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Anita K M Zaidi

Publications and source records attributed to Anita K M Zaidi.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Acute respiratory infections in Pakistan: have we made any progress?

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are the leading cause of death in young children in Pakistan, responsible for 20-30% of all child deaths under age 5 years. This paper summarizes the research and technical development efforts over the last 15 years which have contributed to improving the effectiveness of the case management strategy to reduce mortality from pneumonia in children in Pakistan. Community intervention is viable, effective and practical. Rising antimicrobial resistance among commonly used and low-cost oral agents is of significant concern. Appropriate monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the ARI control programme is lacking. Lack of funding for programmatic activities, lack of coordination with other child survival programs, inadequate training for community health workers and general practitioners in the private sector, lack of public awareness about seeking timely and appropriate care, and insufficient planning and support for ARI programmatic activities at provincial and district levels are major hindrances in decreasing the burden of ARI in the country. The recent introduction of the community-based Lady Health Worker (LHW) Programme and WHO and UNICEF-sponsored integrated management of childhood illness initiative present ideal opportunities for re-emphasizing early case detection and appropriate case management of ARI. Ultimately, focusing on preventive strategies such as improving nutrition, reducing indoor pollution, improving mass vaccination, as well as introduction of new vaccines effective against important respiratory pathogens will likely have the most impact on reducing severe ARI and deaths from severe disease.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2003

Typhoid fever.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hospital-acquired neonatal infections in developing countries.

Hospital-born babies in developing countries are at increased risk of neonatal infections because of poor intrapartum and postnatal infection-control practices. We reviewed data from developing countries on rates of neonatal infections among hospital-born babies, range of pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, and infection-control interventions. Reported rates of neonatal infections were 3-20 times higher than those reported for hospital-born babies in industrialised countries. Klebsiella pneumoniae, other gram-negative rods (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp, Acinetobacter spp), and Staphylococcus aureus were the major pathogens among 11,471 bloodstream isolates reported. These infections can often present soon after birth. About 70% would not be covered by an empiric regimen of ampicillin and gentamicin, and many might be untreatable in resource-constrained environments. The associated morbidity, mortality, costs, and adverse effect on future health-seeking behaviour by communities pose barriers to improvement of neonatal outcomes in developing countries. Low-cost, "bundled" interventions using systems quality improvement approaches for improved infection control are possible, but should be supported by evidence in developing country settings.

Cross Infection↗