Understanding Gender-Based Violence Service Delivery in CDC-Supported Health Facilities: 15 Sub-Saharan African Countries, 2017-2021.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a complex issue deeply rooted in social structures, making its eradication challenging. GBV increases the risk of HIV transmission and is a barrier to HIV testing, care, and treatment. Quality clinical services for GBV, which includes the provision of HIV postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), vary, and service delivery data are lacking.

Reaching Youth Through Faith Leaders: Evaluation of the Faith Matters! Initiative.

Faith leaders can be uniquely positioned to guide and support young people on health issues, particularly HIV/AIDS and sexual violence. Faith Matters!, a 2-day training workshop for faith leaders, was delivered in September 2021 in Zambia. Sixty-six faith leaders completed a questionnaire at baseline, 64 at posttraining, and 59 at 3-month follow-up.

Preexposure Prophylaxis Among Pregnant and Lactating People in 18 PEPFAR-Supported Countries: A Review of HIV Strategies and Guidelines.

Introduction: Pregnant and lactating people (PLP) experience heightened risk of acquiring HIV, which adversely impacts their health and increases the risk for vertical HIV transmission. Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), as part of a combination prevention package, including condoms, sexually transmitted infection prevention, and regular HIV testing, is a safe, efficacious method to prevent HIV infections among PLP and their infants. This article examines the evolution of strategies and guidance on PrEP services for PLP from 18 countries supported by the U.

Evaluation of the WHO global database on blood safety.

Objective: While the Global Database on Blood Safety (GDBS) helps to monitor the status of adequate and safe blood availability, its presence alone does not serve as a solution to existing challenges. The objective of this evaluation was to determine the GDBS usefulness in improving the availability of adequate safe blood and its ability to function as a surveillance system.

Methods: The GDBS was evaluated using methods set out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for assessing surveillance systems.

Trends and Gaps in National Blood Transfusion Services - 14 Sub-Saharan African Countries, 2014-2016.

Ensuring availability of safe blood products through recruitment of voluntary, nonremunerated, blood donors (VNRDs) and prevention of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and syphilis, is important for public health (1,2). During 2004-2016, the U.S.

Use of Blood Donor Screening Data to Estimate Zika Virus Incidence, Puerto Rico, April-August 2016.

Puerto Rico has been heavily impacted by Zika virus, a mosquitoborne flavivirus that emerged in the Americas during 2015. Although most persons with Zika virus show no symptoms, the virus can cause neurologic and other complications, including fetal microcephaly. Local Zika virus transmission in Puerto Rico has been reported since December 2015.

Maternal and neonatal outcomes among women with HIV infection and their infants in Malawi.

Objective: To describe maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality among women with HIV infection and their infants.

Methods: A secondary analysis was undertaken of data obtained in the BAN Study, a trial of postnatal antiretrovirals among pregnant women with HIV infection enrolled in 2004-2010. Mothers and infants had 13 scheduled visits through 48 weeks of follow-up.

Progress Toward Strengthening National Blood Transfusion Services - 14 Countries, 2011-2014.

Blood transfusion is a life-saving medical intervention; however, challenges to the recruitment of voluntary, unpaid or otherwise nonremunerated whole blood donors and insufficient funding of national blood services and programs have created obstacles to collecting adequate supplies of safe blood in developing countries (1). Since 2004, the U.S.

Active Tracing and Monitoring of Contacts Associated With the First Cluster of Ebola in the United States.

Background: Following hospitalization of the first patient with Ebola virus disease diagnosed in the United States on 28 September 2014, contact tracing methods for Ebola were implemented.

Objective: To identify, risk-stratify, and monitor contacts of patients with Ebola.

Design: Descriptive investigation.

Ebola Virus Disease: Focus on Children.

Ebola virus is one of the most deadly pathogens known to infect humans. The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in magnitude and duration and, as of November 30, 2014, shows no signs of abating. For the first time, cases of Ebola virus disease have been diagnosed in the US, originating from patients who traveled during the incubation period.

Addressing needs of contacts of Ebola patients during an investigation of an Ebola cluster in the United States - Dallas, Texas, 2014.

The first imported case of Ebola virus disease (Ebola) diagnosed in the United States was confirmed on September 30, 2014; two health care workers who cared for this patient subsequently developed Ebola. Since then, local, state, and federal health officials have continued to prepare for future imported cases, including developing strategies to identify and monitor persons who have had contact with an Ebola patient. This report describes some of the needs of persons who were contacts of Ebola patients in Texas.

Ebola virus disease cluster in the United States--Dallas County, Texas, 2014.

Since March 10, 2014, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have experienced the largest known Ebola virus disease (Ebola) epidemic with approximately 13,000 persons infected as of October 28, 2014. Before September 25, 2014, only four patients with Ebola had been treated in the United States; all of these patients had been diagnosed in West Africa and medically evacuated to the United States for care.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis suppression related to topical glucocorticoid therapy in a child with psoriatic exfoliative erythroderma.

Exfoliative erythroderma is a rare presentation of psoriasis in children and adults. We report a 9-year-old girl with exfoliative erythroderma secondary to plaque-type psoriasis who developed hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis suppression resulting from topical treatment with a medium-potency glucocorticoid. This case emphasizes the need for awareness of this potentially life-threatening complication of topical glucocorticoid use, particularly in patients who have significant compromise of barrier function secondary to widespread skin disease.

Effect of ribavirin in genotype 1 patients with hepatitis C responding to pegylated interferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin.

Background & Aims: Pegylated interferon alfa-ribavirin combination is the standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C, but the mechanisms by which ribavirin enhances the rate of sustained hepatitis C virus (HCV) eradication remain unknown. We aimed to investigate the role of ribavirin in HCV clearance during therapy and to evaluate the consequences of ribavirin discontinuation in patients infected with genotype 1 hepatitis C who cleared HCV RNA at week 24.

Methods: A total of 516 patients were treated with pegylated interferon alfa-2a, 180 microg/wk, plus ribavirin, 800 mg/day.