Global burden of tuberculous meningitis in children aged 0-14 years in 2019: a mathematical modelling study.

Background: Tuberculous meningitis is fatal if untreated and can lead to lifelong neurological sequelae. However, to our knowledge, there are no data on the number of children affected by this disease. We aimed to estimate the global disease burden and attributable mortality of childhood tuberculous meningitis by WHO regions, age groups, treatment status, and HIV status in 2019.

Plasma proteomics for novel biomarker discovery in childhood tuberculosis.

Failure to rapidly diagnose tuberculosis disease (TB) and initiate treatment is a driving factor of TB as a leading cause of death in children. Current TB diagnostic assays have poor performance in children, and identifying novel non-sputum-based TB biomarkers to improve pediatric TB diagnosis is a global priority. We sought to develop a plasma biosignature for TB by probing the plasma proteome of 511 children stratified by TB diagnostic classification and HIV status from sites in four low- and middle-income countries, using high-throughput data-independent acquisition mass-spectrometry (DIA-PASEF-MS).

Qualitative Evaluation of mHealth Implementation for Infectious Disease Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Narrative Review.

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have the potential to improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by aiding health workers to strengthen service delivery, as well as by helping patients and communities manage and prevent diseases. It is crucial to understand how best to implement mHealth within already burdened health services to maximally improve health outcomes and sustain the intervention in LMICs.

Objective: We aimed to identify key barriers to and facilitators of the implementation of mHealth interventions for infectious diseases in LMICs, drawing on a health systems analysis framework.

Trends in Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders Among Children and Adolescents in the US, 2016-2021.

Introduction: Childhood mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders (MBDD) are common and are associated with poor health and well-being. Monitoring the prevalence of MBDDs among children and factors that may influence health outcomes is important to understanding risk and promoting population health.

Method: We examined trends in parent-reported lifetime MBDDs among children and associated health promotion and risk indicators from 2016 through 2021 by using data from the National Survey of Children's Health.

Surgery for bronchiectasis in children living with HIV: A case series from a low- to middle-income country.

Background: Bronchiectasis (BE) in children living with HIV (CLWH) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in tuberculosis (TB)-endemic low- and middle-income countries. Treatment modalities for BE in CLWH currently focus mainly on prevention of infections and management of symptoms, while surgical management is indicated for a select group. In contrast, surgical management in non-cystic fibrosis BE is well established.

Pregnancy Outcomes and All-Cause Mortality After Pregnancy Among US-Born Women With Perinatally Acquired HIV.

Background: Maternal and pregnancy outcomes among women with perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV) versus women with HIV acquired through other routes (NPHIV) are not fully understood.

Setting: US-born women during 2005-2015 in New York City.

Methods: We used data from the New York City HIV surveillance registry, Expanded Perinatal Surveillance database, and Vital Statistics, to compare pregnancy and all-cause mortality outcomes among women with PHIV versus NPHIV delivering infants during 2005-2015.

Contribution of malnutrition to infant and child deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Introduction: Malnutrition contributes to 45% of all childhood deaths globally, but these modelled estimates lack direct measurements in countries with high malnutrition and under-5 mortality rates. We investigated malnutrition's role in infant and child deaths in the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network.

Methods: We analysed CHAMPS data from seven sites (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and South Africa) collected between 2016 and 2023.

Psychosocial factors account for a proportion of the difference in cognitive performance between persons with and without HIV.

Objective: To investigate whether psychosocial factors account for a proportion of the difference in cognitive performance between persons with and without HIV.

Design: Cross-sectional study of 273 participants (178 persons with HIV) from a low income area of Cape Town, South Africa.

Methods: Participants completed comprehensive cognitive testing (7 domains) and 12 psychosocial measures (5 current: income, occupation, assets, accommodation, depressive symptoms, 7 from childhood: assets, quality of education, exposure to childhood trauma and violence, primary caregiver occupation and highest level of education), as well as demographic measures standard in cognition studies (age, sex, years of education).

Infectivity and Immunogenicity of Live-Attenuated Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Exposed Uninfected Children.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute lower respiratory illness among young children. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-exposed, uninfected (HEU) children experience a higher burden of RSV disease and have immune abnormalities that may influence their responses to live-attenuated RSV vaccines.

Methods: In a pooled analysis of clinical trials of 7 live-attenuated, intranasal RSV vaccines conducted by the IMPAACT Network among children 6 to <25 months of age with serum RSV-neutralizing titers of <1:40, the infectivity and immunogenicity of these vaccines were compared among HEU and HIV-unexposed, uninfected (HUU) children.

Systemic biological mechanisms underpin poor post-discharge growth among severely wasted children with HIV.

In sub-Saharan Africa, children with severe malnutrition (SM) and HIV have substantially worse outcomes than children with SM alone, facing higher mortality risk and impaired nutritional recovery post-hospitalisation. Biological mechanisms underpinning this risk remain incompletely understood. This case-control study nested within the CHAIN cohort in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, and Burkina Faso examined effect of HIV on six months post-discharge growth among children with SM and those at risk of malnutrition, assessed proteomic signatures associated with HIV in these children, and investigated how these systemic processes impact post-discharge growth in children with SM.

Childhood trauma, substance use and depressive symptoms in people with HIV during COVID-19.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), substance use, depressive symptoms, and HIV outcomes in people living with HIV (PLWHIV) have not been comprehensively investigated within a single study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and association of ACEs, substance use, depressive symptoms and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) outcomes in PLWHIV accessing HIV care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Setting: District hospital HIV clinic in South Africa.

Adverse childhood experiences and associations with mental health, substance use, and violence perpetration among young adults in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have debilitating effects on child well-being, with consequences persisting into adulthood. Most ACE studies have been conducted in high-income countries and show a graded relationship between multiple ACE exposures and adverse health outcomes. Less is known about the types and burden of ACEs in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Qualitative study exploring parenting among mothers and female caregivers living with the IPV, mental health and HIV syndemic in South Africa.

Background: In South Africa, women disproportionately bear the burden of intimate partner violence (IPV), HIV or AIDS, and poor mental health.

Objective: This study investigated parenting practices among women affected by IPV, HIV and poor mental health syndemics.

Study Setting: The study was conducted in two sites, a peri-urban area and a rural area in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Gallbladder Burkitt's Lymphoma: A Literature Review Including a Case Report in a Child Living with HIV.

Malignant lymphoma is an unusual form of gallbladder neoplasm. Almost all these tumors are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas or mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue-type lymphomas. Herein, we present a literature review of gallbladder Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cases that includes also an unpublished case in an HIV-infected child, observed by our center.

A gut check: understanding the interplay of the gastrointestinal microbiome and the developing immune system towards the goal of pediatric HIV remission.

Despite the efficacy of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in reducing the global incidence of vertical HIV transmissions, more than 120,000 children are still infected with the virus each year. Since ART cannot clear the HIV reservoir that is established soon after infection, children living with HIV (CLWH) are forced to rely on therapy for their lives and suffer from long-term drug-related complications. Pediatric HIV infection, like adult infection, is associated with gut microbial dysbiosis, loss of gut epithelial integrity, bacterial translocation, CD4 + T cell depletion, systemic immune activation, and viral reservoir establishment.

Non-sputum-based samples and biomarkers for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: the hope to improve childhood and HIV-associated tuberculosis diagnosis.

In 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) published target product profiles (TPP) for development of novel tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics. One of the key highlights is the need for point-of-care non-sputum-based tests capable of detecting all forms of TB through identification of characteristic biomarkers or biosignatures. Compared to the limitations associated with sputum-based TB tests, non-sputum samples are easy to collect, non-invasive, with potential to improve TB diagnosis among children and among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV).

Challenges and opportunities for hepatitis B virus screening in people attending PrEP services: a retrospective prevalence study.

Objectives: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with emtricitabine/tenofovir to prevent HIV in individuals with hepatitis B virus (HBV) raises concerns about HBV reactivation when stopping event-driven PrEP or redundancy in HBV treatment for continuous PrEP (since tenofovir alone would be enough for HBV). Real-world data from PrEP services could provide useful epidemiological information on HBV prevalence in PrEP attendees in low-prevalence countries.

Methods: A retrospective analysis on PrEP attendees of three services in northern Italy were conducted to assess HBV prevalence among PrEP attendees and the need for primary cycle/booster dose HBV vaccination despite previous vaccination during childhood (at birth or 12 years).

Varicella pneumonia in an immunocompetent adult patient: Case report and review of the literature.

Varicella is a childhood disease characterized by its self-limiting and benign nature. However, it can also affect the adult population due to risk factors, leading to infection with numerous complications involving the central nervous system, kidneys, respiratory system, and skin. Varicella pneumonia, one of the most feared complications in adults, occurs in approximately 1 out of 400 patients with the disease.