Publications

Once an emergency has passed, general attention typically returns to dealing with day-to-day system management, and the opportunity to learn from the crisis and improve is missed. Lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis must be learned, and the necessary changes made at all levels, both in terms of improving collaboration and strengthening health systems. This special report provides the conclusion of a workshop held in the ...

Background In low- and middle-income countries, the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is increasing. To control AMR, WHO recommends monitoring antibiotic use, in particular Watch antibiotics. These are critically important antibiotics, with restricted use because at risk of becoming ineffective due to increasing AMR. We investigated pre-hospital antibiotic use in rural Burkina Faso. Methods During 2016-2017, we collected data from ...

Several tropical or geographically confined infectious diseases may lead to organ failure requiring management in an intensive care unit (ICU), both in endemic low- and middle-income countries where ICU facilities are increasingly being developed and in (nonendemic) high-income countries through an increase in international travel and migration. The ICU physician must know which of these diseases may be encountered and how to recognize, ...

ABSTR A C T Background: The clinical and laboratory characterization of Strongyloides stercoralis infection at diagnosis and after treatment is still poorly defined. Objectives: The primary objective was to describe the pattern and frequency of clinical and laboratory characteristics associated with S. stercoralis infection. The secondary objectives were (a) comparison of characteristics reported in endemic versus non-endemic areas; and (b) the ...

Background The Global Point Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance (Global-PPS) provides a methodology to support hospitals worldwide in collecting antimicrobial use data. We aim to evaluate the impact of the Global-PPS on local antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes and assess health care professionals' educational needs and barriers for implementing AMS. Methods A cross-sectional survey was disseminated within the ...

Objectives: The WHO Access, Watch and Reserve (AWaRe) classification has been developed to support countries and hospitals in promoting rational use of antibiotics while improving access to these essential medicines. We aimed to describe patterns of worldwide antibiotic use according to the AWaRe classification in the adult inpatient population. Methods: The Global Point Prevalence Survey on Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance (Global-PPS) ...

We report a case of Argentine hemorrhagic fever diagnosed in a woman in Belgium who traveled from a disease-endemic area. Patient management included supportive care and combination therapy with ribavirin and favipiravir. Of 137 potential contacts, including friends, relatives, and healthcare and laboratory workers, none showed development of clinical symptoms of this disease.

Leptospirose is een wereldwijde zoönose, die veroorzaakt wordt door Leptospira spp. Een persoon kan door direct of indirect contact met urine van geïnfecteerde dieren een infectie oplopen. De ziekte komt in verschillende gradaties van ernst voor en kan complicaties zoals myocarditis, nefritis en hepatitis veroorzaken. De diagnostiek gebeurt klassiek via serologie. De behandeling is ondersteunend. Een vroege start met antibiotica is geassocieerd ...

Background Patients suffering from drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome caused by first‐line antituberculosis drugs often need to be retreated rapidly. Patch tests prior to the reintroduction of antituberculosis drugs are rarely performed. Objectives To highlight those drugs most often involved in DRESS caused by antituberculosis drugs, illustrate the potential value of patch tests to identify these culprit(s), ...

Objectives: With increasing global interest in hospital antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes, there is a strong demand for core elements of AMS to be clearly defined on the basis of principles of effectiveness and affordability. To date, efforts to identify such core elements have been limited to Europe, Australia, and North America. The aim of this study was to develop a set of core elements and their related checklist items for AMS ...