A team representing Vanderbilt University and University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) has been awarded a grant to explore incidence, etiology, antibiotic sensitivity patterns, and molecular characterizations of HIV-infected children <5 years old in Mozambique. Troy Moon MD, MPH Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, will collaborate with Jahit Sacarlal, MD, PhD of UEM. They will conduct this study at the Maputo Central Hospital, Hospital Mavalane in Maputo City , Mozambique, and Quelimane Provincial Hospital in the Province of Zambezia, Mozambique.
Ultimately, this study holds promise to bring to light rural/urban health disparities that can then be targeted for mitigation. Specifically, the study will test the hypothesis that the incidence of bacteremia in HIV-infected children under 5 years old is higher in children living in rural areas than in urban areas and the hypothesis that non-typhoidal salmonella (NTS) is a major cause of bacteremia in HIV-infected children under 5 years old in both urban and rural areas.
This strong multidisciplinary team looks to have strong support from both UEM and Vanderbilt. Hopefully, in the long term, the results of this project will provide crucial but currently unavailable information to prioritize resource allocation for microbiology capacity and guide national drug formulary practices.
NIH Grant Number: 5R01AI112295-03