A newborn screening programme for congenital toxoplasmosis in the setting of a country with less income

Abstract

evidence of efficacy from well-conducted randomised controlled trials will become available to support its use, yet cystic fibrosis teams believe that prevention of RSV infection is intuitively a good policy, and a few have already organised local funding support under the umbrella of a ''chronic paediatric respiratory illness''. Engaging in RSV prophylaxis is a major undertaking for families of infants with cystic fibrosis, and our survey suggests that, given the current lack of an evidence base, only a minority of cystic fibrosis centres in the UK are advocating such a policy.

Effect of antenatal spiramycin treatment on the frequency of retinochoroiditis due to congenital toxoplasmosis in a Colombian cohort

“…Dada la alta prevalencia, la agresividad de las cepas locales y el impacto en la salud de los recién nacidos, resulta pertinente la implementación de programas de tamización en los recién nacidos de nuestro país, especialmente porque la mayoría de los casos pueden ser asintomáticos (17). El tratamiento adecuado depende de un diagnóstico acertado y precoz (18).…”

Prevention of Retinochoroiditis in Congenital Toxoplasmosis

“…A study in Colombia found that toxoplasmosis was the second commonest cause of congenital blindness. 17 Additionally, a frequency of 0.6% of congenital toxoplasmosis in the Quindio region 18 and a high ocular involvement in 36% of congenitally infected children 19 has been reported. Moreover, in a retrospective study of uveitis in 693 Colombian patients in which 417 (60.1%) had a specific diagnosis, toxoplasmosis (acquired or congenital) was the most frequent cause with 276 cases (39.8%), followed by idiopathic uveitis and toxocariasis.…”

Treatment for congenital toxoplasmosis: finding out what works

“…Evidence is emerging that the clinical course of congenital toxoplasmosis differs in Europe and North America compared with parts of South America (Gomez-Marin et al 2007). Ocular disease is five times more common in children with congenital toxoplasmosis identified by neonatal screening in Brazil than in children identified by prenatal or neonatal screening Europe.…”

“…While Europe and North America argue the ethics and cost effectiveness of marginal benefits of screening programmes, evidence is emerging from high quality, population-based studies in South America that congenital toxoplasmosis is a major public health problem (BahiaOliveira et al 2001, Neto et al 2004, Portela et al 2004, Gomez-Marin et al 2007, Lago et al 2007, Andrade et al 2008. Moreover, these clinician researchers are demonstrating that they can implement neonatal screening and follow up programmes to the high standards of quality that need to be reached before screening can be considered a feasible option.…”