Illness and Diseases

The availability and acceptance of voluntary and confidential HIV counseling and testing services are critical in enabling pregnant women to determine their HIV infection status and to be able to access preventive interventions, and additional resources will be required in many settings to introduce such programs. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and nongovernmental […]

Unfortunately, the complexity and cost of the PACTG 076 zidovudine regimen has restricted its applicability to resource-rich countries. The World Health Organization estimated that 3.2 million children were living with HIV infection at the end of 2002, the vast majority infected through MTCT. More than 90% of these perinatal infections occurred in resource-limited countries. The […]

The results of the South African Intrapartum Nevirapine Trial (SAINT), published in this issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases provide further evidence of the safety and efficacy of short-course antiretroviral prophylaxis regimens for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). SAINT compared 2 intrapartum/postpartum antiretroviral regimens, multiple-dose zidovudine/lamivudine and single-dose […]

Ivermectin and albendazole are broad‐spectrum anthelmintics that have been shown to decrease the prevalence and intensity of intestinal helminth infections in the setting of mass distribution programs for lymphatic filariasis, providing additional benefit to treated communities. In contrast, the effect of standard‐dose annual ivermectin and albendazole on M. perstans infection has been unimpressive. In the […]

Although no patients had test results negative for W. bancrofti circulating antigen by 24 months, circulating antigen levels decreased in both groups over time. Median percentages of pretreatment levels at 12, 18, and 24 months were 21%, 97%, and 28% in the twice‐yearly treatment group, compared with 23%, 60%, and 31% in the annual treatment […]

Study population. Patients were recruited and screened in April 2007 and began treatment in July 2007. On the basis of the screening results, 51 eligible patients were identified and randomized to receive standard, annual therapy or high‐dose, twice‐yearly therapy. Seven patients (3 in the annual group and 4 in the twice‐yearly group) declined to participate […]

Nonpregnant volunteers of both sexes, 14–65 years of age, were screened with a brief medical history and physical examination and venipuncture between 10 pm and 2 am for detection of W. bancrofti microfilariae by calibrated thick smear of 60 μL of blood, assessment of W. bancrofti circulating antigen levels by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (TropBio), and […]

More than 120 million people in approximately 80 countries are infected with the mosquito‐transmitted filarial nematodes, Wuchereria bancrofti or Brugia species. Furthermore, it is estimated that >40 million people have chronic, disabling disease manifestations, including lymphedema, hydrocele, and elephantiasis. Despite successful elimination programs in some countries, transmission of lymphatic filariasis remains a problem in many […]

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by defective ion channels, resulting in multiorgan dysfunction, most notably affecting the respiratory tract. The alteration in pulmonary environment is associated with increased susceptibility to bacterial infections. These bacterial infections and the ensuing infl ammation damage the airway epithelium and cause recurrent episodes of acute exacerbations, […]