November 29, 2021

Researchers present findings related to diarrhea and bacterial illness treatments at ASTMH 2021

This year, the 2021 American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH) conference was held virtually from November 17th-21st.  The annual meeting is the premier international forum for the exchange of scientific advances in tropical medicine, hygiene, and global health.  Researchers from Global WACh’s Gut Health and Child Survival scientific priority group presented on data from studies focusing on diarrhea and bacterial illness treatments.

Research Coordinator Hannah Atlas presented the poster abstract, “Clinical characteristics and health seeking behaviors among high-risk children 2-23 months with acute diarrhea presenting to facilities in Western Kenya”

On the last day of the conference, two Global WACh faculty members gave oral presentations. Dr. Donna Denno (Associate Director, Pediatrics and Global Health) organized the symposium, “Undernutrition in Children: The Role of Enteric Dysfunction,” that highlighted environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), a disorder characterized by gut inflammation, intestinal permeability, and poor nutrient absorption, particularly among children in resource limited settings.

Dr. Denno and researchers from the EED Biopsy Initiative  (EEDBI) Consortium presented findings from three study sites that conducted endoscopic intestinal biopsies from children suffering from growth faltering and not responding to nutritional interventions despite thorough medical evaluation.

Dr. Patricia Pavlinac (Assistant Professor, Global Health) presented “Etiology-specific effects of azithromycin on acute watery diarrhea in children under 2 years in low- and middle-income settings” that featured findings from the ABCD Trial.