Viral Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (ALRI) in Rural Bangladeshi Children Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRIs) remain the leading infectious cause of death among children < 5 years, with viruses contributing to a large proportion of cases. Little is known about the epidemiology and etiology of viral ALRI in rural Bangladesh.

Methods: We enrolled 3- to 23-month-old children with ALRIs attending a subdistrict hospital outpatient clinic in Sylhet district in Bangladesh.

Emerging Tick-borne Infections in the Upper Midwest and Northeast United States Among Patients With Suspected Anaplasmosis.

Background: Emerging tick-transmitted illnesses are increasingly recognized in the United States (US). To identify multiple potential tick-borne pathogens in patients from the Upper Midwest and Northeast US with suspected anaplasmosis, we used state-of-the-art methods (polymerase chain reaction [PCR] and paired serology) to test samples from patients in whom anaplasmosis had been excluded.

Methods: Five hundred sixty-eight patients without anaplasmosis had optimal samples available for confirmation of alternative tick-borne pathogens, including PCR and/or paired serology (acute-convalescent interval ≤42 days).

Host-response transcriptional biomarkers accurately discriminate bacterial and viral infections of global relevance.

Diagnostic limitations challenge management of clinically indistinguishable acute infectious illness globally. Gene expression classification models show great promise distinguishing causes of fever. We generated transcriptional data for a 294-participant (USA, Sri Lanka) discovery cohort with adjudicated viral or bacterial infections of diverse etiology or non-infectious disease mimics.

RADx-UP Testing Core: Access to COVID-19 Diagnostics in Community-Engaged Research with Underserved Populations.

Research on the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infection and death among underserved populations and exposed low rates of SARS-CoV-2 testing in these communities. A landmark National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding initiative, the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program, was developed to address the research gap in understanding the adoption of COVID-19 testing in underserved populations. This program is the single largest investment in health disparities and community-engaged research in the history of the NIH.

Assessment of the mechanism of mitral valve prolapse in children: An echocardiography study.

Background: The high complexity of mitral valve anatomy and function in mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is not yet fully understood.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze each part of the mitral valve apparatus in children to determine its impact on the presence of MVP and to assess the interaction between the coaptation length (CL) and mitral regurgitation severity.

Methods: We prospectively analyzed transthoracic echocardiograms of 60 patients with MVP (mean age 9.