Seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 infection in children born to HIV-1- infected women in São Paulo, Brazil

Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) appears to be transmitted mainly by sexual contact. However, several studies suggest that in developing countries the infection may be acquired early in life by routes other than sexual transmission. The present study estimated the seroprevalence of HHV-8 in Brazilian children born to HIV-1-infected mothers. The serum samples were collected in a cross-sectional cohort study from 99 children born to HIV-infected mothers (median age 3.27 years; range 1.5-13.8 years) attending the outpatient clinic of the Federal University of São Paulo. IgG antibodies to HHV-8 latency-associated nuclear antigen and lytic phase antigens were detected by immunofluorescence assays. The samples tested were collected from children aged 12 months or older to exclude the possibility of cross-placental antibody transport. The total prevalence of anti-lytic antibodies in this population (5/99; 5 percent) reveals that HHV-8 infection can occur during childhood. Children aged 1.5 to 2 years had a seroprevalence of 2 percent (1/50) and children aged 3.25 to 13.8 years had a seroprevalence of 8 percent (4/49). This difference was not statistically significant, probably because of the small size of the sample, but it suggests that HHV-8 infection occurs more commonly late in infancy. Further prospective studies are necessary to evaluate the timing and risk factors for primary HHV-8 infection in the pediatric population.

Ceftriaxona em meningites na infância: possibilidade de tratamento ambulatorial / Ceftriaxone in miningitis childhood

Devido ao amplo espectro antimicrobiano e seu esquema de dose única diária, a ceftriaxona tem sido largamente usada para o tratamento de infecçöes graves, incluindo meningite bacteriana. Entre os importantes problemas enfrentados por médicos e pacientes em países desenvolvidos, estäo a falta de leitos hospitalares e a alta incidência de hospitalares. Por estas razöes e baseados em nossa experiência prévia com o uso de ceftriaxona, decidimos estudar a possibilidade de um regime terapêutico que permitisse tratamento ambulatorial de pacientes com meningite bacteriana. Vinte crianças com idades variando entre 3 e 75 meses e com diagnóstico de meningite bacteriana causada por N. meningitidis, S. pneumoniae ou H. influenzae, foram tratadas com dose única...