The escalating tuberculosis crisis in central and South American prisons.

In the past decade, tuberculosis incidence has declined in much of the world, but has risen in central and South America. It is not yet clear what is driving this reversal of progress in tuberculosis control. Since 2000, the incarcerated population in central and South America has grown by 206%, the greatest increase in the world.

Increased incarceration rates drive growing tuberculosis burden in prisons and jeopardize overall tuberculosis control in Paraguay.

Incarcerated populations are at high-risk to develop tuberculosis (TB), however their impact on the population-level tuberculosis epidemic has been scarcely studied. We aimed to describe the burden and trends of TB among incarcerated populations over time in Paraguay, its clinical and epidemiological differences and the population attributable fraction. This is an observational, descriptive study including all TB cases notified to the National TB control Program in Paraguay during the period 2009-2018.

Mortality and risk of tuberculosis among people living with HIV in whom TB was initially ruled out.

Tuberculosis (TB) misdiagnosis remains a public health concern, especially among people living with HIV (PLHIV), given the high mortality associated with missed TB diagnoses. The main objective of this study was to describe the all-cause mortality, TB incidence rates and their associated risk factors in a cohort of PLHIV with presumptive TB in whom TB was initially ruled out. We retrospectively followed a cohort of PLHIV with presumptive TB over a 2 year-period in a rural district in Southern Mozambique.

[Burden of disease attributable to tobacco use in Paraguay, and potential health and financial impact of increasing prices through taxing].

Objectives: To consider the burden of disease associated to tobacco consumption in Paraguay and to evaluate the potential economic and health effect of price increase through taxes.

Materials And Methods: A Monte Carlo simulation model was designed incorporating natural history, costs, and quality of life of diseases associated to smoking for 2015. Also, several scenarios were considered for the impact of tax raises on the prevalence of smoking and fiscal collection.

How do we measure adherence to anti-tuberculosis treatment?

Completion of anti-tuberculosis (TB) treatment is of paramount importance for TB patients, as well as for the global efforts of TB control. However, there is neither a gold-standard measure to monitor adherence to TB treatment nor a widely used definition for different levels of adherence. Areas covered: in this review we aim to describe the different methods used to measure patients' adherence to anti-TB treatment, identifying their main strengths and limitations, with a focus on low resource settings.

Adherence to Childhood Tuberculosis Treatment in Mozambique.

Background: There is limited literature regarding adherence rates for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in children. We aimed to describe TB treatment outcomes and adherence as well as to evaluate associated factors to poor adherence in Mozambican children.

Methods: This is a sub-study of a community TB incidence study among children <3 years of age.

Poor tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Southern Mozambique (2011-2012).

Background: In Mozambique, there is limited data regarding the monitoring of Tuberculosis (TB) treatment results and determinants of adverse outcomes under routine surveillance conditions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate treatment outcomes among TB patients, analyze factors associated with a fatal outcome and determine the proportion of deaths attributable to TB in the district of Manhiça, Southern Mozambique.

Methods: This is a retrospective observational study based on TB patients diagnosed in the period 2011-2012.

Evaluating influenza vaccination campaigns beyond coverage: a before-after study among health care workers.

Background: Influenza vaccination campaigns based on educational interventions do not seem to increase coverage in the hospital setting, and their impact on educational goals is not usually evaluated. This study describes the campaign implemented in a university hospital and assesses the achievement of the strategic objectives, which were to increase health care workers (HCW) perceptions of the risk of influenza and of their role as promoters of influenza vaccination among their colleagues and to increase knowledge about influenza.

Methods: A before-after study was conducted using a self-administered survey in a randomized sample of HCW during the 2010-2011 influenza vaccination campaign.

Persistence of yellow fever vaccine RNA in urine.

To evaluate possible persistence of 17D yellow fever vaccine, we tested urine samples from 44 healthy recipients of yellow fever vaccine at varying times up to one year after vaccination. Urine samples from two vaccine recipients had detectable yellow fever virus RNA. The time since vaccination was reported as 21 days for one sample and 198 days for the other sample.