The Pediatric infectious disease journal
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Mar 2007
Case ReportsTick-borne relapsing fever polymerase chain reaction of tick-borne relapsing fever caused by Borrelia hermsii.
A patient presented to our hospital with symptoms consistent with relapsing fever. A blood specimen was positive by genus-specific polymerase chain reaction, and sequencing revealed Borrelia hermsii. We propose the polymerase chain reaction as a possible alternative for currently used tests for the diagnosis of tick-borne relapsing fever.
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Mar 2007
Infection is the major component of the disease burden in aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australian children: a population-based study.
Infection accounts for the majority of pediatric mortality and morbidity in developing countries, but there are limited data on the infectious diseases burden in children from developed countries. We investigated reasons for hospitalization before age 2 years in a birth cohort of Western Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. ⋯ Infections are the leading cause of hospitalization in children under 2 years of age. The continuing heavy burden of serious infections, borne disproportionately by Aboriginal children, needs to be alleviated. Public health interventions such as the development and universal implementation of vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus, rotavirus and influenza are needed, while adequate funding must be committed to Indigenous health services and training.