Epidemiology of Underweight among Infants in Rural Burkina Faso.

Infant undernutrition is thought to contribute to growth failure and mortality. We evaluated the patterns in underweight in a population-based sample of children aged 1-11 months in rural northwestern Burkina Faso. Data were collected during the baseline assessment of a community-randomized trial evaluating mass azithromycin distribution in Nouna District, Burkina Faso. A door-to-door census was undertaken for all households in all communities. Infants aged 1-11 months were weighed for weight-based dosing in the trial and their weights were used to calculate weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ). Underweight was defined as WAZ ≤ 2. We evaluated the age patterns in WAZ and underweight by demographic, seasonal, and geographic characteristics. Of 7,109 infants, 6,077 had accurate weight and global positioning system (GPS) coordinate data (85.5%). Infants were a median of 6 months old (interquartile range [IQR] 3-8) and 48.4% were female. Mean WAZ was -0.68 (SD 1.6) and 19.0% were underweight. The WAZ decreased with increasing age, and the prevalence of underweight increased from 2.5% among 1-month-olds to 27.6% among 11-month-olds. Underweight was more common among boys than girls (22.1% among boys versus 15.6% among girls). Improved latrine use by the household was associated with increased WAZ, and this effect was stronger in male compared with female infants. Given the large burden of underweight among infants, interventions addressing undernutrition should specifically include infants.

Effect of a single dose of oral azithromycin on malaria parasitaemia in children: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Azithromycin has recently been shown to reduce all-cause childhood mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. One potential mechanism of this effect is via the anti-malarial effect of azithromycin, which may help treat or prevent malaria infection. This study evaluated short- and longer-term effects of azithromycin on malaria outcomes in children. METHODS: Children aged 8 days to 59 months were randomized in a 1:1 fashion to a single oral dose of azithromycin (20 mg/kg) or matching placebo. Children were evaluated for malaria via thin and thick smear and rapid diagnostic test (for those with tympanic temperature ≥ 37.5 °C) at baseline and 14 days and 6 months after treatment. Malaria outcomes in children receiving azithromycin versus placebo were compared at each follow-up timepoint separately. RESULTS: Of 450 children enrolled, 230 were randomized to azithromycin and 220 to placebo. Children were a median of 26 months and 51% were female, and 17% were positive for malaria parasitaemia at baseline. There was no evidence of a difference in malaria parasitaemia at 14 days or 6 months after treatment. In the azithromycin arm, 20% of children were positive for parasitaemia at 14 days compared to 17% in the placebo arm (P = 0.43) and 7.6% vs. 5.6% in the azithromycin compared to placebo arms at 6 months (P = 0.47). CONCLUSIONS: Azithromycin did not affect malaria outcomes in this study, possibly due to the individually randomized nature of the trial. Trial registration This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03676751; registered 19 September 2018).

Poultry Ownership and Genetic Antibiotic Resistance Determinants in the Gut of Preschool Children.

Zoonotic transmission is likely a pathway for antibiotic resistance. Data from a randomized trial of pediatric antibiotic administration were secondarily evaluated to determine if poultry ownership was significantly associated with the presence of gut genetic antibiotic resistance determinants among 118 children in Burkina Faso. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants were classified using DNA sequencing. We measured the relationship between genetic resistance determinants and chicken ownership using a logistic regression model adjusted for confounding variables. Children in households reporting poultry ownership had four times the odds of tetracycline resistance determinants in the gut compared with those without household poultry (odds ratio [OR]: 4.08, 95% CI: 1.08-15.44, P = 0.04). There was no statistically significant difference found for other antibiotic classes. Understanding the origins of antibiotic resistance may help spur the development of interventions to combat the global AMR crisis.

Distance to primary care facilities and healthcare utilization for preschool children in rural northwestern Burkina Faso: results from a surveillance cohort.

BACKGROUND: Delays in care-seeking for childhood illness may lead to more severe outcomes. We evaluated whether community distance from a primary healthcare facility was associated with decreased healthcare utilization in a rural district of northwestern Burkina Faso. METHODS: We conducted passive surveillance of all government-run primary healthcare facilities in Nouna District, Burkina Faso from March 1 through May 31, 2020. All healthcare visits for children under 5 years of age were recorded on a standardized form for sick children. We recorded the age, sex, and community of residence of the child as well as any diagnoses and treatments administered. We calculated healthcare utilization per 100 child-months by linking the aggregate number of visits at the community level to the community's population of children under 5 months per a census that was conducted from August 2019 through February 2020. We calculated the distance between each community and its corresponding healthcare facility and assessed the relationship between distance and the rate of healthcare utilization. RESULTS: In 226 study communities, 12,676 primary healthcare visits were recorded over the three-month period. The median distance between the community and primary healthcare facility was 5.0 km (IQR 2.6 to 6.9 km), and median number of healthcare visits per 100 child-months at the community level was 6.7 (IQR 3.7 to 12.3). The rate of primary healthcare visits declined with increasing distance from clinic (Spearman's rho - 0.42, 95% CI - 0.54 to - 0.31, P < 0.0001). This relationship was similar for cause-specific clinic visits (including pneumonia, malaria, and diarrhea) and for antibiotic prescriptions. CONCLUSIONS: We documented a distance decay effect between community distance from a primary healthcare facility and the rate of healthcare visits for children under 5. Decreasing distance-related barriers, for example by increasing the number of facilities or targeting outreach to more distant communities, may improve healthcare utilization for young children in similar settings.

Single-dose azithromycin for child growth in Burkina Faso: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: In lower resource settings, previous randomized controlled trials have demonstrated evidence of increased weight gain following antibiotic administration in children with acute illness. We conducted an individually randomized trial to assess whether single dose azithromycin treatment causes weight gain in a general population sample of children in Burkina Faso. METHODS: Children aged 8 days to 59 months were enrolled in November 2019 and followed through June 2020 in Nouna Town, Burkina Faso. Participants were randomly assigned to a single oral dose of azithromycin (20 mg/kg) or matching placebo. Anthropometric measurements were collected at baseline and 14 days and 6 months after enrollment. The primary anthropometric outcome was weight gain velocity in g/kg/day from baseline to 14 days and 6 months in separate linear regression models. RESULTS: Of 450 enrolled children, 230 were randomly assigned to azithromycin and 220 to placebo. Median age was 26 months (IQR 16 to 38 months) and 51% were female. At 14 days, children in the azithromycin arm gained a mean difference of 0.9 g/kg/day (95% CI 0.2 to 1.6 g/kg/day, P = 0.01) more than children in the placebo arm. There was no difference in weight gain velocity in children receiving azithromycin compared to placebo at 6 months (mean difference 0.04 g/kg/day, 95% CI - 0.05 to 0.13 g/kg/day, P = 0.46). There were no significant differences in other anthropometric outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Transient increases in weight gain were observed after oral azithromycin treatment, which may provide short-term benefits. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03676751 . Registered 19/09/2018.

Access to Improved Sanitation and Nutritional Status among Preschool Children in Nouna District, Burkina Faso.

Access to improved sanitation and hygiene may improve child nutritional status by reducing exposure to enteric pathogens. We evaluated this relationship as part of the Community Health with Azithromycin Trial, a community-randomized trial of azithromycin versus placebo for the prevention of child mortality in rural Burkina Faso. Before the baseline study visit, a door-to-door household survey was conducted for all households in the study area. During the baseline study census, which occurred approximately 9 months after the household survey, a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurement was obtained from each child. We evaluated the relationship between household improved latrine use compared with unimproved latrines or open defecation and MUAC in children aged 6-59 months. Among 32,172 children with household survey data and MUAC measurements, 931 (2.9%) had an MUAC less than 12.5 cm and were classified as having moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). The odds of MAM were higher in children living in households with an unimproved latrine than those with an improved latrine (adjusted odds ratio: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.11-2.31). Children in households with unimproved latrines and households that practiced open defection had approximate 0.15 cm reduced MUAC compared with those in households with an improved latrine. There was a small, but statistically significant, association between improved latrine and nutritional status in preschool children as measured by MUAC.

Adverse Events and Clinic Visits following a Single Dose of Oral Azithromycin among Preschool Children: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Biannual mass azithromycin distribution reduces all-cause child mortality in some settings in sub-Saharan Africa; however, adverse events and short-term infectious outcomes following treatment have not been well characterized. Children aged 0-59 months were recruited in Nouna Town, Burkina Faso, and randomized 1:1 to a single directly observed oral 20 mg/kg dose of azithromycin or placebo. At 14 days after treatment, caregivers were interviewed about adverse event symptoms their child experienced since treatment and if they had sought health care for their child. All children had tympanic temperature measured at the 14-day visit. We compared adverse events and clinic visits using logistic regression models between azithromycin- and placebo-controlled children. Of 450 children enrolled, 230 were randomized to azithromycin and 220 to placebo. On average, children were aged 28 months, and 50.9% were female. Caregivers of 20% of children reported that their child experienced at least one adverse event, with no significant difference between study arms (19.9% azithromycin; 20.0% placebo, logistic regression P = 0.96). Vomiting was more often reported by caregivers of azithromycin-treated children than by those of placebo-treated children (7.2% azithromycin, 1.9% placebo, logistic regression P = 0.01). There were no significant differences in other adverse events or clinic visits. Adverse events following a single oral dose of azithromycin in preschool children were rare and mild. Azithromycin administration appears safe in this population.

Pneumococcal Carriage and Antibiotic Resistance in Children Younger than 5 Years in Nouna District, Burkina Faso.

Increasing antibiotic consumption has been shown to lead to increased antibiotic resistance selection. We evaluated the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae to commonly used antibiotic classes as well as correlations between resistance and antibiotic consumption at the individual and community levels in children aged 0-59 months in Nouna district, Burkina Faso. A population-based sample of 300 children aged 0-59 months was randomly selected from the most recent census in 18 communities in the Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance Site. Caregivers were interviewed about children's recent antibiotic use, and a nasopharyngeal swab was collected from each child. Nasopharyngeal swabs were processed using standard microbiological methods to determine pneumococcal carriage and resistance. Community-level antibiotic consumption was determined by record review from primary healthcare facilities, which routinely collect prescription data for children aged 0-59 months. Streptococcus pneumoniae was isolated from 101 (35.7%) nasopharyngeal samples. Among positive isolates, co-trimoxazole (75.6%) and tetracycline (69.3%) resistance was the most common, followed by oxacillin (26.7%) and azithromycin (9.9%). Recent antibiotic use was associated with decreased pneumococcal carriage (odds ratio 0.56, 95% CI: 0.33-0.93) at the individual level. There was no statistically significant relationship between antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance at the individual or community levels, although CIs were generally wide. The prevalence of antibiotic resistance to commonly used antibiotics was high in the study area. Expanding antimicrobial resistance surveillance in areas with little population-based data will be important for informing policy related to antibiotic use.

A double-masked placebo-controlled trial of azithromycin to prevent child mortality in Burkina Faso, West Africa: Community Health with Azithromycin Trial (CHAT) study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Biannual, mass azithromycin distribution has previously been shown to reduce all-cause child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Subgroup analysis suggested that the strongest effects were in the youngest children, leading to the hypothesis that targeting younger age groups might be an effective strategy to prevent mortality. We present the methods of two randomized controlled trials designed to evaluate mass and targeted azithromycin distribution for the prevention of child mortality in Burkina Faso, West Africa. METHODS/DESIGN: The Child Health with Azithromycin Treatment (CHAT) study consists of two nested, randomized controlled trials. In the first, communities are randomized in a 1:1 fashion to biannual, mass azithromycin distribution or placebo. The primary outcome is under-5 all-cause mortality measured at the community level. In the second, children attending primary healthcare facilities during the first 5-12 weeks of life for a healthy child visit (e.g., for vaccination) are randomized in a 1:1 fashion to a single orally administered dose of azithromycin or placebo. The primary outcome is all-cause mortality measured at 6 months of age. The trial commenced enrollment in August 2019. DISCUSSION: This study is expected to provide evidence on two health systems delivery approaches (mass and targeted treatment) for azithromycin to prevent all-cause child mortality. The results will inform global and national policies related to azithromycin for the prevention of child mortality. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT03676764. Registered on 19 September 2018; prospectively registered pre results.