No abstract

Diarrheal disease, still a major cause of childhood illness, is caused by numerous, diverse infectious microorganisms, which are differentially sensitive to environmental conditions. Enteropathogen‐specific impacts of climate remain underexplored. Results from 15 studies that diagnosed enteropathogens in 64,788 stool samples from 20,760 children in 19 countries were combined. Infection status for 10 common enteropathogens—adenovirus, astrovirus, norovirus, rotavirus, sapovirus, Campylobacter , ETEC, Shigella , Cryptosporidium and Giardia —was matched by date with hydrometeorological variables from a global Earth observation dataset—precipitation and runoff volume, humidity, soil moisture, solar radiation, air pressure, temperature, and wind speed. Models were fitted for each pathogen, accounting for lags, nonlinearity, confounders, and threshold effects. Different variables showed complex, non‐linear associations with infection risk varying in magnitude and direction depending on pathogen species. Rotavirus infection decreased markedly following increasing 7‐day average temperatures—a relative risk of 0.76 (95% confidence interval: 0.69–0.85) above 28°C—while ETEC risk increased by almost half, 1.43 (1.36–1.50), in the 20–35°C range. Risk for all pathogens was highest following soil moistures in the upper range. Humidity was associated with increases in bacterial infections and decreases in most viral infections. Several virus species' risk increased following lower‐than‐average rainfall, while rotavirus and ETEC increased with heavier runoff. Temperature, soil moisture, and humidity are particularly influential parameters across all enteropathogens, likely impacting pathogen survival outside the host. Precipitation and runoff have divergent associations with different enteric viruses. These effects may engender shifts in the relative burden of diarrhea‐causing agents as the global climate changes.

Diagnosis and treatment of febrile neutropenia in pediatric cancer patients Consensus of the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Infectología Pediátrica This document is a consensus guideline on the "Diagnosis and treatment of febrile neutropenia in children with cancer" developed by the Committee for Infectious Diseases in Immunocompromised Children of the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Infectología Pediátrica. This guideline discusses the management of febrile neutropenia focused on Latin American children with cancer. It is based on a thorough review of the literature, with particular attention to experiences reported by centers within the continent in order to provide recommendations applicable to the region. The manuscript includes a description of the regional epidemiology of cancer and infections in children, recommendations for clinical and laboratory studies required for patient management, description of a classifi cation method to identify patients at different risk for invasive bacterial infections, outpatient and inpatient general care strategies and differential treatment strategies adjusted to local epidemiological realities, different algorithms for patient follow-up according to clinical course, a discussion of the rationale for prophylaxis strategies in specifi c situations including general guidelines for antifungal treatment. The Guidelines intend to provide practical, evidence-based recommendations in order to promote the best possible management for children with cancer, fever and neutropenia, throughout oncology centers of Latin America.

A well organized center in a low-middle-income country can overcome the disadvantages of malnutrition and reduce abandonment. Outcomes remain suboptimal because of late diagnosis, early death, and a high relapse rate, which may have a partly genetic basis. Earlier diagnosis, better management of complications, and better knowledge of ALL will improve outcomes. Cancer 2017;123:436-448. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

Background.Infection causes 1 of every 5 neonatal deaths globally. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the most significant pathogen, although little is known about its epidemiology and risk in low-income countries.Methods.A cross-sectional study in 2015 at a public hospital in Guatemala City enrolled women ≥35 weeks’ gestation. Vaginal and rectal swabs were processed using Lim broth and GBS CHROMagar then agglutination testing. Risk factors were assessed using multivariate analysis. Vaginal microbiota were profiled by 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequencing in a subset of 94 women.Results.Of 896 pregnant women, 155 (17.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 14.9–19.9) were GBS colonized. Colonization was associated with history of previous infant with poor outcome (odds ratio [OR], 1.94; 95% CI, 1.15–3.27) and increasing maternal age (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02–1.09). Multiparity was protective (OR, .39; 95% CI, .21–.72). Four (6%) GBS-exposed infants had early-onset neonatal sepsis. Vaginal microbiome composition was associated with previous antibiotic exposure (P = .003) and previous low birth weight infant (P = .03), but not GBS colonization (P = .72). Several individual taxa differed in abundance between colonized and noncolonized women.Conclusions.Group B Streptococcus is prevalent in pregnant women from Guatemala with different risk factors than previously described. Although the vaginal microbiome was not altered significantly in GBS-colonized women, use of antibiotics had an effect on its composition.