Anti-SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in King County, WA-Cross-sectional survey, August 2020.

We conducted a seroprevalence survey to estimate the true number of infections with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in King County as of August 2020 by measuring the proportion of residents from who had antibodies against the virus. Participants from 727 households took part in a cross-sectional address-based household survey with random and non-random samples and provided dried blood spots that were tested for total antibody against the viral nucleocapsid protein, with confirmatory testing for immunoglobulin G against the spike protein. The data were weighted to match King County's population based on sex, age group, income, race, and Hispanic status.

Human Resources for Health-Related Challenges to Ensuring Quality Newborn Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.

Background: A critical shortage of health workers with needed maternal and newborn competencies remains a major challenge for the provision of quality care for mothers and newborns, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Supply-side challenges related to human resources for health (HRH) worsen shortages and can negatively affect health worker performance and quality of care. This review scoped country-focused sources to identify and map evidence on HRH-related challenges to quality facility-based newborn care provision by nurses and midwives.

Hospital detention of mothers and their infants at a large provincial hospital: a mixed-methods descriptive case study, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Background: The practice of detaining people who are unable to pay for health care services they have received is widespread in many parts of the world. We aimed to determine the proportion of women and their infants detained for inability to pay for services received at a provincial hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during a 6-week period in 2016. A secondary objective was to determine clinical and administrative staff attitudes and practices about payment for services and detention.

Incidence of catastrophic expenditures linked to obstetric and neonatal care at 92 facilities in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2015.

Background: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), more than 93% of users must pay out of pocket for care. Despite the risk of catastrophic expenditures (CE), 94% of births in Lubumbashi are attended by skilled personnel. We aimed to identify risk factors for CE associated with obstetric and neonatal care in this setting, to document coping mechanisms employed by households to pay the price of care, and to identify consequences of CE on households.

Commercialization of obstetric and neonatal care in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A study of the variability in user fees in Lubumbashi, 2014.

Objective: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, insufficient state financing of the health system produced weak progress toward targets of Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. In Lubumbashi, almost all women pay out-of-pocket for obstetric and neonatal care. As no standard pricing system has been implemented, there is great variation in payments related to childbirth between health facilities and even within the same facility.

Emergency obstetric and neonatal care availability, use, and quality: a cross-sectional study in the city of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2011.

Background: While emergency obstetric and neonatal care (EmONC) is a proxy indicator for monitoring maternal and perinatal mortalities, in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), data on this care is rarely available. In the city of Lubumbashi, the second largest in DRC with an estimated population of 1.5 million, the availability, use and quality of EmONC are not known.

Obstetric fistula in low-resource countries: an under-valued and under-studied problem--systematic review of its incidence, prevalence, and association with stillbirth.

Background: Obstetric fistula (OF) is a serious consequence of prolonged, obstructed labor in settings where emergency obstetric care is limited, but there are few reliable, population-based estimates of the rate of OF. Stillbirth (SB) is another serious consequence of prolonged, obstructed labor, yet the frequency of SB in women with OF is poorly described. Here, we review these data.

Risk factors for diarrhea hospitalization in Bangladesh, 2000-2008: a case-case study of cholera and shigellosis.

Background: Cholera and shigellosis are endemic on the Indian subcontinent. Our objective was to identify cholera-specific risk factors distinct from shigellosis risk factors.

Methods: We conducted a case-case study among hospitalized diarrheal patients, comparing those with cholera and shigellosis in International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) hospitals in Matlab (rural) and Dhaka (urban) between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2008.

Outcomes of the Evidence-Based Pitocin Administration Checklist at a Tertiary-Level Hospital.

Pitocin, a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin, is a high-alert medication that heightens patient harm when used incorrectly. This investigation examined the outcomes of an evidence-based Pitocin administration checklist used for labor augmentation at a tertiary-level hospital. Data came from patient records.

Risk factors for severe cholera among children under five in rural and urban Bangladesh, 2000-2008: a hospital-based surveillance study.

Background: Children under five bear the largest cholera burden. We therefore sought to identify modifiable risk factors among Bangladeshi children.

Methodology/principal Findings: We used multivariate Poisson regression to assess risk factors for severe cholera among diarrheal patients presenting at hospitals in Matlab (rural) and Dhaka (urban), Bangladesh.

Infant feeding buddies: a strategy to support safe infant feeding for HIV-positive mothers.

Background: Prior to 2010, the World Health Organization recommended that HIV-positive mothers exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months of life unless replacement feeding was acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable, and safe. Community pressure to practice mixed feeding, lack of knowledge on safe feeding, and shame regarding HIV status discourage mothers from breastfeeding exclusively and contribute to South Africa's low exclusive breastfeeding prevalence of 7% for infants under 6 months.

Objective: This pilot study explored the feasibility of implementing a feeding buddy system to provide a mother with support to achieve her infant feeding goal.

A clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine for use in the prevention of visceral leishmaniasis.

Healthy Indian adult volunteers, with or without a history of leishmaniasis, were evaluated for evidence of previous infection with Leishmania donovani based on the direct agglutination test (DAT). Three cohorts of 6 DAT-negative and 6 DAT-positive subjects were enrolled in an open-label, dose-escalating, uncontrolled clinical trial and received three injections of the LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine (consisting of 5μg, 10μg, or 20μg recombinant Leishmania polyprotein LEISH-F1 antigen+25μg MPL®-SE adjuvant). The study injections were given subcutaneously on days 0, 28, and 56, and the subjects were followed through day 168 for safety and immunological endpoints.

A clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine when used in combination with sodium stibogluconate for the treatment of mucosal leishmaniasis.

Adult patients with mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalating clinical trial and were randomly assigned to receive three injections of either the LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine (consisting of 5, 10, or 20 μg recombinant Leishmania polyprotein LEISH-F1 antigen+25 μg MPL(®)-SE adjuvant) (n=36) or saline placebo (n=12). The study injections were given subcutaneously on Days 0, 28, and 56, and the patients were followed through Day 336 for safety, immunological, and clinical evolution endpoints. All patients received standard chemotherapy with sodium stibogluconate starting on Day 0.

A clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine when used in combination with meglumine antimoniate for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Forty-four adult patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, controlled, dose-escalating clinical trial and were randomly assigned to receive three injections of either the LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine (consisting of 5, 10, or 20 μg recombinant Leishmania polyprotein LEISH-F1 antigen+25 μg MPL-SE adjuvant) (n=27), adjuvant alone (n=8), or saline placebo (n=9). The study injections were given subcutaneously on Days 0, 28, and 56, and the patients were followed through Day 336 for safety, immunological, and clinical evolution endpoints. All patients received chemotherapy with meglumine antimoniate starting on Day 0.

Evaluation of ex vivo human immune response against candidate antigens for a visceral leishmaniasis vaccine.

People cured from visceral leishmaniasis (VL) develop protection mediated by Th1-type cellular responses against new infections. We evaluated cytokine responses against 6 defined candidate vaccine antigens in 15 cured VL subjects and 5 healthy endemic controls with no evidence of previous exposure to Leishmania parasites. Of the 6 cytokines examined, only interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) differentiated cured VL patients from non-exposed individuals, with cured patients mounting a significantly higher IFN-gamma response to a crude parasite antigen preparation.

Safety and immunogenicity of a defined vaccine for the prevention of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Healthy Colombian adult volunteers with no history of leishmaniasis were evaluated for evidence of previous subclinical infection with Leishmania based on the Montenegro skin test (MST). Twelve MST-positive subjects were enrolled in an open-label, uncontrolled clinical trial (the "MST-positive trial") and received three injections of the LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine (consisting of 10 microg recombinant Leishmania polyprotein LEISH-F1 antigen [TSA+LmSTI1+LeIF]+25 microg MPL-SE adjuvant). Sixty-eight MST-negative subjects were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial (the "MST-negative trial") and were randomly assigned to receive three injections of either the vaccine (n=34), 10 microg LEISH-F1 protein alone (n=17), or saline placebo (n=17).

Effectiveness of Haemophilus influenzae type b Conjugate vaccine introduction into routine childhood immunization in Kenya.

Context: Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine is not perceived as a public health priority in Africa because data on Hib disease burden and vaccine effectiveness are scarce. Hib immunization was introduced in Kenyan infants in 2001.

Objective: To define invasive Hib disease incidence and Hib vaccine program effectiveness in Kenya.

Immunization coverage and risk factors for failure to immunize within the Expanded Programme on Immunization in Kenya after introduction of new Haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis b virus antigens.

Background: Kenya introduced a pentavalent vaccine including the DTP, Haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis b virus antigens in Nov 2001 and strengthened immunization services. We estimated immunization coverage before and after introduction, timeliness of vaccination and risk factors for failure to immunize in Kilifi district, Kenya.

Methods: In Nov 2002 we performed WHO cluster-sample surveys of >200 children scheduled for vaccination before or after introduction of pentavalent vaccine.

Recurrence of legionnaires disease at a hotel in the United States Virgin Islands over a 20-year period.

We investigated 3 cases of legionnaires disease (LD) that developed in travelers who stayed at a hotel in the United States Virgin Islands where cases of LD occurred in 1981-1982 and in 1998. The temperature of the potable water at the hotel was in a range that could optimally support the growth of Legionella species, and the potable water was colonized with Legionella pneumophila in 1981-1982 and in 2002-2003.

Case-control study of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and hepatitis C virus infection in Egypt.

Background: Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been associated in some studies with increased risk for B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). To assess this further, we conducted a case-control study in Egypt, where HCV prevalence is extremely high.

Methods: Cases with B-cell NHL (N = 227) were recruited from the National Cancer Institute of Cairo University, a major referral centre.

Report from the CDC. Awareness of perinatal group B streptococcal infection among women of childbearing age in the United States, 1999 and 2002.

Background: The issuance in 2002 of new guidelines recommending universal screening for group B Streptococcus (GBS), a leading cause of neonatal sepsis in the United States, has created a new opportunity to educate women of childbearing age to be active partners in prevention.

Methods: To assess baseline levels of awareness about perinatal GBS, we analyzed responses to a question included in a health communications/social marketing survey in 1999 and 2002.

Results: Among the 2917 women under 50 who responded, 47% reported ever having heard of perinatal GBS.