Effect of mass campaigns with full and fractional doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Pneumosil) on the reduction of nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage in Niger: a three-arm, open-label, cluster-randomised trial.

Background: In settings with low pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) coverage, multi-age cohort mass campaigns could increase population immunity, and fractional dosing could increase affordability. We aimed to evaluate the effect of mass campaigns on nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage of Pneumosil (PCV10) in children aged 1-9 years in Niger.

Methods: In this three-arm, open-label, cluster-randomised trial, 63 clusters of one to four villages in Niger were randomly assigned (3:3:1) using block randomisation to receive campaigns consisting of a single full dose of a 10-valent PCV (Pneumosil), a single one-fifth dose of Pneumosil, or no campaign.

Evaluation of multiple micronutrient supplementation and medium-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplementation in pregnancy on child development in rural Niger: A secondary analysis of a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: It is estimated that over 250 million children under 5 years of age in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not reach their full developmental potential. Poor maternal diet, anemia, and micronutrient deficiencies during pregnancy are associated with suboptimal neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. However, the effect of prenatal macronutrient and micronutrient supplementation on child development in LMIC settings remains unclear due to limited evidence from randomized trials.

Modeling the catarrhal stage of Bordetella pertussis upper respiratory tract infections in mice.

Pertussis (whooping cough) is a highly transmissible human respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, a human-restricted pathogen. Animal models generally involve pneumonic infections induced by depositing large numbers of bacteria in the lungs of mice. These models have informed us about the molecular pathogenesis of pertussis and guided development of vaccines that successfully protect against severe disease.

Prenatal supplementation with multiple micronutrient supplements or medium-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements has limited effects on child growth up to 24 months in rural Niger: a secondary analysis of a cluster randomized trial.

Background: Prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) and lipid-based nutrient supplementation (LNS) can improve birth outcomes relative to iron-folic acid supplementation (IFA); however, effects on child postnatal growth remain unclear.

Objectives: The aim was to compare the effect of prenatal MMS, medium-quantity LNS (MQ-LNS), and IFA on child growth up to 2 y of age.

Methods: We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial of prenatal nutritional supplementation in Madarounfa, Niger.