Clinical trial: An open-label, randomised trial of different re-start strategies after treatment withdrawal in HBeAg negative chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Stopping nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) may trigger a beneficial immune response leading to HBsAg loss, but clinical trials on re-start strategies are lacking.

Aim: To assess whether it is beneficial to undergo a prolonged flare after NA cessation.

Methods: One-hundred-and-twenty-seven patients with HBeAg negative, non-cirrhotic CHB with at least 24 months of viral suppression on NA therapy were included.

Predictors for participation in mass-treatment and female genital schistosomiasis re-investigation, and the effect of praziquantel treatment in South African adolescents.

Objective: Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) causes intravaginal lesions and symptoms that could be mistaken for sexually transmitted diseases or cancer. In adults, FGS lesions [grainy sandy patches (GSP), homogenous yellow patches (HYP), abnormal blood vessels and rubbery papules] are refractory to treatment. The effect of treatment has never been explored in young women; it is unclear if gynaecological investigation will be possible in this young age group (16-23 years).

The Association Between Female Genital Schistosomiasis and Other Infections of the Lower Genital Tract in Adolescent Girls and Young Women: A Cross-Sectional Study in South Africa.

Objectives/purposes Of The Study: This study aimed to explore the relationship between female genital schistosomiasis (FGS), sexually transmitted infections, bacterial vaginosis, and yeast among young women living in Schistosoma haematobium-endemic areas.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study of young women, sexually active, aged 16 to 22 years in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in 32 randomly selected rural schools in schistosomiasis-endemic areas, the authors performed gynecological and laboratory investigations, diagnosed FGS and other infections, and did face-to-face interviews.

Results: Female genital schistosomiasis was the second most prevalent current genital infection (23%), significantly more common in those who had urinary schistosomiasis (35%), compared with those without (19%, p < .

Mapping Schistosoma haematobium for Novel Interventions against Female Genital Schistosomiasis and Associated HIV Risk in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Women with female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) have been found to have genital symptoms and a three-fold higher risk of HIV infection. Despite WHO recommendations, regular antischistosomal mass drug administration (MDA) has not yet been implemented in South Africa possibly because of the lack of updated epidemiological data. To provide data for future prevention efforts against FGS and HIV, this study explored Schistosoma haematobium prevalence in girls and young women and the effects of antischistosomal MDA, respectively.

Experimental Infection of Human Volunteers with the Heat-Stable Enterotoxin-Producing Enterotoxigenic Strain TW11681.

Infection with enterotoxigenic (ETEC) producing the heat-stable enterotoxin (ST) is one of the most important causes of childhood diarrhoea in low- and middle-income countries. Here, we undertook a controlled human infection model (CHIM) study to investigate whether ST-producing ETEC strain TW11681 would be suitable for testing the protective efficacy of new ST-based vaccine candidates in vaccine challenge models. In groups of three, nine volunteers ingested 1 × 10, 1 × 10, or 1 × 10 colony-forming units (CFU) of TW11681.