Biomedical subjects

Ganapati Bhat

Publications and source records attributed to Ganapati Bhat.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Influence of partner participation on sexual risk behavior reduction among HIV-positive Zambian women.

Sexual risk behavior interventions in sub-Saharan Africa focus predominantly on individual and couples counseling. This cognitive-behavioral group intervention was adapted from an urban US context to urban Zambia. Preliminary data analyses assessed the influence of partner participation on sexual risk behavior among HIV-positive Zambian women. Female participants (n=180) attended four group intervention sessions and received sexual behavior skill training and male and female condoms; male partners (n=152) were randomly assigned to high- or low-intensity gender-concordant group intervention sessions. Sexual risk behavior, strategies, attitudes, and knowledge were assessed at baseline, 6, and 12 months. At baseline, 19% of males reported using alcohol before sex, 10% reported using alcohol to cope, and negative coping was associated with sexual risk behavior. In contrast, 1% of women reported using alcohol before sex, and 15% used alcohol as an HIV-coping strategy. Consistent barrier use was reported by 48% of women and 74% of men. After intervention, female high intensity participants reported higher rates of condom use (F=5.68, P=.02), more positive condom attitudes, safer sex intentions, and less alcohol use. These findings highlight the influence of male partners in implementation of effective risk reduction interventions.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Distribution of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus/human herpesvirus 8 in maternal saliva and breast milk in Zambia: implications for transmission.

BACKGROUND: The seroprevalence of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)/human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in sub-Saharan Africa suggests that multiple routes of transmission exist. In the present study, we examined 2 possible routes of mother-to-child transmission, through breast milk and saliva, during the first 6 months after delivery. METHODS: The prevalence of HHV-8 DNA in the breast-milk cells (n=75), milk supernatant (n=56), colostrum (n=2), and saliva cells (n=65) of HHV-8-seropositive mothers who recently gave birth was examined. Polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed for the detection of HHV-8 in cross-sectional samples isolated at 2, 4, and 6 months after delivery. RESULTS: None of the 75 breast-milk samples but 2 of the colostrum samples that were analyzed contained HHV-8 DNA at a limit of detection of approximately 1 HHV-8 copy/10(4) cellular genomes, whereas Epstein-Barr virus DNA and HIV-1 DNA were detected in 16 and 22 samples, respectively. Analysis of 65 saliva cell samples, which were obtained from mothers who also provided milk samples, revealed that 19 of the samples had detectable HHV-8 DNA. Viral DNA was found at all time points, but the presence of viral DNA in saliva was independent of maternal HIV-1 serostatus (chi 2=0.33; P=.57). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate the lack of HHV-8 DNA in the breast milk of seropositive mothers, and they suggest that contact with breast milk is not a likely source of horizontal transmission of virus to infants in sub-Saharan Africa.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2004

Congenital trypanosomiasis.

The last successfully treated case of congenital trypanosomiasis in Zambia was in October 1978, with detailed analysis of immunoglobulins, illustrating the waning of blood and serum levels of IgA, IgG, and IgM during treatment, up to 99 days after treatment. Twenty-five years later, we report on a case of congenital trypanosomiasis. The disease is now rare and can be missed or dismissed as retroviral disease, particularly in adults. The main unusual symptoms were the prolonged intermittent convulsions in an otherwise well infant. Management of the disease is now more interdisciplinary, resources for laboratory support are fewer, lumbar puncture is more relevant, and antitrypanosomal drugs are more difficult to obtain. The mother died within one week of hospitalization and the infant initially responded to three doses of suramin and 3 weeks of melsopropol. Convulsions ceased during the second round of melsopropol. Unfortunately, the infant died of nosocomial infection.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Postnatal human herpesvirus 8 and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in mothers and infants from Zambia.

The specific route and timing of human herpesvirus (HHV) 8 infection in regions where Kaposi sarcoma is endemic are not known. HHV-8 infection and any risk factors that may be associated with HHV-8, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 infection, were monitored during the 12-month postdelivery period for 416 mothers and 485 infants from Lusaka, Zambia. HHV-8 incident infection rates during this period were 3.2 and 5.3 infections/100 person-years for infants and mothers, respectively. HHV-8 infection among infants was not associated with HHV-8 or HIV-1 infection in the mother. Among the HHV-8-positive infants, 2 of 12 tested were found to have HHV-8 DNA in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells at birth, which suggests that in utero infection is possible. However, most HHV-8-positive infants appeared to have acquired infection either intrapartum or postpartum. The present study indicates that transmission of HHV-8 to infants can occur early and is likely via multiple routes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Phylogenetic and phenotypic analysis of HIV type 1 env gp120 in cases of subtype C mother-to-child transmission.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype C constitutes a majority of the newly transmitted cases of HIV-1 in many developing countries. There is growing evidence suggesting that subtype C viruses may display characteristics that make them distinct from subtype B and other subtypes, and such differences may affect its transmission and pathogenesis in infected individuals. In this study, HIV-1 sequences from the C2-V4 region of the envelope gene were analyzed from four infected mother-infant pairs (MIPs) after perinatal transmission in Zambia. We found that all viral isolates from four Zambian MIPs were of the subtype C HIV-1 subgroup. All tested isolates were macrophage tropic and did not infect any tested T cell lines or form syncytia in vitro. In addition, the isolates appear to use exclusively the CCR5 coreceptor. Phylogenetic analyses clearly indicated two contrasting phylogenetic transmission patterns for the four MIPs analyzed in the present study. Three cases displayed a pattern of selective transmission of a single or a few variants, and one case was found to transmit multiple maternal HIV-1 variants to her infant. The differences in the mode and timing of transmission may account for the observed transmission pattern among four MIPs.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Lung diseases at necropsy in African children dying from respiratory illnesses: a descriptive necropsy study.

BACKGROUND: Accurate information about specific causes of death in African children dying of respiratory illnesses is scarce, and can only be obtained by autopsy. We undertook a study of children who died from respiratory diseases at University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. METHODS: 137 boys (93 HIV-1-positive, 44 HIV-1-negative], and 127 girls (87 HIV-1-positive, 40 HIV-1-negative) aged between 1 month and younger than 16 years underwent autopsy restricted to the chest cavity. Outcome measures were specific lung diseases, stratified by age and HIV-1 status. FINDINGS: The presence of multiple diseases was common. Acute pyogenic pneumonia (population-adjusted prevalence 39.1%, 116/264), Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (27.5%, 58/264), tuberculosis (18.8%, 54/264), and cytomegalovirus infection (CMV, 20.2%, 43/264) were the four most common findings overall. The three most frequent findings in the HIV-1-negative group were acute pyogenic pneumonia (50%), tuberculosis (26%), and interstitial pneumonitis (18%); and in the HIV-1-positive group were acute pyogenic pneumonia (41%), P carinii pneumonia (29%), and CMV (22%). HIV-1-positive children more frequently had P carinii pneumonia (odds ratio 5.28, 95% CI 2.12-15.68, p=0.0001), CMV (7.71, 2.33-40.0, p=0.0002), and shock lung (4.15, 1.20-22.10, p=0.03) than did HIV-1-negative children. 51/58 (88%) cases of P carinii pneumonia were in children younger than 12 months, and five in children aged over 24 months. Tuberculosis was common in all age groups, irrespective of HIV-1 status. INTERPRETATION: Most children dying from respiratory diseases have preventable or treatable infectious illnesses. The presence of multiple diseases might make diagnosis difficult. WHO recommendations should therefore be updated with mention of HIV-1-positive children. Improved diagnostic tests for bacterial pathogens, tuberculosis, and P carinii pneumonia are urgently needed.

Adolescent↗