A loop-mediated isothermal amplification test for yaws: a multi-country diagnostic accuracy evaluation.

Background: To meet the WHO target of eradicating yaws by 2030, highly sensitive and specific diagnostic tools are needed. A multiplex Treponema pallidum-Haemophilus ducreyi loop-mediated isothermal amplification (TPHD-LAMP) test holds promise as a near-patient diagnostic tool for yaws and H ducreyi. We conducted a prospective evaluation in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and the Republic of the Congo to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the TPHD-LAMP test, as well as to assess its acceptability, feasibility, and cost.

Factors affecting immunogenicity of BCG in infants, a study in Malawi, The Gambia and the UK.

Background: BCG immunogenicity in infants differs between populations and these differences have been attributed to various factors. In this study, the influence of geographical location, season of birth, timing of vaccination, micronutrient status (zinc) and inflammatory status (C-reactive protein, CRP) were assessed.

Methods: Immunogenicity was assessed by cytokine signature in culture supernatants from diluted whole blood samples stimulated with M.

Soluble ecto-5'-nucleotidase (5'-NT), alkaline phosphatase, and adenosine deaminase (ADA1) activities in neonatal blood favor elevated extracellular adenosine.

Extracellular adenosine, a key regulator of physiology and immune cell function that is found at elevated levels in neonatal blood, is generated by phosphohydrolysis of adenine nucleotides released from cells and catabolized by deamination to inosine. Generation of adenosine monophosphate (AMP) in blood is driven by cell-associated enzymes, whereas conversion of AMP to adenosine is largely mediated by soluble enzymes. The identities of the enzymes responsible for these activities in whole blood of neonates have been defined in this study and contrasted to adult blood.

Optimisation of a functional mycobacterial growth-inhibition assay to improve its suitability for infant TB vaccine studies.

The development of vaccines against tuberculosis continues to be hindered by the lack of correlates of protection. Immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection relies predominantly on cell mediated response, which is routinely measured using a read-out of host cytokine profiles.

Vitamin D in early childhood and the effect on immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A potential role for vitamin D as a therapeutic immunomodulator in tuberculosis (TB) has been recognised for over 150 years, but has only recently returned to the centre of the research arena due to the increasing awareness of the global vitamin D deficiency epidemic. As early as birth a child is often deficient in vitamin D, which may not only affect their bone metabolism but also modulate their immune function, contributing to the increased susceptibility to many infections seen early in life. Recent studies have begun to explain the mechanisms by which vitamin D affects immunity.