Publications by authors named "Toyah Els"
Each year, 2.4 million children die within their first month of life. Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) established in 7 countries aims to generate accurate data on why such deaths occur and inform prevention strategies.
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- The study compares the histopathological and microbiological features of deceased patients with respiratory symptoms related to SARS-CoV-2 versus other causes at a South African hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Out of the deceased adult patients, 75 had COVID-19, and 42 had non-COVID-related causes, with lower HIV and MTB infections found in the COVID+ group.
- Key findings showed significant differences in lung histopathology, especially in Type-II pneumocytes' conditions, but no significant correlation was found between HIV or MTB infections and COVID-related deaths.
Background: Lower respiratory tract infections are a leading cause of death in young children, but few studies have collected the specimens needed to define the role of specific causes. The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) platform aims to investigate causes of death in children aged <5 years in high-mortality rate settings, using postmortem minimally invasive tissue sampling and other advanced diagnostic techniques. We examined findings for deaths identified in CHAMPS sites in 7 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia to evaluate the role of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Globally, very few childhood deaths have been attributed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We evaluated clinical, microbiologic and postmortem histopathologic findings in childhood deaths in whom severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified antemortem or postmortem.
Methods: Surveillance of childhood deaths was ongoing during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa from April 14, 2020, to August 31, 2020.