Introducing field digital data collection systems into seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaigns: opportunities for robust evidence development and national e-health strategies.

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is a World Health Organization-recommended intervention to protect children under the age of 5 in Africa's Sahel region. While SMC remains highly effective in decreasing malaria cases, implementing countries face several challenges regarding collecting quality data; monitoring coverage and compliance and overcoming delays in campaigns due to late payment to field distributors.To address these challenges, the National Malaria Control Programmes of Benin, The Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria introduced digital data collection (DDC) tools to support their SMC campaigns.

[Use of dried blood spots in early diagnosis of HIV-1 infection in children born to HIV-infected mothers as part of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission in Benin].

The goal of this study was to evaluate using the molecular diagnosis, infection transmission rate of HIV in children born to HIV-1 positive mothers as part of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in Benin. The sample consisted of 524 dried blood spots (DBS) of children born to HIV-1 positive mothers, from 30 sites (PMTCT) taken between October 2009 and June 2010. The diagnosis of HIV-1 was performed by the qualitative detection of viral nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) in DBS on filter paper using the Abbott RealTime(®) HIV-1 Qualitative assay.