Migrating Children: The Need for Comprehensive Integrated Health Prevention Measures
AbstractPurpose of the ReviewMillions of children have migrated across borders with more than half of these children fleeing violence. The purpose of this review is to highlight the health issues that these children face. While the amount of sheer trauma that these children experience is astounding, there are policies and clinical models that could be developed and implemented to improve the health and well-being of these children.Recent FindingsCommunity-based clinical models that provide culturally sensitive health care with links to mental health, legal services, and language services are one way to mitigate the effects...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - April 16, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
A Review on Prevention Interventions to Decrease Diarrheal Diseases ’ Burden in Children
AbstractPurpose of ReviewProvide an overview about childhood diarrhea burden and prevention interventions with demonstrated impact in reducing disease risk.Recent FindingsDiarrhea incidence and mortality in children is declining around the world. A few pathogens cause most of the burden (rotavirus, norovirus,Shigella, enterotoxigenicE. coli,Campylobacter, andCryptosporidium). Available rotavirus vaccines have demonstrated to significantly decrease diarrhea hospital admissions and mortality. WASH interventions, especially point of use water safety improvements and handwashing, are effective in decreasing diarrhea burden. Ea...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - March 22, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Prevention Strategies to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance in Children in Resource-Limited Settings
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review summarizes major antimicrobial-resistant pathogens emerging globally, including mechanisms of resistance and factors leading to acquisition of drug resistance in children. It further seeks to answer what steps should be taken in resource-limited settings to curb spread of these resistant pathogens.Recent FindingsPrevalence of drug resistance bacteria is increasing in children. Resistance is primarily driven by antibiotic overuse and misuse, amplified in developing countries by poor regulation and limited treatment options. The World Health Organization has outlined a comprehensive appro...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - March 17, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Tuberculosis Prevention: an Under Prioritized yet Critical Intervention to Reduce Child Tuberculosis Morbidity and Mortality
AbstractPurpose of ReviewIdentification of vulnerable household tuberculosis (TB) contacts, particularly children under 5 years of age, has been recommended for over 10 years by the World Health Organization (WHO), but uptake has been poor in TB high-burden settings where this intervention is most needed. In part due to this failure of TB contact management, the burden of TB disease in children under 5 years of age is grossly underestimated leading to increased morbidity and mortality. In light of these unfortunate realities, it is critical to identify children exposed to TB and provide preventive treatment before they...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - March 6, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Pediatric Global Health Issue —Editorial
AbstractAlthough significant strides have been made to improve child survival, child mortality continues to be a poignant marker of global health disparity, with most under-five deaths concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. A staggering number of children continue to die each day from mostly preventable conditions, many of which are infectious in nature, and modifiable risk factors. Prevention will continue to be the cornerstone of child survival initiatives. This issue of the Current Tropical Medicine Report on pediatric global health focuses on the prevention of leading diseases and conditions that contrib...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - March 5, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Update on Prevention Efforts for Pneumonia Attributed Deaths in Children Under 5 Years of Age
AbstractPurpose of ReviewTo update the knowledge base and effectiveness of clinical interventions to prevent death from pneumonia.Recent FindingsIntegrated management, early identification of danger signs, appropriate care at the appropriate time, and the use of vaccines against respiratory diseases have proven to reduce mortality drastically.SummaryMost deaths in children less than 5 years of age are from pneumonia in resource-limited environments. Effective strategies such as early detection of signs of danger, access to appropriate care in a timely manner, appropriate antibiotics administered early on, the use of Kangar...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - February 27, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Prevention Efforts for Malaria
This article aims to review the prevention and control strategies for malaria, to assess their impact towards reducing the disease burden and to highlight the best practices observed.Recent FindingsUse of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying has resulted a decline in the incidence and prevalence of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. Other strategies such as larval source management have been shown to reduce mosquito density but require further evaluation. New methods under development such as house improvement have demonstrated to minimize disease burden but require further evidence on efficacy. D...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - February 8, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Prevention and Treatment of Pediatric HIV Infection
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe goal of this paper is to review the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) research that informed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for PMTCT and describe the impact of worldwide scale-up of PMTCT programs and antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage. The impact of these interventions on new pediatric infections and infected children ’s morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa are reviewed.Recent FindingsThe IMPAACT PROMISE study demonstrated that triple therapy consisting of tenofovir (TDF), lamivudine (3TC), and lopinavir/ritonavir (LPVr) or zidovudine (AZT), 3TC,...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - February 7, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Angiostrongyliasis or Rat Lungworm Disease: a Perspective From Hawai'i
AbstractPurpose of ReviewAngiostrongyliasis is contracted by the ingestion of or exposure to the zoonotic parasiteAngiostrongylus cantonensis, which requires two hosts to complete its life cycle. Rats are known to be the definitive hosts and mollusks are intermediate hosts. It is the intermediate host, or infected paratenic hosts that can pass the infective stage of the disease to humans and other susceptible animals. The purpose of this review is to examine the growing threat ofA. cantonensis and its consequences, with particular emphasis on Hawai'i.Recent FindingsThe increase in disease cases appears to correlate with th...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - February 5, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Animal Models for Melioidosis
AbstractPurpose of ReviewDevelopment, testing, and evaluation of medical countermeasures for melioidosis are hampered by a lack of well-characterized and standardized animal models. Recent work has both refined existing animal models for this disease and identified new ones.Recent FindingsHead-to-head comparisons of mouse strains with varying susceptibility to the organism and using different routes of infection highlighted and confirmed important similarities and differences between murine models and exposure routes. Diabetic mouse models provided insight into the disease process in humans having this major risk factor. L...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - November 8, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Cystic Echinococcosis in the Mediterranean
AbstractPurpose of ReviewCystic echinococcosis (CE), a zoonotic disease caused byEchinococcus granulosus sensu lato, is endemic in the Mediterranean, where pastoral activity is widespread, as the life cycle of this helminth involves sheep, as well as other livestock, as intermediate hosts. We review recent studies on CE from Mediterranean countries.Recent FindingsReliable data on CE, from human and animal epidemiology to treatment, remain fragmented and insufficient to gauge the magnitude of the problem beyond local communities. The lack of major advances leaves clinicians without an evidence base on which to make sound cl...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - November 6, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Tropical Parasitic Infections in Individuals Infected With HIV
AbstractPurpose of ReviewNeglected tropical diseases share both geographic and socio-behavioral epidemiological risk factors with HIV infection. In this literature review, we describe interactions between parasitic diseases and HIV infection, with a focus on the impact of parasitic infections on HIV infection risk and disease progression, and the impact of HIV infection on clinical characteristics of tropical parasitic infections. We limit our review to tropical parasitic infections of the greatest public health burden, and exclude discussion of classic HIV-associated opportunistic infections that have been well reviewed e...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - October 16, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Schistosomiasis in International Refugees and Migrant Populations
AbstractPurpose of ReviewImportation of schistosomiasis by migrant populations is increasingly being recognized as a global health issue in non-endemic countries, with consequences for the infected individuals and for public health. The purpose of this review is to assess the extent of the problem and the possible ways to mitigate its impacts.Recent FindingsPublished studies on schistosomiasis in migrants to the main refugee-hosting countries were identified and reviewed. The use of sensitive tests for screening indicated that the prevalence of schistosomiasis among migrants to non-endemic countries was higher than previou...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - September 30, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Quorum Sensing in Burkholderia pseudomallei and Other Burkholderia species
AbstractPurpose of ReviewBurkholderia pseudomallei andB.mallei are the etiological agents of severe diseases melioidosis and glanders, respectively, and are recalcitrant to many antibiotics. This review highlights recent findings on the quorum sensing (QS) systems of these pathogens and a closely related speciesB.thailandensis.Recent FindingsQuorum-sensing mechanisms have garnered considerable interest due to their ability to regulate bacterial physiology and metabolism. Research intoBurkholderia spp. has led to significant findings that delineate the important role of these redundant, yet distinct, QS pathways in bacteria...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - September 15, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
The Role of Climate in the Epidemiology of Melioidosis
AbstractPurpose of ReviewMelioidosis epidemiology is susceptible to climate change through direct and indirect effects on human encounter with the causative agent,Burkholderia pseudomallei. This review describes the current depth of knowledge and recent advances in the understanding of this relationship and applies it to observations of melioidosis in Western Australia.Recent FindingsHigh maximum rainfall and dense cloud cover have been shown to predict environmental presence ofB. pseudomallei and cases of melioidosis, probably through correspondingly high moisture levels inB. pseudomallei-receptive soils. Increased melioi...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - August 19, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
