Oropharyngeal meningococcal carriage in children and adolescents, a single center study in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

BACKGROUND: Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) pharyngeal carriage is a necessary condition for invasive disease. We present the first carriage study in children in Buenos Aires, Argentina, considering 2017 as a transition year. Aims: to assess the rate of Nm carriage, to determine genogroup, clonal complex and outer membrane protein distribution, to determine carriage risk factors by age. METHODS: Cross-sectional study including children 1-17 yrs, at Ricardo Gutiérrez Children's Hospital in Buenos Aires 2017. Oro-pharyngeal swabs were taken and cultured within a short time after collection. Genogroup was determined by PCR and clonal complex by MLST. Categorical variables were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 1,751 children were included. Group 1: 943 children 1-9 yrs, 38 Nm were isolated; overall carriage 4.0%. Genogroup distribution: B 26.3%, W 5.3%, Y 2.6%, Z 5.3%, other groups 7.9% and capsule null (cnl) 52.6%. Participating in extracurricular activities was the only independent predictor of Nm carriage. Group 2: 808 children 10-17 yrs, 76 Nm were isolated; overall carriage 9.4%. Genogroup distribution: B 19.7%, C 5.3%, W 7.9%, Y 9.2%, Z 5.3%, other groups 7.9% and cnl 44.7%. Independent predictors of carriage: attending pubs/night clubs and passive smoking (adjusted OR: 0.55, 95%CI = 0.32-0.93; p = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: Overall carriage was higher in 10-17 yrs. The isolates presenting the cnl locus were prevalent in both age groups and genogroup B was the second most frequent.

Inmunización materna ¿Por qué vacunar a las embarazadas? / Maternal immuniza on: why should pregnant women be vaccinated?

La inmunización materna representa una oportunidad excepcional para proteger a las mujeres embarazadas y a sus hijos en los primeros meses de vida de enfermedades que causan una morbilidad y mortalidad considerables tales como las producidas por B. pertussis, virus sincicial respiratorio o influenza. La protección de los infantes se logra mediante la transmisión transplacentaria de elevadas concentraciones de anticuerpos protectores. Se estima que el 40% de las defunciones infantiles a nivel mundial ocurren en el período neonatal, y muchas de estas muertes se deben a infecciones que podrían prevenirse mediante vacunas maternas existentes o futuras. El siguiente artículo tiene como objetivo remarcar la importancia de la vacunación en el embarazo y actualizar el calendario de vacunación durante el mismo en la Argentina, resaltando la necesidad por parte del personal de Salud de conocerlo para no perder oportunidades de vacunación en este grupo

Maternal immunization is an exceptional opportunity for protecting pregnant women and their children in their first months of life against diseases that cause considerable morbidity and mortality, such as those caused by B. pertussis, respiratory syncytial virus or influenza. Infant protection is achieved through transplacental transmission of high concentrations of protective antibodies. It is estimated that 40% of infant deaths worldwide occur in the neonatal period, and many of these deaths are due to infections that could be prevented by existing or future maternal vaccines. The following article aims to highlight the importance of vaccination in pregnancy and to update the vaccination schedule during it in Argentina, underlining the need for health personnel to know it so as not to miss vaccination opportunities in this group

Recomendaciones ante exposición a varicela en el ámbito hospitalario / Recommendations concerning exposure to chickenpox in hospital settings

La varicela es una infección viral aguda, con elevada transmisibilidad. Si bien en la mayor parte de los casos cursa como una infección benigna, puede presentar complicaciones en ciertos grupos de riesgo fundamentalmente en el ámbito hospitalario. El siguiente artículo resume los aspectos más importantes del abordaje de los pacientes expuestos a varicela, focalizando en el manejo epidemiológico de los contactos susceptibles en el ámbito de los servicios de salud

Chickenpox is an acute viral infection, with high transmissibility. Although, in most cases, it is a benign infection, it can cause complications in certain risk groups, mainly in the hospital setting. The following article summarizes the most important aspects of the management of patients exposed to varicella, focusing on the epidemiological management of susceptible contacts in the field of health care services

Further phenotype description, genotype characterization in patients with de novo interstitial deletion on 2p23.2-24.1.

Interstitial deletions of the distal part of chromosome 2p seem to be rarely identified or reported: to date, only nine distinct patients have been published. The last three patients were diagnosed with the use of more recent molecular karyotyping technology (SNP array). We report on the natural history of an 8-year-old boy with dysmorphic features, postnatal overgrowth, microcephaly, generalized hypotonia, and global developmental delay. The diagnosis was accomplished by SNP array investigation that led to the identification of a de novo 7.4 Mb deletion of 2p23.2-p24.1. The present patient also developed a nonsyndromic auditory neuropathy. Since the deletion encompassed the OTOF gene, this haploinsufficiency suggests second allele sequencing as a possible cause (DFNB9). We describe the phenotype of the patient and review reports in patients with del 2p23 subsequent to the advent of the genomic era. At the time of identification of "new" micro- deletion and -duplication syndromes, the present report adds to the description of phenotype in patients with del(2)p(23.2;24.1) and the 2p23.2 region in particular.