One factor that has been identified to enhance the early development of children is the care provided by caregivers outside the home environment. However, little research has been done in this regard in South Africa, where a significant number of children receive care outside their home environment. The current research study subsequently focused on the experiences of caregivers who work with young children in an under-resourced community. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and revealed the following themes: the responsibility of being a role model; ECD is a place; and challenges for all. Overall, the participants in this sample yielded valuable information that contributes not only to our understanding of the experiences of caregivers in under-resourced communities but the information that also described how some contextual factors could arguably influence the type of care given to young children.

Disseminated mucormycosis is an uncommon condition with a high mortality rate and is infrequently diagnosed ante mortem. It is most frequently seen in immunosuppressed patients who are at risk for other unusual infections. The radiological features are not specific. We report the case of a 12-year-old girl in second haematological remission who was successfully treated for a brain abscess due to cerebral mucormycosis and for mucormycosis of the kidney which presented as a pyelonephritis. In her first haematological remission she was diagnosed as having a non-specific pneumonitis, which in retrospect may have been due to mucormycosis. Early diagnosis and appropriate management are associated with improved prognosis and require an awareness of the infection and a high index of suspicion.

We have reviewed the clinical features, together with the radiographs and computerised tomography, in 9 patients with tuberculosis of the vertebral body and neural arch. All presented with paraparesis or paraplegia. The morbidity associated with this disease is so serious that it is essential to have an accurate means of evaluating the lesion as early as possible. Routine radiographs can only indicate the level of the disease and the loss of disc space, but cannot define the full extent of the lesion. Computed tomography shows details of the tuberculous involvement of the neural arch, as well as the vertebral body and spinal canal; the site and extent of the soft tissue lesions can also be seen. This is essential for evaluation of the neural arch involvement which will enable the clinician to select the appropriate treatment, and so prevent neurological complications.