Bmc Infect Dis
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Loss to follow-up (LTFU) deprives HIV-exposed infants the lifesaving care required and results in exposing HIV free infants to virus requisition risk. We aimed to determine the rate of LTFU, postnatal mother-to-child HIV-transmission (MTCT) and to identify maternal factors associated with LTFU among HIV-exposed infants enrolled at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital PMTCT clinic. ⋯ This study has revealed a high rate of loss to follow up among HIV-exposed infants enrolled at Mbarara Regional Referral hospital PMTCT clinic. Young maternal age, long distance to health facility and failure to use family planning were significantly associated with LTFU. Incorporating family planning services in the ART and PMTCT clinics could reduce loss to follow-up of HIV exposed infants. Young mothers should be targeted with information on the importance of completing the EID follow-up schedule and also, their clinic identification number be gotten at each visit.
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The most common infection in patients positive for anti-interferon-gamma autoantibodies (anti-IFN-γ AAbs) is disseminated nontuberculous mycobacterial (dNTM) infection. Here, we report a rare case of triple infection caused by Cryptococcus, varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and nontuberculous mycobacterium in a patient with anti-IFN-γ AAbs. ⋯ This is the first case of triple infection with cryptococcosis, VZV, and dNTM in a patient who tested positive for anti-IFN-γ AAbs and negative for anti-GM-CSF AAbs. This case will increase awareness and heighten suspicion of these infections in patients with the described presentations and clinical characteristics, and this will accelerate diagnosis and treatment.
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Rapid control of cholera outbreaks is a significant challenge in overpopulated urban areas. During late-2017, Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, experienced a cholera outbreak that showed potential to spread throughout the city. A novel targeted water and hygiene response strategy was implemented to quickly stem the outbreak. ⋯ During the 2017-2018 period, Kinshasa experienced a sharp increase in cholera case numbers. To contain the outbreak, water supply and hygiene response interventions targeted case households, nearby neighbors and public areas in case clusters using a grid approach. Following implementation of the response, the outbreak in Kinshasa was quickly brought under control. A similar approach may be adapted to quickly interrupt cholera transmission in other urban settings.
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The management of disseminated cysticercosis is unclear and largely considered hazardous. The role of albendazole remains controversial in such patients. ⋯ Cyclical use of albendazole appears efficacious in treating disseminated cysticercosis. The method of quantification described may be used in future studies for objective assessment.
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Dengue is an emerging infectious disease that infects up to 390 million people yearly. The growing demand of dengue diagnostics especially in low-resource settings gave rise to many rapid diagnostic tests (RDT). This study evaluated the accuracy and utility of ViroTrack Dengue Acute - a new biosensors-based dengue NS1 RDT, SD Bioline Dengue Duo NS1/IgM/IgG combo - a commercially available RDT, and SD Dengue NS1 Ag enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), for the diagnosis of acute dengue infection. ⋯ The performance of ViroTrack Dengue Acute was comparable to SD Dengue NS1 Ag ELISA. Addition of serology components to SD Bioline Dengue Duo significantly improved its sensitivity and reduced its false negative rate such that it missed the fewest dengue patients, making it a better point-of-care diagnostic tool. New RDT like ViroTrack Dengue Acute may be a potential alternative to existing RDT if its combination with serology components is proven better in future studies.