Gender and Intersecting Barriers and Facilitators to Access the HIV Cascade of Care in Manitoba, Canada, Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Marginalized groups in Manitoba, Canada, especially females and people who inject drugs, are overrepresented in new HIV diagnoses and disproportionately affected by HIV and structural disadvantages. Informed by syndemic theory, our aim was to understand people living with HIV's (PLHIV) gendered and intersecting barriers and facilitators across the cascade of HIV care before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was co-designed and co-led alongside people with lived experience and a research advisory committee.

The Adequacy of Current Legionnaires' Disease Diagnostic Practices in Capturing the Epidemiology of Clinically Relevant : A Scoping Review.

is an underdiagnosed and underreported etiology of pneumonia. serogroup 1 (LpSG1) is thought to be the most common pathogenic subgroup. This assumption is based on the frequent use of a urinary antigen test (UAT), only capable of diagnosing LpSG1.

Mass incarceration as a driver of the tuberculosis epidemic in Latin America and projected effects of policy alternatives: a mathematical modelling study.

Background: Tuberculosis incidence is increasing in Latin America, where the incarcerated population has nearly quadrupled since 1990. We aimed to quantify the impact of historical and future incarceration policies on the tuberculosis epidemic, accounting for effects in and beyond prisons.

Methods: In this modelling study, we calibrated dynamic compartmental transmission models to historical and contemporary data from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru, which comprise approximately 80% of the region's incarcerated population and tuberculosis burden.

Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections by sex, methamphetamine use, and houselessness before, at, and after HIV diagnosis in Manitoba, Canada.

Objectives: Describe the proportion of people newly living with HIV with sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs) before, at, and after HIV diagnosis in Manitoba, Canada.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study reviewed clinical charts of all 404 people ≥18 years old newly diagnosed with HIV in Manitoba, Canada between 2018 and 2021. Syphilis, hepatitis C and B, gonorrhea, and chlamydia infections before, at, and after HIV diagnosis were recorded and analyzed by sex at birth, injection drug use status, use of methamphetamines, and housing status.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices about air pollution and its health effects in 6th to 11th-grade students in Colombia: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Globally, air pollution is the leading environmental cause of disease and premature death. Raising awareness through environmental education and adequate communication on air quality could reduce the adverse effects. We aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding air pollution and health and determine the factors associated with these KAP in children and adolescents.

Sex differences in houselessness, injection drug use, and mental health conditions among people newly diagnosed with HIV in Manitoba, Canada from 2018 to 2021: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Manitoba saw the highest number of new HIV diagnoses in the province's history in 2021 and is the only Canadian province not meeting any of the previous UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets. Our goal was to describe sex differences and syndemic conditions within an incident HIV cohort in Manitoba, and the HIV treatment initiation and undetectable viral load outcomes.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of all people 18 years and older newly diagnosed with HIV in Manitoba, Canada between January 1st, 2018 and December 31st, 2021.

Early-life external exposome in children 2-5 years old in Colombia.

Exposome studies are advancing in high-income countries to understand how multiple environmental exposures impact health. However, there is a significant research gap in low- and middle-income and tropical countries. We aimed to describe the spatiotemporal variation of the external exposome, its correlation structure between and within exposure groups, and its dimensionality.

Does the Recovery of Respiratory Viruses Impact Pulmonary Function at Baseline and 1-, 6-, and 12-Month Follow-Up in People Living with HIV and Pneumonia?

The frequency of respiratory viruses in people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their impact on lung function remain unclear. We aimed to determine the frequency of respiratory viruses in bronchoalveolar lavage and induced sputum samples in PLHIV and correlate their presence with lung function. A prospective cohort of adults hospitalized in Medellín between September 2016 and December 2018 included three groups: group 1 = people diagnosed with HIV and a diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), group 2 = HIV, and group 3 = CAP.

Inflammatory Patterns Associated with in HIV and Pneumonia Coinfections.

infections have a propensity for occurring in HIV-infected individuals, with immunosuppressed individuals tending to present with more severe disease. However, understanding regarding the host response in immune compromised individuals is lacking. This study investigated the inflammatory profiles associated with infection in patients hospitalized with HIV and pneumonia in Medellín, Colombia from February 2007 to April 2014, and correlated these profiles with clinical outcomes.

Markers of Inflammation, Tissue Damage, and Fibrosis in Individuals Diagnosed with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Pneumonia: A Cohort Study.

Previous studies have noted that persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) experience persistent lung dysfunction after an episode of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that inflammation during pneumonia triggers increased tissue damage and accelerated pulmonary fibrosis, resulting in a gradual loss of lung function. We carried out a prospective cohort study of people diagnosed with CAP and/or HIV between 2016 and 2018 in three clinical institutions in Medellín, Colombia.

Social and structural barriers and facilitators to HIV healthcare and harm reduction services for people experiencing syndemics in Manitoba: study protocol.

Introduction: In Manitoba, Canada, there has been an increase in the number of people newly diagnosed with HIV and those not returning for regular HIV care. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increased sex and gender disparities in disease risk and mortalities, decreased harm reduction services and reduced access to healthcare. These health crises intersect with increased drug use and drug poisoning deaths, houselessness and other structural and social factors most acutely among historically underserved groups.

Cytokine/chemokine profiles in people with recent infection by .

Introduction: The risk of progression to tuberculosis disease is highest within the first year after infection (TBI). We hypothesize that people with newly acquired TBI have a unique cytokine/chemokine profile that could be used as a potential biomarker.

Methods: We evaluated socio-demographic variables and 18 cytokines/chemokines in plasma samples from a cohort of people deprived of liberty (PDL) in two Colombian prisons: 47 people diagnosed with pulmonary TB, 24 with new TBI, and 47 non-infected individuals.

Tuberculosis in Prisons: Importance of Considering the Clustering in the Analysis of Cross-Sectional Studies.

The level of clustering and the adjustment by cluster-robust standard errors have yet to be widely considered and reported in cross-sectional studies of tuberculosis (TB) in prisons. In two cross-sectional studies of people deprived of liberty (PDL) in Medellin, we evaluated the impact of adjustment versus failure to adjust by clustering on prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). We used log-binomial regression, Poisson regression, generalized estimating equations (GEE), and mixed-effects regression models.

Introduction of short course treatment for latent tuberculosis infection at a primary care facility for refugees in Winnipeg, Canada: A mixed methods evaluation.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) End TB strategy document 'Toward tuberculosis elimination: an action framework for low incidence countries'-like Canada- identifies screening and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) for groups at increased risk for TB disease as a priority, including newcomers from endemic countries. In 2015, the clients-centered model offered at a primary care facility for refugees, BridgeCare Clinic, Winnipeg, Canada was evaluated. The model included LTBI screening, assessment, and treatment, and originally offered 9-months of isoniazid as treatment.

Characterization of the external exposome and its contribution to the clinical respiratory and early biological effects in children: The PROMESA cohort study protocol.

Background: Air pollution contains a mixture of different pollutants from multiple sources. However, the interaction of these pollutants with other environmental exposures, as well as their harmful effects on children under five in tropical countries, is not well known.

Objective: This study aims to characterize the external exposome (ambient and indoor exposures) and its contribution to clinical respiratory and early biological effects in children.

Tick-Borne-Agents Detection in Patients with Acute Febrile Syndrome and Ticks from Magdalena Medio, Colombia.

Acute febrile illness (AFI) is a morbid condition with a sudden onset of fever with at least seven days of evolution, where no signs or symptoms related to an apparent infection have been identified. In Latin America, a high proportion of disease is typically due to malaria and arboviruses. However, among the infectious etiologies, tick-borne diseases (TBDs) should also be considered, especially in areas where people come into direct contact with these arthropods.

Gene expression profiling identifies candidate biomarkers for new latent tuberculosis infections. A cohort study.

Objective: To determine the gene expression profile in individuals with new latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), and to compare them with people with active tuberculosis (TB) and those exposed to TB but not infected.

Design: A prospective cohort study. Recruitment and follow-up were conducted between September 2016 to December 2018.

Increased susceptibility to pneumonia due to tumour necrosis factor inhibition and prospective immune system rescue immunotherapy.

Immunomodulators such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are used to treat autoimmune conditions by reducing the magnitude of the innate immune response. Dampened innate responses pose an increased risk of new infections by opportunistic pathogens and reactivation of pre-existing latent infections. The alteration in immune response predisposes to increased severity of infections.

Effect of flight connectivity on the introduction and evolution of the COVID-19 outbreak in Canadian provinces and territories.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health services and governments in Canada and around the world. Our research aims to evaluate the effect of domestic and international air travel patterns on the COVID-19 pandemic in Canadian provinces and territories.

Methods: Air travel data were obtained through licensed access to the 'BlueDot Intelligence Platform', BlueDot Inc.

Delayed HIV treatment, barriers in access to care and mortality in tuberculosis/HIV co-infected patients in Cali, Colombia.

Objective: To determine factors associated with mortality in tuberculosis/HIV co-infected patients in Cali, Colombia.

Methods: This retrospective cohort design included tuberculosis/HIV co-infected persons. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression were used to estimate survival and risk factors associated with mortality.

Etiology and the challenge of diagnostic testing of community-acquired pneumonia in children and adolescents.

Background: Pneumonia is the leading cause of mortality in pediatric population. The etiology of pneumonia in this population is variable and changes according to age and disease severity and where the study is conducted. Our aim was to determine the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children aged 1 month to 17 years admitted to 13 Colombian hospitals.