Survey Call: Help Develop Equitable Research Funding Priorities on Infectious Diseases Sources and Drivers Across the World
by The Editorial TeamThe Global Health Network and Wellcome are launching a global survey to gather your perspectives on the research priorities in this area. Our aim is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the most pressing research needs and to form a consensus among different sectors, including human and animal health.
This study aimed to clarify the clinical features and obstetric and neonatal outcomes of pregnant patients with COVID-19. In this retrospective, single-centre study, the authors included all pregnant women with COVID-19 who were admitted to Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China. Clinical features, treatments, and maternal and fetal outcomes were assessed. Findings suggest that the maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes of patients who were infected in late pregnancy appeared very good, and these outcomes were achieved with intensive, active management that might be the best practice in the absence of more robust data. The clinical characteristics of these patients with COVID-19 during pregnancy were similar to those of non-pregnant adults with COVID-19 that have been reported in the literature.
National estimates and risk factors associated with early mother-to-child transmission of HIV after implementation of option B+: a cross-sectional analysis
by Beth A Tippett Barr et alMalawi's Ministry of Health led the National Evaluation of Malawi's PMTCT Program to obtain nationally representative data on maternal ART coverage and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) effectiveness. This paper presents the early transmission data for infants aged 4–12 weeks. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the odds of early MTCT were higher in mothers starting ART post partum (adjusted odds ratio 16·7, 95% CI 1·6–171·5; p=0·022) and in those not on ART with an unknown HIV status during pregnancy (19·1, 8·5–43·0; p<0·0001) than in mothers on ART before pregnancy. Among HIV-exposed infants, 98·0% (95% CI 96·9–99·1) were reported by the mother to have received infant nevirapine prophylaxis, and only 45·6% (34·8–56·4) were already enrolled in an exposed infant HIV care clinic at the time of study screening. These data suggest that Malawi's decentralisation of ART services has resulted in higher ART coverage and lower early MTCT. However, the uptake of services for HIV-exposed infants remains suboptimal.
This short film shows the impact of the CHAPAS trial on patient health and future possibilities of a small boy from Malawi.
Soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis, considered among the neglected tropical diseases by WHO, affect more than a third of the world's population, with varying intensity of infection. The authors aimed to evaluate the effects of mass deworming for soil-transmitted helminths (with or without deworming for schistosomiasis or co-interventions) on growth, educational achievement, cognition, school attendance, quality of life, and adverse effects in children in endemic helminth areas. Mass deworming for soil-transmitted helminths with or without deworming for schistosomiasis had little effect. For schistosomiasis, mass deworming might be effective for weight but is probably ineffective for height, cognition, and attendance. Future research should assess which subset of children do benefit from mass deworming, if any, using individual participant data meta-analysis.
Travel Medicine and Infectious Diseases have evolved rapidly in recent decades as outbreaks such as SARS, Avian Influenza, Ebola, MERS, Chikungunya, and Zika virus have demonstrated how quickly infections can cross international borders.
The Zika virus is another wild card dealt to us by nature. It was first discovered in 1947.
Video seminar by Chelsea McMullen, Operational Support Officer, International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC), presented at the University of Oxford, 21st October 2015
Call for Papers: Special issue on strengthening tuberculosis diagnostic networks in Africa - African Journal of Laboratory Medicine
Damalie Nakanjako (MBChB, MMED, PhD) is an internist whose work focuses on optimizing HIV treatment outcomes and reducing HIV-associated morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.
Video of Professor Peter Horby, the University of Oxford, on how he and his team set up clinical trials in the heart of the Ebola outbreak.
East African Leaders Join Together to Develop Country-Specific Plans for Point-of-Care Testing.
Two great articles from the African Society for Laboratory Medicine looking at the increasing risk posed by antimicrobial resistance.
Professor Lang talks about doing difficult trials in difficult places - including malaria and ebola trials.
Using parasite population genetics to understand transmission dynamics in NTDs
by The Editorial TeamSchistosomiasis, is a chronic, debilitating disease. Uganda began a National Control Programme in 2003 with annual MDA of praziquantel. MDA on this scale provides strong selective pressures on the parasite population with an associated risk of drug resistance developing.
Reducing Deaths from Malaria
by Dr Richard MaudeIntestinal parasitic infections are highly endemic among school-aged children in resource-limited settings. To lower their impact, preventive measures should be implemented that are sustainable with available resources. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of handwashing with soap and nail clipping on the prevention of intestinal parasite reinfections.
In this seminar from January 2014, Dr Jane Crawley talks about clinical standardisation in PERCH (Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health), a large case-control study of the causes of and risk factors for severe pneumonia.
Dr Nat Segaren - Medical Director of the Caris Foundation, presents on 'The Haiti National Early Infant Diagnosis of HIV Program'
In this seminar Professor Kevin Marsh describes how knowledge of immunity to malaria in humans has developed over the past thirty years and what impact this has for future research.
ABRAID – The Atlas of Baseline Risk Assessment for Infectious Diseases - Call for feedback
by Dr Catherine MoyesABRAID, new website of infectious diseases risk maps
Incidence and severity of childhood pneumonia in the first year of life in a South African birth cohort: the Drakenstein Child Health Study
by Dr David M le Roux, Landon Myer, Mark Nicol, Heather ZarHepatitis B vaccination status and Needle-stick and Sharps-related Injuries among medical school students in Nepal: a cross-sectional study
by Suraj Bhattarai, Smriti KC, Pranil MS Pradhan, Sami Lama, Suman RijalBackground Hepatitis B is a dreadful infectious disease and a major global health problem. Health-care workers including clinical students are more vulnerable to such infections and non-sterile occupational exposures as their daily activities are closely related to patient's blood and body fluids.
Professor Peter Piot, LSHTM, talks about Ebola and implications for Africa and understanding future epidemics at the Martin School, University of Oxford, 16th October 2014.
Ebola PPE guidelines - urgent need to revise WHO and CDC guidelines. This video shows an excerpt from keynote address 'The fuss about face masks', Professor Raina MacIntyre from the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Australia.
The Ebola virus epidemic may well spread out of Africa. Dr Greg Martin takes a look at some of the variables that contribute to this risk and discusses some steps that should be taken.
Systematic review; Journal of International AIDS Society
by Moleen ZunzaMoleen Zunza is a member of the Global Research Nurses' network and is part of the team that has published this systematic review.