Publications

Poor specificity may negatively impact rapid diagnostic test (RDT)-based diagnostic strategies for malaria.

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other climate patterns can have profound impacts on the occurrence of infectious diseases ranging from dengue to cholera.

BACKGROUND: Estimates of month-2 culture conversion, a proxy indicator of tuberculosis (TB) treatment efficacy in phase-2 trials can vary by culture-type and geographically with lower rates reported among African sites.

SETTING: In early studies, Xpert® MTB/RIF accurately detected culture-proven pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Recent reports have, however, found a lower than expected specificity in previously treated TB patients.

Sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP) is still used for malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa; however, widespread resistance is a major concern.

Shortages of vaccines for epidemic diseases, such as cholera, meningitis, and yellow fever, have become common over the past decade, hampering efforts to control outbreaks through mass reactive vaccination campaigns.

INTRODUCTION: Although individual HIV rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) show good performance in evaluations conducted by WHO, reports from several African countries highlight potentially significant performance issues.

BACKGROUND: Each year, rotavirus gastroenteritis is responsible for about 37% of deaths from diarrhea among children younger than 5 years of age worldwide, with a disproportionate effect in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Despite increasing antimicrobial resistance globally, data are lacking on prevalence and factors associated with Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and MRSA carriage in resource-limited settings.

OBJECTIVE: To assess mortality and clinical outcomes in children treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) in four African vertical programmes between 2001 and 2010.