Mother's smoking habits affects IL10 methylation but not asthma in Ecuadorian children.

Unlabelled: There is no evidence evaluating the IL10 epigenetic upregulation among mestizo children in a high-altitude Andean city in Latin America.

Objective: To identify polymorphisms and methylation profiles in the IL10 gene associated with asthma in children aged 5 to 11.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted with asthmatic and non-asthmatic children aged 5 to 11 years in Cuenca-Ecuador.

Examining the impact of a 9-component bundle and the INICC multidimensional approach on catheter-associated urinary tract infection rates in 32 countries across Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Background: Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs) frequently occur in the intensive care unit (ICU) and are correlated with a significant burden.

Methods: We implemented a strategy involving a 9-element bundle, education, surveillance of CAUTI rates and clinical outcomes, monitoring compliance with bundle components, feedback of CAUTI rates and performance feedback. This was executed in 299 ICUs across 32 low- and middle-income countries.

Prospective study of factors associated with asthma attack recurrence (ATTACK) in children from three Ecuadorian cities during COVID-19: a study protocol.

Introduction: Asthma is a growing health problem in children in marginalised urban settings in low-income and middle-income countries. Asthma attacks are an important cause of emergency care attendance and long-term morbidity. We designed a prospective study, the Asthma Attacks study, to identify factors associated with recurrence of asthma attacks (or exacerbations) among children and adolescents attending emergency care in three Ecuadorian cities.

Clonal relatedness of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains expressing LT and CS17 isolated from children with diarrhoea in La Paz, Bolivia.

Background: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a major cause of traveller's and infantile diarrhoea in the developing world. ETEC produces two toxins, a heat-stable toxin (known as ST) and a heat-labile toxin (LT) and colonization factors that help the bacteria to attach to epithelial cells.

Methodology/principal Findings: In this study, we characterized a subset of ETEC clinical isolates recovered from Bolivian children under 5 years of age using a combination of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis, virulence typing, serotyping and antimicrobial resistance test patterns in order to determine the genetic background of ETEC strains circulating in Bolivia.

Enterotoxins, colonization factors, serotypes and antimicrobial resistance of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains isolated from hospitalized children with diarrhea in Bolivia.

Unlabelled: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is recognized as the main cause of bacterial diarrhoea among children in Asia, Africa and Latin America but less investigated in Bolivia.

Objective: To determine the relation between enterotoxins, CFs and serotypes as well as the antimicrobial resistance patterns in a set of ETEC isolates collected from hospitalized children with acute diarrhea. In the present study we characterized 43 ETEC strains isolated from 2002 to 2006 from hospitalized children (0-5 years) with acute diarrhea in Bolivia.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli multilocus sequence types in Guatemala and Mexico.

The genetic backgrounds of 24 enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains from Mexico and Guatemala expressing heat-stable toxin (ST) and coli surface antigen 6 (CS6) were analyzed. US travelers to these countries and resident children in Guatemala were infected by ETEC strains of sequence type 398, expressing STp and carrying genetically identical CS6 sequences.

Development of multiplex PCR assays for detection of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli colonization factors and toxins.

Four multiplex PCR assays for detection of 19 enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) colonization factors and an improved ETEC toxin multiplex PCR were developed and tested on Bangladeshi and Bolivian ETEC strain collections. The assays will be useful for surveillance of ETEC infections in diagnostic laboratories that have access to PCR.

[Prevalence of latex hypersensitivity in operating room workers of the University of Chile Clinical Hospital].

Background: Health care workers (HCW) are a high risk group for developing natural rubber latex (NRL) hypersensitivity and allergy. Some studies showed a correlation between time and frequency of exposure to NRL gloves and hypersensitivity, but a recent meta-analysis showed no clear evidences for such assumption.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of NRL hypersensitivity and allergy in a group of HCW at the University of Chile Clinical Hospital.