Paediatric treatment costs and the HIV epidemic

A CAJM on pediatric treatment costs and the effects of HIV pandemic in Malawi.As the AIDS epidemic puts additional strains on the already overburdened health care systems in sub-Saharan Africa, it becomes more important to estimate the cost of the epidemic in terms of health personnel and drug treatments. A retrospective review of 250 randomly selected paediatric admissions to a referral hospital in Malawi was undertaken. Groupings of “pos- sible/probable AIDS” and “probably not AIDS” were used in a comparative analysis of treatment costs. Estimated costs of treatments were significantly lower than those calculated in a study from Zimbabwe using different methodology. Meningitis was the most expensive condition to treat and accounted for a greater percentage of overall cost than either acute respiratory infection, diarihoeal disease or measles

First Report from the Asian Rotavirus Surveillance Network

Rotavirus remains the most common cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhea among children worldwide. Several rotavirus vaccines are under development. Decisions about new vaccine introduction will require reliable data on disease impact. The Asian Rotavirus Surveillance Network, begun in 2000 to facilitate collection of these data, is a regional collaboration of 36 hospitals in nine countries or areas that conduct surveillance for rotavirus hospitalizations using a uniform World Health Organization protocol. We summarize the Network's organization and experience from August 2001 through July 2002. During this period, 45% of acute diarrheal hospitalizations among children 0–5 years were attributable to rotavirus, higher than previous estimates. Rotavirus was detected in all sites year-round. This network is a novel, regional approach to surveillance for vaccine-preventable diseases. Such a network should provide increased visibility and advocacy, enable more efficient data collection, facilitate training, and serve as the paradigm for rotavirus surveillance activities in other regions

Paediatric treatment costs and the HIV epidemic

As the AIDS epidemic puts additional strains on the already overburdened health care systems in sub-Saharan Africa, it becomes more important to estimate the cost of the epidemic in terms of health personnel and drug treatments. A retrospective review of 250 randomly selected paediatric admissions to a referral hospital in Malawi was undertaken. Groupings of “pos- sible/probable AIDS†and “probably not AIDS†were used in a comparative analysis of treatment costs. Estimated costs of treatments were significantly lower than those calculated in a study from Zimbabwe using different methodology. Meningitis was the most expensive condition to treat and accounted for a greater percentage of overall cost than either acute respiratory infection, diarihoeal disease or measles

Parental attitudes and factors associated with varicella vaccination in preschool and schoolchildren in Hong Kong: A cross-sectional study

10.1097/MD.0000000000001519Medicine (United States)9436e151

Safety and efficacy of human rotavirus vaccine during the first 2 years of life in Asian infants: Randomised, double-blind, controlled study

10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.07.098Vaccine27435936-594