Pedro L Alonso

..Multiple cytokines and chemokines were quantified in plasma by luminex, and antigen-specific cytokine production in whole blood was determined by intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometry, at ages 5, 9, 12 and 24 months...

..This study evaluated the effect of IPTi on child survival in the context of a five-district implementation project in southern Tanzania. [Trial registration: clinical trials.gov NCT00152204]...

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..This paper reports on the reception of IPTi during the first implementation study of IPTi in southern Tanzania...

..Few studies have analysed the determinants of demand for bed nets for malaria prevention at the household level, and in particular, how demand for nets compares with demand for other mosquito prevention methods...

..In many settings of stable malaria transmission, the presence of asymptomatic malaria parasite carriers is common and the definition of clinical malaria remains uncertain...

..This study aims to characterize the malaria transmission intensities and to estimate the disease burden that may help guide control programme...

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..As a result, test specificity may vary between age groups with different prevalence of P. falciparum infection...

..With a view to developing health systems strategies to improve reach to high-risk groups, we present information on health and survival from household and health facility perspectives in five districts of southern Tanzania...

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..Although efficacy information is available for many interventions, there is a dearth of data on the resources required for scaling up of health interventions...

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..RTS,S/AS02A is a pre-erythrocytic vaccine candidate based on Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite surface antigen. We aimed to assess vaccine efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety in young African children...

..An important remaining issue is the durability of protection against clinical disease in these children...

..Recent interest by international funding agencies has provided new inputs into initiatives and programs to fight malaria, which, under normal welfare and adequate social development conditions, is a curable disease...

..Control of malaria in pregnancy remains a public health challenge. Improvements in its correct diagnosis and the adequacy of protocols to evaluate anti-malarial drug efficacy in pregnancy, are essential to achieve this goal...

..Understanding the reasons for the discrepant results will help to elucidate the action mechanism of this intervention, which is essential for rational policy formulation...

..However, studies reporting the effect of IPTp on malaria-specific immunity are scarce and are based on findings in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative primigravidae...

..There is some consensus that malaria in pregnancy may negatively affect infant's mortality and malaria morbidity, but there is less evidence concerning the factors involved...

..We aimed to determine the impact of IPTp and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on molecular markers of SP resistance and the clinical relevance of resistant infections...

..Deeper understanding of the acquisition of antibodies against vaccine target antigens in early infancy is crucial for the rational development and deployment of malaria control tools in this vulnerable population...

..We used chemoprophylaxis to selectively control exposure to P. falciparum during different periods in infancy and explore the effect of age in the build-up of NAI, measured as risk of clinical malaria...

..Minimum community based-incidence rates (MCBIRs) complement hospital data, describing the malaria burden in the community...

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..Clinical diagnostic errors may play a significant role in this problem and might also have major implications for the evaluation of current estimations of causes of maternal death...

..Results of this study show that parity and placental infection can modulate immune responses during pregnancy against malaria parasites...

..Current recommendations to prevent malaria in African pregnant women rely on insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp). However, there is no information on the safety and efficacy of their combined use...

..Malaria in pregnancy may affect neonatal survival, though no strong evidence exists to support this association...

..Immunological and physiological alterations associated with pregnancy that persist after delivery may contribute to the susceptibility to P. falciparum during early postpartum period...

..Malaria represents a huge burden for the health care services across Africa. Describing malaria attending health services contributes to quantify the burden and describe the epidemiology and clinical presentation...

..We investigated the role of age in disease incidence and the effects of chemoprophylaxis on clinical immunity development to Plasmodium falciparum during a randomised controlled trial...

..To describe the prevalence, aetiology and prognostic implications of coexisting invasive bacterial disease in children admitted with severe malaria in a rural Mozambican Hospital...

..Severe malaria is difficult to differentiate from other forms of malaria or other infections with similar symptoms. Any parameter associated to malaria-attributable severe disease could help to improve severe malaria diagnosis...

..Altered antibody and cellular immunity against P. falciparum might contribute to increase the risk of developing SM...

..The role of viruses in pediatric pneumonia remains poorly studied in sub-Saharan Africa, where pneumonia-associated mortality is high...

..With the event of upcoming vaccines microbiological and epidemiological information is urgently needed...

..This phenomenon is mediated by a var gene coding for VAR2CSA, which adheres to chondroitin sulphate A. However, the contribution of parasites transcribing other var genes to maternal infections has not been well characterized...

..We performed a new, exploratory analysis to explore differences in the duration of protection among participants to better understand the protection afforded by RTS,S...

..We aimed to assess the safety, immunogenicity, and initial efficacy of the malaria vaccine RTS,S/AS02D in infants in Africa...

..To measure the disease burden and epidemiological characteristics of invasive Haemophilus influenzae in rural Mozambican children...

..To determine the epidemiology and clinical presentation of virus-associated acute respiratory infections (ARI) in Mozambican infants...

..This study aims to estimate the costs to the health system and to the household and the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) arising from infant deaths associated with LBW in Southern Mozambique...

..The present study was undertaken to investigate the clinical, parasitological and haematological status of adults exposed to malaria, and to characterize parasites in these individuals who progressively acquire protective immunity...

..Few studies have been performed in Africa questioning the validity of these values when applied to local African populations...

..The aim of this study was to accurately describe the causes of maternal death in order to contribute to its reduction, in one of the regions of the world with the highest maternal mortality ratios...

..6-22.4). Assessment of the impact of HIV infection on birth outcomes in rural Africa is essential for tailoring public health measures to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV and excess infant mortality...

..Interventions that reduce malaria during pregnancy may translate into a lower risk of postpartum infection...

..This study aim to characterize the clinical presentation of malaria in African pregnant women and to evaluate the adequacy of case management based on clinical complaints...

..Identification of P. falciparum cytoadherence phenotypes that are associated with severe malaria may lead to the development of novel strategies against life-threatening malaria...

..Haematocrit (Hct) (%) is usually defined as three times the value of haemoglobin (Hgb) (g/dl), while the clinical definition of anaemia is related to either an abnormal Hct or Hgb value...

..Discordances were found at low parasitemias (<500 parasites/μL) or negative microscopy. The results suggest that the HRP2-RDTs from ICT diagnostics is a good alternative to microscopy for diagnosing placental malaria at delivery...

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..These results therefore suggest an involvement of this antigen in the pathogenesis of placental malaria infection...

..To evaluate the impact of malaria on maternal death through the analysis of the seasonal variations of crude and malaria-specific maternal mortality rates...

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..7% versus 0.4%, P = 0.004), and from dysentery than nondysenteric diarrhea (24.1% versus 3.5%, P < 0.001). Shigella flexneri 2a, S. sonnei, and S. flexneri 6, were the most prevalent serotypes...

..7% versus 37.3% at 12 months of age). We concluded that iron supplementation between the ages of 2-6 months improves iron status at least up to 12 months of age. Malaria infection does not contribute to iron deficiency...

..Monitoring its effectiveness will allow tracking of progress, evaluation of the adequacy of currently used drugs and will highlight the eventual need for new therapies or alternative interventions...

..YOYO-1(530/585) is a high-throughput tool with great potential if the limitations of negative controls and heterogeneous levels of background signal can be overcome...

..6% vs. SP 29.9%; P = 0.001). The level of R1 resistance to SP may herald a rapid decline in its efficacy as SP drug pressure increases. Coadministration of AQ+SP may delay this...

..Malaria in pregnancy is a public health problem for endemic countries. Economic evaluations of malaria preventive strategies in pregnancy are needed to guide health policies...

..0005). Results showed the need for continuous surveillance of Salmonella spp. serotypes circulating in this area...

..There are increasing reports of severe clinical cases exclusively associated with Plasmodium vivax infections. Notably, this severity has been recently suggested to be associated with chloroquine resistance...

..Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are used in developed countries to differentiate between viral and bacterial causes of pneumonia. Validity of these markers needs to be further explored in Africa...

..Further studies are required to elucidate the role of these antibodies in protection from malaria...

..Addressing these challenges in a comprehensive and timely way will allow us to sustain the gains made so far and make further progress in control and progressive elimination...

..With the objective of improving iron deficiency diagnosis and thus, its management, we evaluated the performance of iron markers in children exposed to high infection pressure...

..A series of comparison experiments were carried out to determine the most appropriate method for our subsequent studies...

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..This method can be useful to investigators working in the malaria field...

..Deployment of a safe and effective malaria vaccine administered in early childhood could become a major public health tool, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa...

..The results reinforce the concept of maternal vaccination for the control of RSV in very young children in whom the risk and severity of infection are the highest...

..This first vaccine against a human parasite is a groundbreaking achievement, but improved malaria vaccines conferring higher protection will be needed if the aspiration of malaria eradication is to be achieved...

..Information on the role of parasites in this context is limited. Bronchiolitis in infancy has been linked with asthmatic symptoms later in childhood, although the underlying cause of this association is unknown...

..This is the first report of the widespread dissemination of a multiresistant clone of S. enterica serotype Typhimurium definitive phage type 104 in Cuba...

..Restricted cross-reactivity and neutralizing capacity of antibodies generated by young children might be expected to induce only moderate protection in subsequent epidemics against genetically distant strains...

..Overall, these results indicate that the RTS,S/AS02A vaccine has a good safety profile and well tolerated when given in three doses to semi-immune children living in malaria-endemic areas...

..This change in the association between multiplicity and risk of clinical malaria may indicate a shift in the host response to P. falciparum...

..Insights into parasite biology, human immunity, and vector behavior will guide efforts to translate parasite and mosquito genome sequences into novel interventions...

..6%) and the case-fatality rate (3.4%) were low. CONCLUSIONS: There is a substantial burden of disease attributable to RSV infection in this rural African setting, with the highest incidence and severity occurring in young infants...

..IPTi with SP given through the EPI reduces the frequency of malarial illness while allowing the development of naturally acquired antibody responses to P. falciparum antigens...

..Resistance to trimethoprim-sulphametoxazole and ampicillin was high. Etiologic data on diarrheal diseases and susceptibility patterns of diarrheal pathogens are important tools for clinical management and control strategic planning...