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J Masona

Publications and source records attributed to J Masona.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

HIV, BCG and TB in children: a case control study in Lusaka, Zambia.

Even before the onset of the HIV epidemic, studies reported large variations in the protective effect of BCG against TB. The current HIV/AIDS epidemic has increased the incidence of tuberculosis in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, local estimates of the effectiveness of BCG are needed which take prevalence of HIV into account for planning strategies for vaccination and TB control programmes. A case control study was conducted in Lusaka, Zambia. The study included 116 TB cases and 154 hospital controls. Eighty-eight per cent of controls had BCG scars compared to 77 per cent of the cases. BCG was not associated with TB in HIV positive children (OR 1.0, 95 per cent CI 0.2, 4.6). However, there was 59 per cent protective effect (OR 0.41, 95 per cent CI 0.18, 0.92) in HIV negative children. The results also suggest an eight times higher risk of TB in HIV positive children.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Case definitions for paediatric AIDS: the Zambian experience.

For the purpose of surveillance of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in developing countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended criteria for the clinical case definition of AIDS in adults and children. In a preliminary examination of children in Zambia a number of patients with obvious AIDS did not fit the published WHO case definition for paediatric AIDS. Based on this the Zambia National AIDS Surveillance Committee designed local criteria for the clinical case definition of paediatric AIDS. We compared the Zambian criteria with the WHO criteria for the diagnosis of paediatric AIDS by studying 134 consecutively admitted children to one of the paediatric wards at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka. Twenty-nine of the patients were HIV-1 seropositive and 105 were HIV-1 seronegative. Among the 29 HIV-seropositive patients, the Zambian criteria identified 23, and the WHO criteria identified 20 children as having AIDS. The 105 HIV-seronegative children were classified as having AIDS in 9 cases by the Zambian criteria and in 38 cases by the WHO criteria. These results give the Zambian criteria for the diagnosis of AIDS a sensitivity of 79.3%, a specificity of 91.4% and a positive predictive value of 86.8% compared to a sensitivity of 69%, specificity of 64% and a positive predictive value of 38% for the WHO criteria. The current WHO criteria are inadequate for the diagnosis of paediatric AIDS. The need to refine the WHO criteria for the diagnosis of paediatric AIDS is discussed.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Differential solubility test for haemoglobin S.

Two hundred and seventy-eight blood specimens were examined, both by the Sicklequik solubility test and haemoglobin electrophoresis on paper. Two hundred and sixty specimens (96.04%) were correctly identified by the Sicklequik solubility test. Forty-nine out of fifty (98%) specimens were interpreted identically when examined independently by two observers.

Blood Protein Electrophoresis↗