Feasibility of community at-home dried blood spot collection combined with pooled reverse transcription PCR as a viable and convenient method for malaria epidemiology studies

Background Many Plasmodium infections in endemic regions exist at densities below the limit of detection of standard diagnostic tools. These infections threaten control efforts and may impact vaccine and therapeutic …

Earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy, increased tuberculosis case finding and reduced mortality in a setting of improved HIV care: a retrospective cohort study

Objectives High early mortality after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in resource-limited settings is associated with low baseline CD4 cell counts and a high burden of opportunistic infections. Our large urban …

Integration of HIV and TB Services Results in Improved TB Treatment Outcomes and Earlier Prioritized ART Initiation in a Large Urban HIV Clinic in Uganda

Background: The World Health Organization recommends that treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-infected patients should be integrated with HIV care. In December 2008, a separate outdoor-integrated TB/HIV clinic was instituted …

Unrecognised tuberculosis at antiretroviral therapy initiation is associated with lower CD4+T cell recovery

Objectives To investigate whether an unrecognised diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) at the start of antiretroviral therapy (ART) influences subsequent CD4+ T cell (CD4) count recovery in an urban HIV clinic …

Risk of tuberculosis after antiretroviral treatment initiation: a comparison between efavirenz and nevirapine using inverse probability weighting

Background: There is a high incidence of tuberculosis (TB) early after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. This historical cohort study evaluated the association of efavirenz (EFV) compared to nevirapine (NVP) with …

Letter to the Editors Shared locations of TB cases: places of acquisition or transmission of infection?

Treatment decisions and mortality in HIV-positive presumptive smear-negative TB in the Xpert (TM) MTB/RIF era: a cohort study

Background: The Xpert (TM) MTB/RIF (XP) has a higher sensitivity than sputum smear microscopy (70% versus 35%) for TB diagnosis and has been endorsed by the WHO for TB high …

Development and Characterization of Broadly Cross-reactive Monoclonal Antibodies Against All Known Ebolavirus Species

Effective strategies used to describe and address the burden of sickle cell disease in the Republic of Uganda: The Uganda Sickle Surveillance Study

Background:Sickle cell disease (SCD) contributes substantially to childhood mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. In the Republic of Uganda, the number of annual SCD births and the geographical distribution of the disease …

Operational analysis of the national sickle cell screening programme in the Republic of Uganda

Background: Sickle cell anaemia is a common global life-threatening haematological disorder. Most affected births occur in sub-Saharan Africa where children usually go undiagnosed and die early in life. Uganda's national …