Current Organisation

Centro de Investigação em saúde de Manhiça

Current Job Title

Junior Researcher

Biography

Project Title

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

EDCTP Project Call

Senior Fellowship Plus (SFP)

Host Organisation

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.

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).