Hospitalization for pertussis: profiles and case costs by age

BACKGROUND: Pertussis, a highly contagious respiratory illness, affects people of all ages and can have serious clinical consequences. It has been reported that from 1997–2000, 20% of all pertussis cases required hospitalization in the US. This analysis examined demographics, case fatality rate, resource use and costs of hospital care related to pertussis by age. METHODS: ICD-9 codes (033.0, 033.9) were used to identify cases of pertussis in hospital discharge databases from roughly 1,000 US hospitals in 4 states (California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts). Data from 1996–1999 were examined by age group. Separate analyses were done for infants (<1 year) and children (1–11 years); however, adolescent and adult cases were combined into one group (12+ years), due to the small number of cases. Databases were used to determine demographics, health service utilization and care costs. Cost estimates include accommodations, ancillary and physician services, reported in 2002 US$. RESULTS: Of the 2,518 cases identified, 90$9,586 per stay. Children (n = 191) had a mean LOS of 3.7 and cost of $4,729; adolescents/adults (n = 61, mean age 40 years) stayed on average 3.4 days with a cost of$5,683 per hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Infants are responsible for the bulk of hospitalizations and generate higher inpatient costs. Costly hospital care occurs, however, in patients with pertussis at all ages

Association between skin diseases and severe bacterial infections in children: case-control study

BACKGROUND: Sepsis or bacteraemia, however rare, is a significant cause of high mortality and serious complications in children. In previous studies skin disease or skin infections were reported as risk factor. We hypothesize that children with sepsis or bacteraemia more often presented with skin diseases to the general practitioner (GP) than other children. If our hypothesis is true the GP could reduce the risk of sepsis or bacteraemia by managing skin diseases appropriately. METHODS: We performed a case-control study using data of children aged 0–17 years of the second Dutch national survey of general practice (2001) and the National Medical Registration of all hospital admissions in the Netherlands. Cases were defined as children who were hospitalized for sepsis or bacteraemia. We selected two control groups by matching each case with six controls. The first control group was randomly selected from the GP patient lists irrespective of hospital admission and GP consultation. The second control group was randomly sampled from those children who were hospitalized for other reasons than sepsis or bacteraemia. We calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI). A two-sided p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant in all tests. RESULTS: We found odds ratios for skin related GP consultations of 3.4 (95% CI: [1.1–10.8], p = 0.03) in cases versus GP controls and 1.4 (95% CI: [0.5–3.9], p = 0.44) in cases versus hospital controls. Children younger than three months had an odds ratio (cases/GP controls) of 9.2 (95% CI: [0.81–106.1], p = 0.07) and 4.0 (95% CI: [0.67–23.9], p = 0.12) among cases versus hospital controls. Although cases consulted the GP more often with skin diseases than their controls, the probability of a GP consultation for skin disease was only 5% among cases. CONCLUSION: There is evidence that children who were admitted due to sepsis or bacteraemia consulted the GP more often for skin diseases than other children, but the differences are not clinically relevant indicating that there is little opportunity for GPs to reduce the risk of sepsis and/or bacteraemia considerably by managing skin diseases appropriately

Zika virus infection in pregnancy: a protocol for the joint analysis of the prospective cohort studies of the ZIKAlliance, ZikaPLAN and ZIKAction consortia

Introduction: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnancy has been associated with microcephaly and severe neurological damage to the fetus. Our aim is to document the risks of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes and the prevalence of laboratory markers of congenital infection in deliveries to women experiencing ZIKV infection during pregnancy, using data from European Commission-funded prospective cohort studies in 20 centres in 11 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. / Methods and analysis: We will carry out a centre-by-centre analysis of the risks of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, comparing women with confirmed and suspected ZIKV infection in pregnancy to those with no evidence of infection in pregnancy. We will document the proportion of deliveries in which laboratory markers of congenital infection were present. Finally, we will investigate the associations of trimester of maternal infection in pregnancy, presence or absence of maternal symptoms of acute ZIKV infection and previous flavivirus infections with adverse outcomes and with markers of congenital infection. Centre-specific estimates will be pooled using a two-stage approach. / Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained at each centre. Findings will be presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed open access journals and discussed with local public health officials and representatives of the national Ministries of Health, Pan American Health Organization and WHO involved with ZIKV prevention and control activities

Recent advances in the development and evaluation of molecular diagnostics for Ebola virus disease

The 2014-16 outbreak of ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa resulted in 11,308 deaths. During the outbreak only 60% of patients were laboratory confirmed and global health authorities have identified the need for accurate and readily deployable molecular diagnostics as an important component of the ideal response to future outbreaks, to quickly identify and isolate patients. Areas covered: Currently PCR-based techniques and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) that detect antigens specific to EVD infections dominate the diagnostic landscape, but recent advances in biosensor technologies have led to novel approaches for the development of EVD diagnostics. This review summarises the literature and available performance data of currently available molecular diagnostics for ebolavirus, identifies knowledge gaps and maps out future priorities for research in this field. Expert opinion: While there are now a plethora of diagnostic tests for EVD at various stages of development, there is an acute need for studies to compare their clinical performance, but the sporadic nature of EVD outbreaks makes this extremely challenging, demanding pragmatic new modalities of research funding and ethical/institutional approval, to enable responsive research in outbreak settings. Retrospective head-to-head diagnostic comparisons could also be implemented using biobanked specimens, providing this can be done safely

Eliminating Vertically-transmitted HIV/AIDS while Improving Access to Treatment and Care for Women, Children and Adolescents in Jamaica

Background and Methods: To celebrate Jamaica’s 50th birthday after receiving independence from Great Britain, we summarize our collaborative published research in the prevention, treatment and care of paediatric, perinatal and adolescent HIV/AIDS in Jamaica. Results: Public access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Jamaica has shown that a “test and treat” strategy associated with “treatment for prevention” works for HIV-infected pregnant women by reduc-ing their HIV-attributable morbidity and mortality and reducing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rates to < 2%, islandwide. These women experience significant psychosocial stress and targeted in-terventions are assisting them to improve their quality of life. HIV-exposed and infected children come from large families with high rates of teen pregnancies and significant financial challenges needing sustained interventions. HIV-exposed but uninfected Jamaican infants have higher rates of community-acquired infections, including lower respiratory tract infections, sepsis and gastroenteritis compared to community controls, although their growth rates are normal. In evaluation of replication capacity, viral control and clinical outcomes after vertical transmission in Jamaican mother-infant pairs, HLA-B57 was found to confer the advantage of restricted HIV replication primarily by driving and maintaining a fitness-attenuating mutation in p-24 Gag. Viral sequences from 52 MTCT Jamaican pairs were com-pared and 1475 sites of mother-infant amino acid divergence within Nef, Gag and Pol were identified, suggesting modest fitness cost with many CD8 mutations. HIV-infected Jamaican children are surviving into adolescence and adulthood, as a result of increased public access to ART and improved collaborative capacity in ART management. Successful transition of HIV-infected children through adolescence into adulthood requires a strong multidisciplinary team approach, including long-term ART management addressing non-adherence, drug resistance and toxicity, treatment failure and limited options for second line and salvage therapy, while attending to their sexual and reproductive health, psychosocial, educational and vocational issues and palliative care. Conclusion: Over the past nine years, Jamaica has made excellent strides to eliminate vertically transmitted HIV/AIDS, while reducing the HIV-attributable morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and in HIV-infected children. Continued successful transition of HIV-infected children through adoles-cence into adulthood will require a strong multidisciplinary team approach. Keywords: AIDS, children, HIV, Jamaica, pMTCT, Youth "Eliminando la Transmisión Vertical del VIH/SIDA Mejorando a la par el Acceso al Tratamiento y el Cuidado de las Mujeres, los Niños y los Adolescentes en Jamaica" RESUMEN Antecedentes y Métodos: A fin de celebrar el 50 aniversario de Jamaica tras recibir la independencia de Gran Bretaña, resumimos nuestra investigación colaborativa publicada sobre la prevención, tratamiento y cuidado del VIH/SIDA pediátrico, perinatal y juvenil en Jamaica. Resultados: El acceso público a la terapia antiretroviral (TAR) en Jamaica ha mostrado que una estrategia “test and treat” asociada con el “tratamiento para la prevención” funciona de manera efectiva con mujeres embarazadas infectadas por VIH, reduciendo la morbilidad y la mortalidad atribuibles al VIH, y disminuyendo las tasas de transmisión madre a niño (MTCT) a < 2% en toda la isla. Estas mujeres experimentan un estrés psicosocial considerable, y las intervenciones aplicadas están ayudándolas a mejorar su calidad de vida. Los niños expuestos e infectados por el VIH provienen de familias numerosas con altas tasas de embarazos adolescentes y considerables retos financieros. Se trata pues de familias que necesitan intervenciones sostenidas. Los infantes jamaicanos expuestos pero no infectados por el VIH tienen tasas más altas de infecciones adquiridas en la comunidad – incluyendo infecciones de las vías respiratorias bajas, sepsis y gastroenteritis – en comparación con los controles comunitarios, si bien sus tasas de crecimiento eran normales. Al evaluar la capacidad de replicación, el control viral, y los resultados clínicos tras la transmisión vertical en pares madre-infante jamaicanos, se halló que el HLA-B57 confería la ventaja de restringir la replicación del VIH mediante la conducción y mantenimiento de una mutación atenuante de la aptitud adaptativa (fitness) en p-24 gag. Las secuencias virales de 52 pares jamaicanos MTCT fueron comparadas, y se identificaron 1475 sitios de divergencia de aminoácido de madre-infante dentro de nef, gag y pol, lo cual sugiere un costo modesto de aptitud adaptativa con muchas mutaciones de CD8. Los niños jamaicanos infectados por VIH están sobreviviendo hasta llegar a ser adolescentes o adultos, como resultado del aumento del acceso público a la TAR, y al mejoramiento de capacidad colaborativa en el tratamiento de TAR. La transición exitosa de niños infectados con VIH a través de la adolescencia hasta la adultez requiere un enfoque multidisciplinarlo en equipo, incluyendo el tratamiento de TAR a largo plazo. Dicho tratamiento se dirige a la no adherencia, la resistencia a los medicamentos y la toxicidad, el fracaso del tratamiento y opciones limitadas para las terapias de segunda línea y de salvamento, a la par que se atiende a la salud reproductiva y sexual de los pacientes, a los problemas vocacionales, educacionales y psicosociales, y el cuidado paliativo. Conclusión: En los últimos nueve años, Jamaica ha dado pasos extraordinarios para eliminar la transmisión vertical del VIH/SIDA, reduciendo la morbilidad y la mortalidad atribuibles al VIH en mujeres embarazadas y en niños infectados por VIH. La transición exitosa continuada de los niños infectados por VIH a través de la adolescencia hasta la adultez requerirá un fuerte enfoque multidisciplinarlo en equipo. Palabras claves: SIDA, niños, VIH, Jamaica, PMTCT, juventu

Rotavirus Vaccine Trial in Jamaica

Worldwide, rotaviruses have been a significant cause of dehydrating gastroenteritis. This contributed to increased infant morbidity and mortality in Jamaica. We enrolled 1804 Jamaican infants in the inter-national randomized, placebo-controlled, pentavalent (G1, G2, G3, G4 and P1) rotavirus vaccine trial. This pentavalent vaccine was found to significantly reduce rotavirus gastroenteritis attributable emergency room visits and hospitalizations, without increasing the rates of intussusception, or other serious adverse events in Jamaican infants. It is recommended that the rotavirus vaccine be included in Jamaica’s National Immunization Programme in accordance with recommendations from the World Health Organization. Keywords: Children, gastroenteritis, Jamaica, rotavirus vaccine "Prueba de la Vacuna Contra el Rotavirus en Jamaica" RESUMEN A nivel mundial, los rotavirus han sido una de las causas fundamentales de la gastroenteritis deshidratante, contribuyendo por ende a la morbilidad y mortalidad infantil en Jamaica. En este estudio se enrolaron 1804 infantes jamaicanos en una prueba internacional de vacuna contra el rotavirus pentavalente (G1, G2, G3, G4 y P1), randomizada, con control placebo. Se halló que la vacuna pentavalente reducía de manera significativa las hospitalizaciones y visitas a la sala de emergencia por causas atribuibles al rotavirus, sin aumentar las tasas de invaginación, u otros serios eventos adversos en los niños jamaicanos. Se recomienda que la vacuna del rotavirus sea incluida en el Programa de Inmunización Nacional de Jamaica, de conformidad con las recomendaciones de la Organización de Mundial de la Salud. Keywords: Niños, gastroenteritis, Jamaica, vacuna del rotaviru

Unravelling the Paediatric and Perinatal Zika Virus Epidemic through Population-based Research

Zika virus epidemic now involves 72 countries, worldwide. Transmission is multimodal through mosquito bites and blood and body fluids. Zika virus causes Guillain Barre Syndrome syndrome and pregnancy complications including perinatal microcephaly. Diagnosis is complicated by subclinical infection in 80%, co-circulation with dengue and chikungunya fevers with similar presentations and cross-reactivity in serological tests. There is no cure, or preventive vaccine. Large population-based studies will help to elucidate ZIKV epidemiology, vertical transmission, risks to the fetus of maternal ZIKV infection and natural history of congenital and non-congenital ZIKV infection as provided by the activities in the "ZIKAction" research consortium in Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean, which was recently funded by the European Commission