Posted 06/04/2021. Melioidosis is an under-recognised disease, and mortality remains unacceptably high. Treatment requires prolonged antibiotic therapy and adherence is challenging, particular in resource-constrained settings. Arjun Chandna and colleagues at Angkor Hospital for Children reviewed the treatment of 355 children with culture-confirmed melioidosis over a decade and found significant gains can be made over time.

Posted 30/03/2021. Reactive case detection has played a role in the elimination of malaria in China. The approach has been adapted and is used in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Because it requires considerable man power but only few cases are detected the approach is controversial. Jacqueline Deen, Lorenz Von Seidlein and colleagues included 8 articles in a meta-analysis that found the percentage of positive malaria cases among potential contacts using microscopy or rapid diagnostic test was 0.56%.

Posted 26/03/2021. Ketamine is an essential drug widely used in low-resource settings, but there was no data on its safety in lactating women until this report. In this study by Mary Ellen Gilder and SMRU colleagues, outcomes for breastfeeding infants whose mothers received ketamine are good, and not affected by ketamine dose. In contrast, high dose maternal intravenous diazepam may be harmful.