Project Title

The impact of pulmonary tuberculosis on lung health in Mozambican children (INHALE)

Project Objectives

The overarching goal of the TB-lung FACT2 project is to improve our current understanding of the long-term impact of PTB and other LRTIs on lung health in children living in resource-limited settings.

Host Organisation

EDCTP Project Call

Senior Fellowship Plus (SFP)

Study Design

Prospective observational cohort study

Project Summary

The TB-lung FACT2 project aims to investigate the long-term impact of PTB and common viral LRTIs on lung health in young children across representative and well-characterised disease categories and spectrum in order to reduce respiratory morbidlity and mortality. We propose to use the well-established, previously EDCTP supported and unique TB-lung FACT cohort of 300 well-characterized HIV-infected and uninfected children aged 0-13 years (median age 2 years), systematically investigated for M. tuberculosis and other respiratory pathogens. This cohort is complemented by 100 healthy controls to support the rigorous investigation of the long-term lung health impact of TB and LRTI in children. Through this proposed research, we will extend the current 6 months follow-up of the existing TB-lung FACT cohort for an additional 30 months (36 months total) to measure lung function longitudinally, using state of the-art rigorous lung function testing including oscillometry, plethysmography and diffusion capacity. For analytical purposes, children will be classified into three groups: 1) TB cases, 2) children in whom TB is excluded after investigation (“ill controls”), and 3) age-matched healthy controls. The INHALE study aims to investigate the impact of PTB and viral LRTIs on lung health in young Mozambican children. The study will leverage a cohort of children with presumptive PTB enrolled in the Stool4TB project (EDCTP funded), which aims to recruit HIV infected and uninfected children under 8 years of age by adding lung health assessment, including the sampling for respiratory virus infections and extend follow-up for intermediate lung health outcomes. The project will build capacity for clinical pediatric lung health research in rural Mozambique, within the context of a well-established African research center with an extensive track record for research on TB and infectious diseases (The Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça / Fundação Manhiça (CISM/ FM).

Current Organisation

Centro de Investigação em saúde de Manhiça

Current Job Title

Junior Researcher

Biography