Host and pathogen factors that influence variability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lipid body content in sputum from patients with tuberculosis: an observational study.

Background: High proportions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cells in sputum containing triacylglycerol-rich lipid bodies have been shown to be associated with treatment failure or relapse following antituberculous chemotherapy. Although lipid body determination is a potential biomarker for supporting clinical trial and treatment decisions, factors influencing variability in sputum frequencies of lipid body-positive (%LB) M tuberculosis in patients are unknown. We aimed to test our hypothesis that exposure to host-generated NO and M tuberculosis strains are factors associated with differences in sputum %LB.

Functional genetic variation in / genes contributes to diversity in lineages and potential interactions with the human host.

Introduction: Around 10% of the coding potential of is constituted by two poorly understood gene families, the and loci, thought to be involved in host-pathogen interactions. Their repetitive nature and high GC content have hindered sequence analysis, leading to exclusion from whole-genome studies. Understanding the genetic diversity of families is essential to facilitate their potential translation into tools for tuberculosis prevention and treatment.

Use of resuscitation promoting factors to screen for tuberculosis infection in household-exposed children in The Gambia.

Background: Interferon-γ release assays (IGRA) with Resuscitation promoting factor (Rpf) proteins enhanced tuberculosis (TB) screening and diagnosis in adults but have not been evaluated in children. Children often develop paucibacillary TB and their immune response differs from that of adults, which together affect TB disease diagnostics and immunodiagnostics. We assessed the ability of Rpf to identify infection among household TB-exposed children in The Gambia and investigated their ability to discriminate Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) infection from active TB disease in children.

Performance of metabonomic serum analysis for diagnostics in paediatric tuberculosis.

We applied a metabonomic strategy to identify host biomarkers in serum to diagnose paediatric tuberculosis (TB) disease. 112 symptomatic children with presumptive TB were recruited in The Gambia and classified as bacteriologically-confirmed TB, clinically diagnosed TB, or other diseases. Sera were analysed using H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS).

Etiology of Pediatric Bacterial Meningitis Pre- and Post-PCV13 Introduction Among Children Under 5 Years Old in Lomé, Togo.

Background: Pediatric bacterial meningitis (PBM) causes severe morbidity and mortality within Togo. Thus, as a member of the World Health Organization coordinated Invasive Bacterial Vaccine Preventable Diseases network, Togo conducts surveillance targeting Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus), and Haemophilus influenzae, at a sentinel hospital within the capital city, Lomé, in the southernmost Maritime region.

Methods: Cerebrospinal fluid was collected from children <5 years with suspected PBM admitted to the Sylvanus Olympio Teaching Hospital.