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Volume 10, Number 10—October 2004
Perspective

Current Epidemiology of Pneumocystis Pneumonia

Alison Morris*†Comments to Author , Jens D. Lundgren‡, Henry Masur§, Peter D. Walzer¶, Debra L. Hanson#, Toni Frederick#, Laurence Huang**, Charles B. Beard††, and Jonathan E. Kaplan#
Author affiliations: *University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA; †University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; ‡University of Copenhagen, Hvidovre, Denmark; §National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA; ¶University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; #Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; **University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA; ††Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

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Table 2

Summary of selected studies of Pneumocystis pneumonia in African childrena

Study (ref) Site Study period No. patients Population/age Diagnostic sample/method % with 
PCP (n)
Ansari, 2003 (37) Botswana 1997–1998 35 Died while inpatient/ 
1–13 y Autopsy lung tissue/Grocott 29 (10)
Chintu, 2002 (38) Zambia 1997–2000 180 Died from respiratory disease/1 mo–16 y Autopsy lung tissue/ Methenamine silver 29 (52)
Graham, 2000 (39) Malawi 1996 93 Hospitalized for pneumonia/2 mo–5 y NPA/IF 17 (16)
Ikeogu, 1997 (40) Zimbabwe 1992–1993 122 Died on arrival to hospital/<5 y Autopsy lung tissue/ Methenamine silver 16 (19)
Lucas, 2000 (41) Côte d’Ivoire 1991–1992 78 HIV-positive undergoing autopsy, inpatient or outpatient/1 mo–12 y Autopsy lung tissue/unknown 14 (11)
Madhi, 2002 (42) South Africa 2000–2001 185 (231 episodes) Hospitalized with severe pneumonia/1–38 mo IS, NPA/IF 44 (101)
Ruffini, 2002 (43) South Africa 1999 105 Hospitalized with severe pneumonia/2–24 mo IS, NPA/IF 49 (51)
Zar, 2001 (44) South Africa 1998 151 Hospitalized with pneumonia/3–16 mo BAL, IS, NPA/ Methenamine silver, IF 10 (15)

aBAL, bronchoalveolar lavage; IF, immunofluorescence; IS, induced sputum; NPA, nasopharyngeal aspirate.

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