Rationale, Design, and the Baseline Characteristics of the RHDGen (The Genetics of Rheumatic Heart Disease) Network Study†.

Background: The genetics of rheumatic heart disease (RHDGen) Network was developed to assist the discovery and validation of genetic variations and biomarkers of risk for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in continental Africans, as a part of the global fight to control and eradicate rheumatic fever/RHD. Thus, we describe the rationale and design of the RHDGen study, comprising participants from 8 African countries.

Methods: RHDGen screened potential participants using echocardiography, thereafter enrolling RHD cases and ethnically-matched controls for whom case characteristics were documented.

The At Risk Child Clinic (ARCC): 3 Years of Health Activities in Support of the Most Vulnerable Children in Beira, Mozambique.

The concept of “children at risk” changes worldwide according to each specific context. Africa has a large burden of overall risk factors related to childhood health and development, most of which are of an infective or social origin. The aim of this study was to report and analyze the volumes of activities of fifteen At Risk Child Clinics (ARCCs) within the Beira District (Mozambique) over a 3 year-period in order to define the health profile of children accessing such health services.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae in adult patients with pneumococcal pneumonia in an urban hospital in Mozambique.

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia in Africa. Antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae to penicillin and other commonly used antibiotics has increased worldwide.