Pediatric invasive pneumococcal disease in Bolívar, Colombia: a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) remains a pediatric health challenge despite national vaccination efforts in Colombia. We described the socio-demographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of children (<18 years of age) with IPD at a pediatric reference center in Bolívar, Colombia.

Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study of all pediatric patients (under 18 years of age) diagnosed with IPD between 2016 and 2023.

The Diverse Spectrum of Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients: Narrative Review of Cases and Case Series.

Introduction: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a potentially life-threatening disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis infection. We reviewed case reports of IMD from newborns, infants, children, and adolescents, and described the real-life clinical presentations, diagnoses, treatment paradigms, and clinical outcomes.

Methods: PubMed and Embase were searched for IMD case reports on patients aged ≤ 19 years published from January 2011 to March 2023 (search terms "Neisseria meningitidis" or "invasive meningococcal disease", and "infant", "children", "paediatric", pediatric", or "adolescent").

Vaccines platforms and COVID-19: what you need to know.

Background: The novel SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is the third zoonotic coronavirus since the beginning of the 21 first century, and it has taken more than 6 million human lives because of the lack of immunity causing global economic losses. Consequently, developing a vaccine against the virus represents the fastest way to finish the threat and regain some "normality."

Objective: Here, we provide information about the main features of the most important vaccine platforms, some of them already approved, to clear common doubts fostered by widespread misinformation and to reassure the public of the safety of the vaccination process and the different alternatives presented.

Identification of the nasopharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis by 16S rRNA Gene sequencing in asymptomatic adolescents and young adults in Cartagena, Colombia (2019-2020).

The bacterium Neisseria meningitidis, a strictly human pathogen, can cause meningitis, meningococcemia, sepsis, and death; repeatedly it scause outbreaks around the world. The frequency of asymptomatic carriage is often high in adolescents and young adults, increasing the invasive meningococcal disease risk and likelihood of transmission. However, detailed analyses of meningococcal carriage in this population in Colombia, particularly in coastal areas, are lacking.

Costs of acute otitis media in children in a city of the Colombian Caribbean coast.

Introduction: Acute otitis media is the main cause of consultation, antibiotic use, and ambulatory surgery in developed countries; besides, it is associated with an important economic burden. However, non-medical indirect costs of acute otitis media, which are relevant in this pathology, have been underestimated.

Objective: To estimate the costs of acute otitis media in pediatric patients in Cartagena, Colombia.

[Zika virus infection in pregnancy, fetal and neonatal impact].

Zika virus (ZV) is an arbovirus transmitted by Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus. The neurotropic profile of this virus is known since 1952.

Effect of rotavirus vaccine on childhood diarrhea mortality in five Latin American countries.

Background: The aim of this study was to estimate the association between rotavirus vaccine (RV) introduction and reduction of all-cause diarrhea death rates among children in five Latin American countries that introduced RV in 2006.

Methods: Diarrhea mortality data was gathered from 2002 until 2009 from the Pan American Health Organization Mortality Database for five "vaccine adopter" countries (Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama) that introduced RV in 2006 and four "control" countries (Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and Paraguay) that did not introduce RV by 2009. Time trend analyses were carried out, and effects and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated.

Estimating costs associated with a community outbreak of meningococcal disease in a colombian Caribbean city.

Meningococcal disease is a serious and potentially life-threatening infection that is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis), and it can cause meningitis, meningococcaemia outbreaks and epidemics. The disease is fatal in 9-12% of cases and with a death rate of up to 40% among patients with meningococcaemia.

Effectiveness of the monovalent rotavirus vaccine in Colombia: a case-control study.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the monovalent rotavirus vaccine (RV1) to prevent rotavirus diarrhea admissions to emergency departments (ED) in Colombia.

Methods: A multicenter case-control study was carried out in six Colombian cities from 2011 to January, 2013. Cases were laboratory confirmed rotavirus diarrhea patients admitted to ED of selected health centers.