There is a critical need for improved diagnosis of tuberculosis in children, particularly in young children with intrathoracic disease as this represents the most common type of tuberculosis in children and the greatest diagnostic challenge. There is also a need for standardized clinical case definitions for the evaluation of diagnostics in prospective clinical research studies that include children in whom tuberculosis is suspected but not confirmed by culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A panel representing a wide range of expertise and child tuberculosis research experience aimed to develop standardized clinical research case definitions for intrathoracic tuberculosis in children to enable harmonized evaluation of new tuberculosis diagnostic technologies in pediatric populations. Draft definitions and statements were proposed and circulated widely for feedback. An expert panel then considered each of the proposed definitions and statements relating to clinical definitions. Formal group consensus rules were established and consensus was reached for each statement. The definitions presented in this article are intended for use in clinical research to evaluate diagnostic assays and not for individual patient diagnosis or treatment decisions. A complementary article addresses methodological issues to consider for research of diagnostics in children with suspected tuberculosis.

In general, data were reassuring, although the frequency of exposure to newer agents was limited. The increased risk of hypospadias after first-trimester exposure must be explored, because this association has not been detected previously.

In this cohort, the rate of clinical progression of HIV-1 infection was not greater for HCV-infected women.

Background Human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV3) is a common cause of upper and lower respiratory tract illness in infants and young children. Live-attenuated cold-adapted HPIV3 vaccines have been evaluated in infants but a suitable interval for administration of a second dose of vaccine has not been defined. Methods HPIV3-seronegative children between the ages of 6 and 36 months were randomized 2:1 in a blinded study to receive two doses of 105 TCID50 (50% tissue culture infectious dose) of live-attenuated, recombinant cold-passaged human PIV3 vaccine (rHPIV3cp45) or placebo 6 months apart. Serum antibody levels were assessed prior to and approximately 4-6 weeks after each dose. Vaccine virus infectivity, defined as detection of vaccine-HPIV3 in nasal wash and/or a ≥ 4-fold rise in serum antibody titer, and reactogenicity were assessed on days 3, 7, and 14 following immunization. Results Forty HPIV3-seronegative children (median age 13 months; range 6-35 months) were enrolled; 27 (68%) received vaccine and 13 (32%) received placebo. Infectivity was detected in 25 (96%) of 26 evaluable vaccinees following dose 1 and 9 of 26 subject (35%) following dose 2. Among those who shed virus, the median duration of viral shedding was 12 days (range, 6-15 days) after dose 1 and 6 days (range 3-8 days) after dose 2, with a mean peak log10 viral titer of 3.4 PFU/mL (SD: 1.0) after dose 1 compared to1.5 PFU/mL (SD: 0.92) after dose 2. Overall, reactogenicity was mild, with no difference in rates of fever and upper respiratory infection symptoms between vaccine and placebo groups. Conclusion rHPIV3cp45 was immunogenic and well-tolerated in seronegative young children. A second dose administered 6 months after the initial dose was restricted in those previously infected with vaccine virus; however, the second dose boosted antibody responses and induced antibody responses in two previously uninfected children.