Pertussis outbreak in children hospitalized in Rabat (Morocco).

INTRODUCTION: Cyclical pertussis epidemics primarily affect young infants. This study aims to estimate pertussis prevalence during the ongoing 2023 outbreak at our institution, focusing on affected age groups and clinical presentations. MATERIEL AND METHODS: This retrospective study includes patients admitted to Rabat University Hospital Center from 1st January 2021 to 30th June 2023. Symptomatic patients underwent Multiplex Respiratory Panel PCR testing for respiratory infections. The analysis included cases where RT-PCR identified Bordetella spp., with data analysed using SPSS 15.0. RESULTS: Pertussis cases sharply increased from December 2022, constituting 85.4 % of positive samples. Most cases (78.2 %) occurred in infants under 3 months, presenting symptoms such as coughing (94.5 %) and dyspnoea (94.5 %). Pertussis was suspected in 60 % of RT-PCR confirmed cases. B. pertussis DNA was identified in 81.8 % of cases and B. parapertussis DNA in 18.2 % of cases. CONCLUSION: The study exposes a significant pertussis outbreak affecting predominantly young infants.

Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccination strategies and its expected impact on penicillin non-susceptibility in children under the age of five: Let's recap!

The impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) burden has been extensively studied in children aged<5 years; however, a pooled estimation of the effect of PCVs on penicillin non-susceptible pneumococci (PNSP) has not yet been performed. We aimed to identify whether the introduction of PCV-10 and PCV-13 had led to the decrease of the overall PNSP rate in children < 5 years. We conducted a systematic review of published surveillance studies reporting the rate of PNSP rates in children < 5 in countries where PCV10/13 were introduced. The overall observed trend onwards the introduction of PCV-10 and PCV-13 is a decrease in PNSP among children < 5 years in surveillance sites located in PCV-13 countries. We identified an increase of PNSP rates (serotype 19A) in PCV-10 settings. Resistant NVT strains are emerging in IPD in children < 5 years mainly serotypes 24F, 15A, 11A and 33F along with serotype 19A in PCV-10 settings. Continuous surveillance is necessary in IPD in children under five to monitor the long-term effect of PCV-10 and PCV-13 on penicillin resistance trends.

[A rare cause of exertional dry cough: agenesis of the left pulmonary artery associated with pulmonary hypoplasia]. / Cause rare d'une toux sèche à l'effort: agénésie de l'artère pulmonaire gauche avec hypoplasie pulmonaire.

Agenesis of the left pulmonary artery associated with hypoplasia of the ipsilateral lung is a rare congenital malformation in children; it can be discovered fortuitously or because of the presence of recurrent respiratory infections. Diagnosis is based on thoracic angioscanner. Treatment is essentially conservative. We report the case of a 6-year old child with agenesis of the left pulmonary artery associated with hypoplasia of the ipsilateral lung detected because of exertional dry cough.

Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage among healthy and sick pediatric patients before the generalized implementation of the 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine in Morocco from 2010 to 2011.

Nasopharyngeal carriage studies provide insights into the local prevalence of circulating pneumococcal serotypes. These data are critical to vaccination monitoring, as they allow for the prediction and assessment of impact. Very little data are available on the carriage of pneumococcal serotypes in Morocco. Here, we describe the prevalence of Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage and serotype distribution among 697 pediatric patients with ages ranging from 2 to 59 months who were admitted to a Moroccan hospital with severe pneumonia, as well as 195 healthy infants and young children who were recruited at a vaccination clinic. Carriage rates were 40.5% (79/195) for healthy children and 22.8% (159/697) for sick children. The most commonly observed circulating serotypes included 6A, 6B and 19F, all of which are included in the current 13-valent anti-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that was recently introduced in Morocco. Monitoring of circulating serotypes remains necessary after vaccine introduction to assess whether serotype replacement is occurring.