Reduced dengue incidence following city-wide wMel Wolbachia mosquito releases throughout three Colombian cities: Interrupted time series analysis and a prospective case-control study.

Background: The introduction of Wolbachia (wMel strain) into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reduces their capacity to transmit dengue and other arboviruses. Randomised and non-randomised studies in multiple countries have shown significant reductions in dengue incidence following field releases of wMel-infected Ae. aegypti.

Large-scale releases and establishment of wMel Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes throughout the Cities of Bello, Medellín and Itagüí, Colombia.

Background: The wMel strain of Wolbachia has been successfully introduced into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and has been shown to reduce the transmission of dengue and other Aedes-borne viruses. Here we report the entomological results from phased, large-scale releases of Wolbachia infected Ae. aegypti mosquitoes throughout three contiguous cities located in the Aburrá Valley, Colombia.

Delayed HIV treatment, barriers in access to care and mortality in tuberculosis/HIV co-infected patients in Cali, Colombia.

Objective: To determine factors associated with mortality in tuberculosis/HIV co-infected patients in Cali, Colombia.

Methods: This retrospective cohort design included tuberculosis/HIV co-infected persons. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression were used to estimate survival and risk factors associated with mortality.

Incidence and Risk Factors Associated with Latent Tuberculosis Infection and Pulmonary Tuberculosis among People Deprived of Liberty in Colombian Prisons.

People deprived of liberty (PDL) are at high risk of acquiring Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (latent tuberculosis infection [LTBI]) and progressing to active tuberculosis (TB). We sought to determine the incidence rates and factors associated with LTBI and active TB in Colombian prisons. Using information of four cohort studies, we included 240 PDL with two-step tuberculin skin test (TST) negative and followed them to evaluate TST conversion, as well as, 2,134 PDL that were investigated to rule out active TB (1,305 among people with lower respiratory symptoms of any duration, and 829 among people without respiratory symptoms and screened for LTBI).

Risk of infection and disease progression in children exposed to tuberculosis at home, Colombia.

Aim: To assess the risk of tuberculosis (infection and disease) in children less than 15 years' old who are household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in three Colombian cities (Medellín, Cali, and Popayán).

Methods: A cohort of 1,040 children household contacts of 380 adults with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis was followed up for 24 months. Study period 2005-2009.

The impact of city-wide deployment of -carrying mosquitoes on arboviral disease incidence in Medellín and Bello, Colombia: study protocol for an interrupted time-series analysis and a test-negative design study.

Dengue, chikungunya and Zika are viral infections transmitted by mosquitoes, and present major public health challenges in tropical regions. Traditional vector control methods have been ineffective at halting disease transmission. The World Mosquito Program has developed a novel approach to arbovirus control using stably transfected with the bacterium, which have significantly reduced ability to transmit dengue, Zika and chikungunya in laboratory experiments.

Eligibility criteria and outcome measures adopted in clinical trials of treatments of cutaneous leishmaniasis: systematic literature review covering the period 1991-2015.

Objective: To document the sources of heterogeneity in outcomes and shortcomings in trial designs reported by previous systematic reviews.

Methods: Systematic review of clinical trials of CL treatments published since 1991, to assess and compare eligibility criteria and outcome measures in trials (any type of treatment) of CL (any form) reported before and after the publication of the CONSORT statement.

Results: We identified 106 eligible trials published between 1991 and 2015, 74% after the 2001 CONSORT statement; 58% (n = 63) were on Old-World CL and 37% (n = 40) in New-World CL; overall, 11 531 patients enrolled in 243 treatment groups on 30 different treatments.

PPD-induced monocyte mitochondrial damage is associated with a protective effect to develop tuberculosis in BCG vaccinated individuals: A cohort study.

Introduction: The mechanisms of mononuclear phagocyte death have been associated with the permissiveness and resistance to mycobacterial replication, but it remains unknown whether or not they help predict the risk of developing TB.

Objective: To describe the factors associated with the induction of monocyte mitochondrial and membrane damage in response to PPD as well as determine if this type of damage might predict the susceptibility of developing active tuberculosis in a cohort of household contacts (HHCs) from Medellin, Colombia from 2005 to 2008.

Methods: The prospective cohort study contains 2060 HHCs patients with pulmonary tuberculosis who were meticulously followed for two years.

Hepatitis E Virus Genotype 3 in Colombia: Survey in Patients with Clinical Diagnosis of Viral Hepatitis.

Background: Hepatitis E virus is a major cause of outbreaks as well as sporadic hepatitis cases worldwide. The epidemiology of this enterically transmitted infection differs between developing and developed countries. The aims of this study were to describe HEV infection in Colombian patients and to characterize the genotype.

Hepatitis D virus and hepatitis B virus infection in Amerindian communities of the Amazonas state, Colombia.

Background: In Colombia, cases of Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection have been officially described since 1985 mainly in Amerindian population from Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (North Caribbean Coast), Uraba (North West), and Amazon (South East). The last official report of a clinical case of HDV infection in Colombia was registered in 2005.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to identify cases of HDV and/or Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in asymptomatic Amerindians from Amazonas state, South East Colombia, and to describe the circulating viral genotypes in this population.

Sputum induction is a safe procedure to use in prisoners and MGIT is the best culture method to diagnose tuberculosis in prisons: a cohort study.

Objectives: To evaluate the concordance and safety of induced sputum (IS) and spontaneous sputum (SS), and estimate concordance and time to detection of M. tuberculosis between Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ), thin-layer agar (TLA), and the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube system (MGIT).

Methods: This was a cohort study.

[Hepatitis E virus infection in patients with clinical diagnosis of viral hepatitis in Colombia].

Introduction: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emergent virus of global importance; it is the etiological agent of sporadic cases and outbreaks of hepatitis. The epidemiology of this infection in Colombia is unknown.

Objective: To determine the seropositivity for hepatitis E virus in Colombia in cases with clinical diagnosis of viral hepatitis.

Population structure among mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Colombia.

Background: Phylogeographic composition of M. tuberculosis populations reveals associations between lineages and human populations that might have implications for the development of strategies to control the disease. In Latin America, lineage 4 or the Euro-American, is predominant with considerable variations among and within countries.

[Prevalence of Variants in the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) Gene in a General Population of Adults from an Urban Area of Medellin (Antioquia)].

Objective: To determine the allelic and genotype frequencies of apolipoproteine E (APOE) gene in a representative sample of the adult population of Medellin in 2010.

Methods: A representative sample of the adult population of Medellin, was obtained by means of a multi-stage, stratified, conglomerate based sampling method. APOE genotyping was carried out on each of the participants.

High incidence of tuberculosis, low sensitivity of current diagnostic scheme and prolonged culture positivity in four colombian prisons. A cohort study.

Objective: To determine the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in inmates, factors associated with TB, and the time to sputum smear and culture conversion during TB treatment.

Methods: Prospective cohort study. All prisoners with respiratory symptoms (RS) of any duration were evaluated.

[Cost-effectiveness of an alternative tuberculosis treatment: home-based guardian monitoring of patients].

Objective: Estimate the cost-effectiveness ratio of the directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) for treatment of tuberculosis (TB), comparing it to a variation of this treatment that includes increased home-based guardian monitoring of patients (DOTS-R).

Methods: Taking a social perspective that includes the costs for the health institutions, the patients, and their family members, and for other entities that contribute to making operation of the program effective, the costs incurred with each of the two strategies were evaluated and the cost-effectiveness ratios were estimated adopting the measures of effect used by the control programs. The estimate of the cost of each of the two strategies includes the cost to the health institutions that administer treatment, the patients and their family members, and the cost to the Ministry of Health that manages public health programs on the municipal level.

Molecular characterization of hepatitis c virus in multi-transfused Colombian patients.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects 170 million persons worldwide and is a public health problem. Considering that HCV is principally transmitted by exposure to infected blood, multi-transfused patients constitute one of the most important risk groups in developing countries. To explore the dynamics of this infection in Colombia, we performed a study to determine the genotypes of HCV in a cohort of multi-transfused patients.

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Infection Biomarkers and TP53 Mutations in Hepatocellular Carcinomas from Colombia.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Globally, the most important HCC risk factors are Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and/or Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), chronic alcoholism, and dietary exposure to aflatoxins. We have described the epidemiological pattern of 202 HCC samples obtained from Colombian patients.

Prevalence of specific herpes simplex virus-2 antibodies and associated factors in women of a rural town of Colombia.

There is lack of age-specific seroprevalence surveys and identification of factors associated with herpes simplex virus type-2 seropositivity (HSV-2) in rural populations in Colombia. A random sample of 869 women was interviewed about socio-demographic aspects, sexual and reproductive history. Antibodies to HSV-2 were determined by a specific type immunoenzymatic technique (ELISA).

[Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus infection in a population of multiply-transfused patients in Colombia].

Introduction: Although the transfusion of blood products is a common therapy, it carries risk of transmission of infections, especially hepatitus B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Objective: As part of the blood safety initiative, the Pan American Health Organization supported studies to estimate the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus infection in Colombia.

Materials And Methods: Between February and September 2003, a cross sectional study examined 500 multiply-transfused patients at four hospital centers in the cities of Bogota and Medellin.

IFNgamma response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, risk of infection and disease in household contacts of tuberculosis patients in Colombia.

Objectives: Household contacts (HHCs) of pulmonary tuberculosis patients are at high risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and early disease development. Identification of individuals at risk of tuberculosis disease is a desirable goal for tuberculosis control. Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) using specific M.

Evidence for a role of the NOS1AP (CAPON) gene in schizophrenia and its clinical dimensions: an association study in a South American population isolate.

Background/aims: Recent studies have implicated a region on chromosome 1q21-23, including the NOS1AP gene, in susceptibility to schizophrenia. However, replication studies have been inconsistent, a fact that could partly relate to the marked psychopathological heterogeneity of schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to evaluate association of polymorphisms in the NOS1AP gene region to schizophrenia, in patients from a South American population isolate, and to assess if these variants are associated with specific clinical dimensions of the disorder.

[Prevalence of epithelial squamous cell abnormalities and associated factors in women of a rural town of Colombia].

Introduction: In spite of implementation of cytology-based cervical cancer screening in Colombia, mortality rates remain stable. The description of factors associated to cervical pre-neoplasic lesions is needed to establish strategies for mortality prevention.

Objective: The prevalence of epithelial squamous cell abnormalities was determined to explore the association of cytology abnormalities with described risk factors.

[Effectiveness of prophylaxis against tuberculosis in patients infected with HIV].

Introduction: Prophylaxis against tuberculosis has been recognized as important for preventing clinical forms of tuberculosis, mainly in HIV positive patients. However, in countries with high tuberculosis prevalence, prophylaxis application and effectiveness remains controversial.

Objective: Effectiveness was established for two prophylaxis regimens -isoniazid treatment for nine months and pirazinamid/rifampin for 60 days.

Hepatitis C virus seroprevalence in multi-transfused patients in Colombia.

Background: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is a public health problem worldwide, with particular relevance in multi-transfused patients given that HCV is principally transmitted by exposure to infected blood.

Study Design: Between February and September 2003 a cross-sectional study was carried out in four hospital centres in Bogotá and Medellin, Colombia, to determine the risk factors for HCV infection in 500 multi-transfused patients.

Results: The study population was distributed in five groups: haemophilia, haemodyalsis, acute bleeding, ontological illnesses and sickle cell disease or thalassemia.