Select publications
We present ten publications from 2024 that exemplify our drive for interdisciplinary knowledge, impactful science, and high-quality research.
Prevalence of subclinical pulmonary tuberculosis in adults in community settings: an individual participant data meta-analysis
Authors: Logan Stuck, Eveline Klinkenberg, Nahid Abdelgadir Ali et al.
Subclinical pulmonary tuberculosis, which presents without recognisable symptoms, is frequently detected in community screening. However, the disease category is poorly clinically defined. We explored the prevalence of subclinical pulmonary tuberculosis according to different case definitions.
Trade-offs between clinical performance and test accessibility in tuberculosis diagnosis: a multi-country modelling approach for target product profile development
Authors: Alexandra de Nooy, Tom Ockhuisen, Alexei Korobitsyn, Shaukat A Khan, Morten Ruhwald, Nazir Ismail et al.
Tuberculosis continues to be a leading cause of infectious disease mortality, and effective screening and diagnosis remains crucial. Despite progress made, diagnostic gaps remain due to poor access to diagnostic tools and testing, particularly in rural and remote areas. As such, the development of target product profiles is essential in guiding the development of new diagnostic tools, however target product profiles often lack evidence-based information and do not consider trade-offs between test accuracy and accessibility.
Cost-effectiveness of intervention combinations towards the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV in limited-resource settings: a mathematical modelling study
Authors: Joshua M Chevalier, Megan A Hansen, Elif Coskun, Karla Therese L Sy, Janeen Drakes, Stephanie Dowling, Amanda Williams, Sarah Jenkins, Carolyn Amole, Prudence Haimbe, Felton Mpasela, Hilda Shakwelele, & Brooke E Nichols
Since 2000, there has been a substantial global reduction in the vertical transmission of HIV. Despite effective interventions, gaps still remain in progress towards elimination in many low- and middle-income countries. We developed a mathematical model to determine the most cost-effective combinations of interventions to prevent vertical transmission.
Ten-year health impact, economic impact and return on investment of the South African molecular diagnostics programme for HIV, tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Brooke E Nichols, Alexandra de Nooy, Naseem Cassim, Lucia Hans, Manuel Pedro da Silva, Kamy Chetty, Kyra H Grantz, Alvin X Han, Andrew N Phillips, Lise Jamieson, Lesley E Scott, Wendy S Stevens
To ensure there is adequate investment in diagnostics, an understanding of the magnitude of impact and return on investment is necessary. We, therefore, sought to understand the health and economic impacts of the molecular diagnostic programme in South Africa, to deepen the understanding of the broad value of diagnostics and guide future healthcare investments.
Childhood growth during recovery from acute illness in Africa and South Asia: a secondary analysis of the childhood acute illness and nutrition (CHAIN) prospective cohort
Authors: Celine Bourdona, Abdoulaye Hama Diallob, Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayeem Bin Shahidd, Md Alfazal Khane, Ali Faisal Saleemf, Benson O. Singag et al.
Growth faltering is well-recognized during acute childhood illness and growth acceleration during convalescence, with or without nutritional therapy, may occur. However, there are limited recent data on growth after hospitalization in low- and middle-income countries.
Molecular epidemiology of underreported emerging zoonotic pathogen 'Streptococcus suis' in Europe
Authors: Jaime Brizuela, Thomas J Roodsant, Qureisha Hasnoe, Boas C L van der Putten, Jana Kozakova, Hans-Christian Slotved, Mark van der Linden, Ilse G A de Beer-Schuurman, Ewa Sadowy, Juan Antonio Sáez-Nieto, Victoria J Chalker, Kees C H van der Ark, Constance Schultsz
Streptococcus suis, a bacterium found in pigs, can cause serious infections in humans, with cases often underreported. Researchers in Europe gathered data from labs and literature, identifying 323 cases and analyzing 74 bacterial samples. They found that a specific strain, Clonal Complex 1, caused 87% of the infections, suggesting that S. suis infections should be closely monitored due to their severity and diversity.
The path to a European Health Union
Authors: Martin McKee & Anniek de Ruijter
The European Union has historically left health policy decisions to individual member states, cooperating only on issues like cross-border healthcare and medicine safety. However, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for collective action across borders. In response, in October 2020, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for the creation of a “European Health Union”. In this contribution we propose a path forward in terms of content and process for developing a more comprehensive vision on the policy content and the process.
From Brussels to the world: The diffusion of EU pharmaceutical legislation towards developing economies
Authors: Katrina Perehudoff
The paper examines how EU pharmaceutical regulations impact global legal systems and patient access to medicines, particularly in developing economies, through mechanisms like conditionality and socialisation. It focuses on three innovative legislative proposals from the EU's ongoing pharmaceutical law revision: environmental risk assessments for antimicrobials, reporting of public funding for medicines R&D, and revised clinical test data and market protection. The study addresses gaps in the literature by analyzing the global influence of these EU norms and their potential effects on developing economies.
The role of healthcare providers and caregivers in monitoring critically ill children: a qualitative study in a tertiary hospital, southern Malawi
Authors: Daniel Mwale, Lucinda Manda-Taylor, Josephine Langton, Alice Likumbo, Michael Boele van Hensbroek; IMPALA Study team; Job Calis, Wendy Janssens, Christopher Pell
Critically ill children require close monitoring to facilitate timely interventions throughout their hospitalisation. In low- and middle-income countries with a high disease burden, scarce paediatric critical care resources complicate effective monitoring. This study describes the monitoring practices for critically ill children in a paediatric high-dependency unit (HDU) in Malawi and examines factors affecting this vital process.
Editorial: Pediatric critical care in low-resource settings
Authors: Job C. J. Calis, Reinout A. Bem, and Mohammod Jobayer Chisti
Over the past three decades, global pediatric mortality rates have significantly decreased, largely due to advancements in preventive healthcare, but further reductions require enhanced in-hospital care, particularly in pediatric critical care services. While the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of critical care, especially for adults, focusing on children could be more impactful due to their vulnerability, high mortality rates, and the substantial disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost to childhood illnesses. Despite challenges such as training, equipment, and infrastructure, there is progress in pediatric critical care in low- and middle-income countries, though research in this area still lags behind the growing capacity.