Genotypic characterization of pyrazinamide resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from Lusaka, Zambia.

Pyrazinamide forms a core part of treatment for all types of tuberculosis (TB) in Zambia. Due to challenges associated with pyrazinamide testing, little information is available to indicate the frequency of resistance to this drug in Zambia. To determine the frequency of pyrazinamide (PZA) resistance and its correlation with mutation in pncA in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from patients in Lusaka, Zambia, BACTEC MGIT M960 was used for phenotypic PZA susceptibility testing while sequencing was used to determine resistance-conferring mutations in the pncA.

CD4 counts decline despite nutritional recovery in HIV-infected Zambian children with severe malnutrition.

Objective: The objective of this study was to establish the contribution that severe malnutrition makes to CD4 lymphopenia in HIV-infected and uninfected children and to determine the changes in CD4 count during nutritional rehabilitation.

Methods: Fifty-six children with severe malnutrition and with and without HIV infection were recruited from a pediatric ward in Lusaka for measurement of CD4 counts on admission, on discharge, and at final nutritional recovery.

Results: HIV-uninfected children with severe malnutrition had normal CD4 counts.

Prevalence of drug-resistance-associated mutations in antiretroviral drug-naive Zambians infected with subtype C HIV-1.

The ability of HIV-1 to evolve resistance to antiretroviral drugs leads to treatment failure. By nucleotide sequencing of HIV-1 subtype B isolates, amino acids responsible for drug resistance have been identified. Less information is available, however, on the extent and distribution of these amino acids in HIV-1 nonsubtype B viruses circulating mainly in developing countries.