In this multicenter study in Lebanon, hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroprevalence rates were surveyed by age, gender, and socioeconomic factors. Blood samples collected from 606 subjects aged 1 to 30 years were analyzed for anti-HAV IgG. Age was the most important factor influencing HAV seroprevalence. HAV seroprevalence rates in the current study were about 78% in the > or = 21 years age group, 28% in the 6-10 years age group, and 11% in the 1-5 years age group as compared with 97.7% in adults, 85% in children aged 6-12 years, and 40% in children aged 1 to 5 years in previous studies, demonstrating a shift in HAV seroprevalence from the younger to the higher age groups. In light of the severity of the disease in adults and availability of safe and effective vaccines against HAV infection, introduction of HAV vaccination into the national immunization schedule of Lebanon should be considered.

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Background: Globally, there is a trend towards consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods leading to dietary imbalances in toddlers. Nutrient deficiencies are associated with the risk of obesity and other health risks. NutricheQ is an 18-item questionnaire that can quickly identify these risks based on dietary patterns in healthy toddlers. Objectives: This study aimed to validate the NutricheQ tool, describe the dietary intake of toddlers and classify them into risk groups. Methods: This was a national, multi-center, observational, validation study conducted at 21 medical centers in Lebanon. Data was collected from NutricheQ administered to the parents of toddlers during a single outpatient visit, and food diary filled by parents during a 4-day follow-up. The validation process of NutricheQ was done using Pearson's and Spearman's correlation, ANOVA and ANCOVA. The accuracy of NutricheQ in the Identifying categories of nutritional risk was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. All analyses were performed using IBM-SPSS version 24 and P value of ≤ 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Of the 487 toddlers enrolled, 467 had full data on NutricheQ and food diary data was available for 247 only. Majority of toddlers in Lebanon (80%-88%) were categorized in the moderate or low-risk groups of dietary intake indicating good eating habits. There was a significant positive association between the total NutricheQ score and both, age (r = 0.11, P = 0.021) and BMI Z-score (r = 0.11, P = 0.021). ROC fitting showed a very low discriminatory ability of the scores to correctly classify toddlers into the high-risk group based on their BMI Z-score. Significant positive correlation was obtained between the NutricheQ total score and exchangeable fat and meat with high fat, in the food diaries (R = 0.170, P = 0.045), indicating risk. Also, there was a negative association between the total NutricheQ score and soluble and insoluble fiber (Rs = 0.181, P = 0.004). Conclusions: Results from this study showed that NutricheQ has reasonable validity in the Lebanese context to assess the dietary quality of toddlers in Lebanon and in identifying those at increased nutritional risk.

According to Fox news, report (10/09/2016), 30000 Syrians child born in Lebanon as refugees is at risk of statelessness while UNHCR gives a number of 50000. Overview of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon Syrian Refugees Influx With beginning of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, Syrian citizens were displaced and the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon started to rise. According to estimates of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 927,638 Syrian refugees in Lebanon of whom 879,907 are registered and around 47,731 are awaiting registration. The Lebanese government estimate for Syrian refugees is more than one million. With the growing influx of refugees, local communities are under rising pressure in terms of livelihood resources, such as food, education, health services, and employment. The impact of these refugees challenges the already precarious stability of the country in general and host communities in particular. Number of Refugees Increasing by Months and Years (Figure 1) Ratio male female and age More than half of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are below 18 years of age. The predominance of children and adolescents among the Syrian refugee population is likely due to the fact that many men remained in Syria either to protect their businesses and houses or, in some instances, join the fighting forces. The lack of adult males exacerbates the vulnerability of Syrian women and children, who are facing an insecure environment subject to risks of sexual violence, child marriage, child labor, and illicit activities (Table 1).

The incidence of primary tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) in pediatric patients is 1/2100 and its prevalence in very premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia is 10-46%. We report the case of a 26-week-old baby with recurrent infections and stunting. He was diagnosed for TBM.