interact to undermine health in vulnerable populations. This conceptual instrument has the potential to help policymakers and program implementers in their endeavors to improve population health. Accordingly, it has become an increasingly popular heuristic for advocacy, most notably in the field of HIV treatment and prevention. Read More

BMC Public Health 2018 Mar 23;18(1):397. Epub 2018 Mar 23.

Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) in young and HIV-infected children is frequently diagnosed at hospital level. In settings where general hospitals do not function as TB reporting units, the burden and severity of childhood TB may not be accurately reflected in routine TB surveillance data. Given the paucibacillary nature of childhood TB, microbiological surveillance alone will miss the majority of hospital-managed children. Read More

J Trop Pediatr 2018 Mar 9. Epub 2018 Mar 9.

Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7700, South Africa.

Aim: Severe acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) remains an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality.

Methods: This is a 12-month retrospective cohort study of children (0-12 years) admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with ALRTI to investigate risk factors, clinical course and in-hospital survival.

Results: In total, 265 patients (median age = 4 months [2-12 months]) were identified. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2018 Mar;66(suppl_2):S147-S151

HIV Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.

Early mortality and morbidity remain high in children initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART), especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Many children still present with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. Tuberculosis, pneumonia, and severe bacterial infections are the main causes of hospital admission in HIV-infected children. Read More

Health Serv Insights 2018 22;11:1178632918757490. Epub 2018 Feb 22.

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, Hague, The Netherlands.

Objectives: Understanding the factors that influence tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes in children is key to designing interventions to address them. This study aimed to determine the case category distribution of childhood TB in Nigeria and assess which clinical and demographic factors are associated with different treatment outcomes in childhood TB.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study involving a review of medical records of children (0-14 years) with TB in 3 states in Nigeria in 2015. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018 03 6;12(3):e0006164. Epub 2018 Mar 6.

Health Graduate Program, Health Science Center; Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum became a disease of urban areas in Brazil in the last 30 years and there has been an increase in asymptomatic L. infantum infection with these areas.

Methodology/principal Findings: A retrospective study of human VL was performed in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, for the period of 1990-2014. Read More

Paediatr Child Health 2017 Oct 25;22(7):372-376. Epub 2017 Sep 25.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.

Background: Exposure to discarded needles or other objects put children at risk for infection with blood-borne pathogens (BBP), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the epidemiology, management and outcome of children following such exposures in the greater Toronto community setting.

Methods: A retrospective study of children <19 years of age who had community-based exposure to objects that could contain BBP between January 2001 and December 2014. Read More

PLoS One 2018 22;13(2):e0193145. Epub 2018 Feb 22.

School of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, the University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania.

Background: Children and adolescents continue to have HIV/AIDS in southern Saharan Africa. Scaling up of HIV services has significantly improved access to ARV and consequently improved on morbidity and mortality related to HIV/AIDS including opportunistic infection. Despite the above efforts, non-communicable conditions including mental disorders such as depression have been observed to contribute to the burden of disabilities about which little is documented. Read More

Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2018 Jan;2(1):46-55

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and Medical Research Council Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Tuberculosis is a leading cause of global childhood mortality. However, the epidemiology and burden of tuberculosis in infancy is not well understood. We aimed to investigate tuberculin skin test conversion and tuberculosis in the Drakenstein Child Health study, a South African birth cohort in a community in which tuberculosis incidence is hyperendemic. Read More

Public Health Rev 2017 5;38:28. Epub 2017 Dec 5.

1Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, École de Santé Publique, Université de Montréal, Pavillon 7101, Avenue du Parc, Montreal, QC H3N 1X7 Canada.

Background: The global scale-up of Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services is credited for a 52% worldwide decline in new HIV infections among children between 2001 and 2012. However, the epidemic continues to challenge maternal and paediatric HIV control efforts in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), with repercussions on other health services beyond those directly addressing HIV and AIDS. This systematised narrative review describes the effects of PMTCT programs on other health care services and the implications for improving health systems in SSA as reported in the existing articles and scientific literature. Read More

Lancet Glob Health 2018 03;6(3):e255-e269

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Diarrhoea is a leading cause of death and illness globally among children younger than 5 years. Mortality and short-term morbidity cause substantial burden of disease but probably underestimate the true effect of diarrhoea on population health. This underestimation is because diarrhoeal diseases can negatively affect early childhood growth, probably through enteric dysfunction and impaired uptake of macronutrients and micronutrients. Read More

Sex Transm Dis 2018 Mar;45(3):158-162

Background: Globally, social inequalities contribute to elevated sexually transmitted infections (STIs) rates among transgender women. High syphilis prevalence has been documented among transgender women in Latin America. Little is known, however, of syphilis testing uptake among transgender women in Jamaica, where homosexuality is criminalized. Read More

BMC Pediatr 2018 02 5;18(1):27. Epub 2018 Feb 5.

Rwanda Ministry of Health, Kigali, Rwanda.

Background: Sustained investments in Rwanda's health system have led to historic reductions in under five (U5) mortality. Although Rwanda achieved an estimated 68% decrease in the national under U5 mortality rate between 2002 and 2012, according to the national census, 5.8% of children still do not reach their fifth birthday, requiring the next wave of child mortality prevention strategies. Read More

J Tuberc Res 2017 Dec 29;5(4):292-297. Epub 2017 Dec 29.

Division of Global HIV and TB, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA.

HIV testing among persons with tuberculosis (TB) results in high-yield identification of persons infected with HIV. To evaluate differences in HIV testing among children versus adults with TB in Vietnam, we collected and analyzed age-disaggregated facility and aggregated provincial data from the National Tuberculosis Program. HIV testing was incompletely documented for >70% of children, whereas adult testing data were >90% complete. Read More

BMC Pulm Med 2018 Jan 16;18(1). Epub 2018 Jan 16.

Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in under-five children worldwide. About 6.6 million children less than 5 years of age die every year in the world; 95% of them in low-income countries and one third of the total deaths is due to ARI. Read More

HIV Med 2018 Apr 16;19(4):280-289. Epub 2018 Jan 16.

Population Policy & Practice Programme, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate circumstances surrounding perinatal transmissions of HIV (PHIVs) in the UK.

Methods: The National Study of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood conducts comprehensive surveillance of all pregnancies in women diagnosed with HIV infection and their infants in the UK; reports of all HIV-diagnosed children are also sought, regardless of country of birth. Children with PHIV born in 2006-2013 and reported by 2014 were included in an audit, with additional data collection via telephone interviews with clinicians involved in each case. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018 01 12;12(1):e0006156. Epub 2018 Jan 12.

Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America.

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) is a leading cause of bloodstream infections in Africa, but the various contributions of host susceptibility versus unique pathogen virulence factors are unclear. We used data from a population-based surveillance platform (population ~25,000) between 2007-2014 and NTS genome-sequencing to compare host and pathogen-specific factors between individuals presenting with NTS bacteremia and those presenting with NTS diarrhea. Salmonella Typhimurium ST313 and Salmonella Enteritidis ST11 were the most common isolates. Read More

Ann Epidemiol 2018 Mar 22;28(3):169-174. Epub 2017 Dec 22.

Division of Disease Control, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA.

Purpose: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) affects specific subpopulations in the United States, including individuals born in HBV-endemic countries and persons engaging in high-risk behaviors.

Methods: The 2003-2013 HBV registry data and surveillance investigations for Philadelphia, PA were matched to death certificate data to examine demographic, risk factor, and cause of death characteristics among HBV-infected populations. Bivariate analysis compared investigated foreign-born (FB) and US-born chronic HBV individuals. Read More

Infez Med 2017 Dec;25(4):339-343

Division of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.

Viral hepatitis is the most common cause of serious health problems such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Leading to immunodeficiency disorders through different mechanisms, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) causes the development of severe secondary infections. Hepatitis A (HAV) is thought to spread by the faecal-oral route, while Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV are mostly transmitted vertically during childhood. Read More

Pediatr Infect Dis J 2018 Jul;37(7):637-642

From the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, and MRC Unit on Child & Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) detects extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in HIV infected adults but has not been evaluated in children despite their higher risk of EPTB. This study's aims were to investigate feasibility of POCUS for EPTB in children, frequency of POCUS findings suggestive of EPTB and time to sonographic resolution of findings with treatment.

Methods: This prospective South African cohort study enrolled children with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Read More

Lancet Respir Med 2018 04 19;6(4):276-286. Epub 2017 Dec 19.

Uganda-CWRU Research Collaboration, Makerere University and Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.

Background: Tuberculosis is a leading cause of global childhood mortality; however, interventions to detect undiagnosed tuberculosis in children are underused. Child contact tracing has been widely recommended but poorly implemented in resource-constrained settings. WHO has proposed a pragmatic screening approach for managing child contacts. Read More

BMC Womens Health 2017 Dec 19;17(1):133. Epub 2017 Dec 19.

Gender and Sexual Health Initiative, British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada.

Background: Women involved in both street-level and off-street sex work face disproportionate health and social inequities compared to the general population. While much research has focused on HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among sex workers, there remains a gap in evidence regarding the broader health issues faced by this population, including mental health. Given limited evidence describing the mental health of women in sex work, our objective was to evaluate the burden and correlates of mental health diagnoses among this population in Vancouver, Canada. Read More

Euro Surveill 2017 Nov;22(47)

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden.

BackgroundConfirming tuberculosis (TB) in children and obtaining information on drug susceptibility is essential to ensure adequate treatment. We assessed whether there are gaps in diagnosis and treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB in children in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), quantified the burden of MDR TB in children and characterised cases. : We analysed surveillance data from 2007 to 2015 for paediatric cases younger than 15 years. Read More

Przegl Epidemiol 2017 ;71(3):295-309

National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene in Warsaw, Department of Epidemiology

Purpose Of The Study: This is the next annual analysis of the situation of infectious and parasitic diseases in Poland in 2015 within the framework of the Epidemiological Chronicle of Przegląd Epidemiologiczny - Epidemiological Review. Its purpose is to identify potential threats to the health of populations from infectious diseases occurring in Poland with reference to other parts of the globe.

Material And Methods: This paper is an introduction to more detailed studies of the epidemiological situation of selected infectious diseases and summarizes the results of the surveillance of infectious diseases in Poland in 2015. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2018 Jan;98(1):67-70

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Disease and Immunology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.

Laboratory data and prior pediatric reports indicate that HIV protease inhibitor (PI)-based antiretroviral therapy (ARV) kills gametocytes and reduces rates of gametocytemia, but not asymptomatic parasitemia, in a high malaria-transmission area. To determine whether ARV regimen impacts these rates in areas with less-intense malaria transmission, we compared asymptomatic parasitemia and gametocytemia rates in HIV-infected children by ARV regimen in Lilongwe, Malawi, an area of low-to-moderate transmission intensity. HIV PI lopinavir-ritonavir (LPV-rtv) ARV- or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor nevirapine ARV-treated children did not differ in the rates of polymerase chain reaction-detected asymptomatic parasitemia (relative risk [RR] 0. Read More

Arch Sex Behav 2017 Nov 13. Epub 2017 Nov 13.

Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) carry the burden of HIV infection in China. Outside of China, a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been associated with HIV-related risks (behavioral, sexual, and mental health outcomes) among MSM. We therefore evaluated the relationship between CSA and these HIV-related risks among MSM in China. Read More

mSphere 2017 Nov-Dec;2(6). Epub 2017 Nov 8.

Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation, Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) immunization of children induces shifts in colonizing pneumococcal serotypes. This study evaluated the effect of infant vaccination with 7-valent PCV (PCV7) on vaccine serotype (VT) colonization and whether the increase in nonvaccine serotype (NVT) was due to either unmasking of previously low-density-colonizing serotypes or increase in acquisition of NVT. A multiplex quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to evaluate VT and NVT nasopharyngeal colonization in archived swabs of PCV-vaccinated and PCV-unvaccinated African children at 9 and 15 to 16 months of age. Read More