Bolivian Children Research Articles

Mathematics education in the Bolivian children's curriculum

Resumo: Discute-se o atual currículo-base da educação infantil boliviana denominado Programa de Estudio Educación Inicial en Familia Comunitaria Escolarizada, sua organização geral e, em especial, como a matemática é nele desenvolvida. As discussões foram amparadas nos estudos realizados por autoras/es cujos estudos versam sobre as temáticas descoloniais e a matemática na educação infantil. O currículo é descrito pela legislação como um instrumento descolonizador e libertador, por articular a cultura local com a participação da sociedade, na tomada de decisões nas políticas educacionais. A educação matemática articulada no currículo destaca, por meio das temáticas orientadoras, aspectos da intraculturalidade e da interculturalidade, criando possibilidades para que os saberes da família e da comunidade sejam reconhecidos. Isso permite o diálogo entre culturas, garantindo a visibilidade e o intercâmbio de outras lógicas epistêmicas, contribuindo para a construção de um pensamento descolonial.

Using photovoice to explore Bolivian children's experiences of COVID-19.

Our capacity to facilitate the empowerment of children is dependent on our ability to understand their values and experiences. This study aimed to explore Bolivian children's experiences of COVID-19. This study used a participatory action research method, photovoice, which involved focus groups, individual interviews and the use of cameras by participants to capture their reality and express their ideas through photographs. Ten participants aged 12-15 years were recruited from a school in the municipality of Mecapaca in Bolivia. Thematic analysis was used to identify and report response patterns. Four themes were developed through analysis: (i) sadness and fear of getting sick, (ii) the challenges of online learning, (iii) the tension between traditional knowledge and modern medicine, and (iv) the role of nature and culture in supporting well-being-natural and cultural capital. The narratives and choice of images by the children illustrate some issues and experiences. These findings also highlighted the importance of considering and exploring how children's experiences and interactions with their habitat, nature and their physical environment impacts on their health and well-being.

DEDOSCOPIO: AN INCLUSIVE PROJECT DEDICATED TO BRING TACTILE ASTRONOMY TALKS

Dedoscopio have developed outreach activities focused on people with visual disabilities since 2018 in Chile. The initiative uses homemade low-cost tactile materials as a medium to represent astronomical concepts and physical phenomena. During the quarantine time, we started a Audio-Reading Club with blind and visually impaired children from two parts of Chile. It was such a success that it crossed the borders and we were able to reach Bolivian children.

Socioeconomic impacts on Andean adolescents' growth: Variation between households, between communities and over time.

Background/ObjectivesWe evaluated potential socioeconomic contributors to variation in Andean adolescents’ growth between households within a peri-urban community undergoing rapid demographic and economic change, between different community types (rural, peri-urban, urban) and over time. Because growth monitoring is widely used for assessing community needs and progress, we compared the prevalences of stunting, underweight, and overweight estimated by three different growth references.MethodsAnthropometrics of 101 El Alto, Bolivia, adolescents (Alteños), 11.0–14.9 years old in 2003, were compared between households (economic status assessed by parental occupations); to one urban and two rural samples collected in 1983/1998/1977, respectively; and to the WHO growth reference, a representative sample of Bolivian children (MESA), and a region-wide sample of high-altitude Peruvian children (Puno).ResultsFemale Alteños’ growth was positively associated with household and maternal income indices. Alteños’ height averaged ∼0.8SD/∼0.6SD/∼2SDs greater than adolescents’ height in urban and rural communities measured in 1983/1998/1977, respectively. Overweight prevalence was comparable to the WHO, and lower than MESA and Puno, references. Stunting was 8.5/2.5/0.5 times WHO/MESA/Puno samples, respectively.Conclusions/ImplicationsBoth peri-urban conditions and temporal trends contributed to gains in Alteños’ growth. Rural out-migration can alleviate migrants’ poverty, partly because of more diverse economic options in urbanized communities, especially for women. Nonetheless, Alteños averaged below WHO and MESA height and weight medians. Evolved biological adaptations to environmental challenges, and the consequent variability in growth trajectories, favor using multiple growth references. Growth monitoring should be informed by community- and household-level studies to detect and understand local factors causing or alleviating health disparities.

Sobre migração internacional, crianças pequenas e educação infantil: algumas questões

Este artigo tem como objetivo refletir sobre as crianças pequenas imigrantes nas instituições de educação infantil, buscando problematizar a questão da imigração, da pequena infância, do acolhimento e demais relações sociais presentes nesta etapa da educação. Para tanto, traz a produção acadêmica sobre infância e imigração, apresenta recorte de pesquisa realizada em uma Escola Municipal de Educação Infantil (EMEI), na cidade de São Paulo, entre 2018 e 2019, com crianças bolivianas, nacionalidade bastante expressiva na cidade de São Paulo. Ao final, aponta a pouca pesquisa sobre crianças pequenas imigrantes e propõe política de acolhimento e permanência destas crianças nos centros e escolas de educação infantil, derivada e em consonância com a legislação já construída pelo município.

Molecular Epidemiology of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) Isolates of Hospitalized Children from Bolivia Reveal High Heterogeneity and Multidrug-Resistance.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is an emerging pathogen frequently associated with acute diarrhea in children and travelers to endemic regions. EAEC was found the most prevalent bacterial diarrheal pathogen from hospitalized Bolivian children less than five years of age with acute diarrhea from 2007 to 2010. Here, we further characterized the epidemiology of EAEC infection, virulence genes, and antimicrobial susceptibility of EAEC isolated from 414 diarrheal and 74 non-diarrheal cases. EAEC isolates were collected and subjected to a PCR-based virulence gene screening of seven virulence genes and a phenotypic resistance test to nine different antimicrobials. Our results showed that atypical EAEC (a-EAEC, AggR-negative) was significantly associated with diarrhea (OR, 1.62, 95% CI, 1.25 to 2.09, p < 0.001) in contrast to typical EAEC (t-EAEC, AggR-positive). EAEC infection was most prevalent among children between 7–12 months of age. The number of cases exhibited a biannual cycle with a major peak during the transition from warm to cold (April–June). Both typical and a-EAEC infections were graded as equally severe; however, t-EAEC harbored more virulence genes. aap, irp2 and pic were the most prevalent genes. Surprisingly, we detected 60% and 52.6% of multidrug resistance (MDR) EAEC among diarrheal and non-diarrheal cases. Resistance to ampicillin, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines was most common, being the corresponding antibiotics, the ones that are frequently used in Bolivia. Our work is the first study that provides comprehensive information on the high heterogenicity of virulence genes in t-EAEC and a- EAEC and the large prevalence of MDR EAEC in Bolivia.

Effect of a health education intervention on intestinal parasitic infections in Bolivian children

Abstract Backgrounds Intestinal parasitic infections (IPI) are a major health issue for children of low- and middle-income countries. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices are crucial for preventing IPI. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of a school-based health education intervention on handwashing behavior and IPI prevalence in children Methods This is a randomized intervention trial in 8 primary schools in rural communities over the course of 3 school years; preliminary results from the first two years of the trial are here presented. Schools were randomly selected and assigned in a 1:1 ratio to intervention or control (no intervention) groups. For each school year, the intervention included 14 school-based educational sessions and 2 skit events, involving children aged 8-12 years. Knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire and handwashing at key events was assessed at the beginning and end of each school year. IPI prevalence was assessed with repeated cross-sectional parasitology surveys 12 months apart, involving a minimum of 50 children for each school Results At baseline, no significant differences between intervention and control schools were present in the proportion of children who washed their hands at key events (7.2% vs 9.3%, p = 0.28), in IPI (79.4% vs 75.3%, p = 0.3) and multiple parasitic infections (MPI) prevalences (47.6 vs. 38.6; p = 0.051). At the end of the second year, the percentage of children who washed their hands at key events was significantly higher in the intervention schools (75.4% vs 12.1%, p &amp;lt; 0.001), and the prevalence of IPI and MPI in the intervention schools were respectively about 25% and 15% lower than in the control schools (respectively, 42.9% vs 67.8%, p &amp;lt; 0.001; 16.1% vs 31.6%, p &amp;lt; 0.001) Conclusions A school-based health education intervention could achieve significant changes in hand-washing behaviors and reduction in the prevalence of IPI in children. The third year survey results are needed to confirm these findings Key messages An health education intervention on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices can reduce the risk of IPI infection in children. An health education intervention on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices could be configured as a sustainable long-term approach to intestinal parasitic infections control in children.

Design of a Child Development Baseline (Children Aged 0 to 6 Years) in Bolivia

Abstract In this paper, we describe the design of a baseline to set the values of child development in Bolivia, for children between birth and six years of age. It details the process of design and definition of the objectives of the baseline, and its methodological and operational aspects in relation to child development. Having the baseline of child development of Bolivian children up to six years old, by applying instruments adapted to the social, cultural, linguistic and family context of Bolivia, will be very useful since these development data can be used to compare them with international standards of child development commonly accepted, which is not possible at present. Moreover, establishing the baseline of child development in Bolivia will allow to compare the data currently obtained with those obtained by applying other not contextualized developmental scales commonly used in the country, such as the Abbreviated Scale Development Nelson Ortiz, the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), Battelle Development Inventory or the National Screening Test (PRUNAPE).

Measurement of Child Development (Children from Birth to Six Years of Age) in Bolivia. Test Results

Abstract This paper presents the results of a test applied to measure the levels of development of Bolivian children between 0 to 6 years of age. The test has been built specifically to be applied in Bolivia, and has undergone a process of adaptation to the cultural, social, family and linguistic context of the country. The test consists of two parts: during the first part, anthropometric and nutritional data are collected; in the second, data on child development in cognitive, psychomotor, language and social areas are collected. The application of the test was carried out in Bolivia, in the departments of Chuquisaca and Potosi and the city of El Alto (La Paz), by a qualified, and previously trained to adapt to the environment, staff. The sample, to which the instrument was applied, was 300 children, aged between birth and age six. The data obtained provides a basis for setting a validated instrument for measuring child development in Bolivia, which allows comparing the results with the international standards of de development and with the test most frequently used.

Effect of Mass Stool Examination and Mass Treatment For Decreasing Intestinal Helminth and Protozoan Infection Rates in Bolivian Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Bolivia is one of the countries with a high intestinal helminth and protozoan infection rate. Despite the high prevalence of the parasitic infection, nationwide preventive measures for Bolivian children have not yet been implemented. We evaluated the effect of mass stool examination and treatment as a strategy for decreasing the infection rate. This study was conducted between 2013 and 2015 in children aged 2–18 years. A total of 2,033 stool samples (575 in 2013, 815 in 2014 and 642 in 2015) were collected and examined using the formalin-ether medical sedimentation method. As an anthelminthic medicine, nitazoxanide was given to all infected children within 2 months post-examination, each year. The effect of mass stool examination and treatment was evaluated based on the changes in the overall or individual parasitic infection rates during the study period. The overall parasitic infection rate decreased significantly from 65.2% in 2013 to 43.0% in 2015; a 22.2 percentage point decrease (P<0.001). Protozoan infection accounted for a large portion of the parasitic infections, in the following rates: 62.4% in 2013, 49.3% in 2014, and 41.0% in 2015. The rate of the most common helminth infection, Hymenolepis nana, decreased significantly from 9.0% in 2013 to 6.4% in 2014 to 3.4% in 2015 (P<0.001). Prevalence of the most common pathogenic protozoan infection, Entamoeba histolytica, decreased significantly from 19.0% in 2013 to 3.0% in 2015 (P<0.001). Conversely, the rate of Giardia intestinalis increased significantly from 16.5% in 2013 to 21.2% in 2015 (P<0.01). Mass stool examination and treatment for intestinal helminth and protozoan infections was effective for decreasing the overall parasitic infection rate in the study population, excluding Giardia intestinalis. Further studies on the long-term effect of mass stool examination and treatment for decreasing all intestinal parasitic infection rates in Bolivian children are needed.

Adaptation to Life in the High Andes: Nocturnal Oxyhemoglobin Saturation in Early Development.

Physiological adaptation to high altitude hypoxia may be impaired in Andeans with significant European ancestry. The respiratory 'burden' of sleep may challenge adaptation, leading to relative nocturnal hypoxia. Developmental aspects of sleep-related breathing in high-altitude native children have not previously been reported. We aimed to determine the influence of development on diurnal-nocturnal oxyhemoglobin differences in children living at high altitude. This was a cross-sectional, observational study. Seventy-five healthy Bolivian children aged 6 mo to 17 y, native to low altitude (500 m), moderate high altitude (2,500 m), and high altitude (3,700 m) were recruited. Daytime resting pulse oximetry was compared to overnight recordings using Masimo radical oximeters. Genetic ancestry was determined from DNA samples. Children had mixed European/Amerindian ancestry, with no significant differences between altitudes. Sixty-two participants had ≥ 5 h of nocturnal, artifact-free data. As predicted, diurnal mean oxyhemoglobin saturation decreased across altitudes (infants and children, both P < 0.001), with lowest diurnal values at high altitude in infants. At high altitude, there was a greater drop in nocturnal mean oxyhemoglobin saturation (infants, P < 0.001; children, P = 0.039) and an increase in variability (all P ≤ 0.001) compared to low altitude. Importantly, diurnal to nocturnal altitude differences diminished (P = 0.036), from infancy to childhood, with no further change during adolescence. Physiological adaptation to high-altitude living in native Andeans is unlikely to compensate for the significant differences we observed between diurnal and nocturnal oxyhemoglobin saturation, most marked in infancy. This vulnerability to sleep-related hypoxia in early childhood has potential lifespan implications. Future studies should characterize the sleep- related respiratory physiology underpinning our observations.

Crianças bolivianas na educação infantil de São Paulo: adaptação, vulnerabilidades e tensões

Este artigo analisa aspectos contraditórios e tensos presenciados na pesquisa sobre a adaptação de crianças bolivianas à rede municipal de educação infantil da cidade de São Paulo. O centro da análise está na complexidade que permeia o relacionamento dessas crianças com suas professoras. Foram observadas de perto interações entre crianças bolivianas e não bolivianas e de todas com seus professores. O foco direcionou-se predominantemente ao relacionamento entre crianças e professores. O período de observação foi de dois anos e as informações, trabalhadas em caderno de campo. O registro etnográfico foi complementado com entrevistas abertas. A observação possibilitou coletar o sentido que a condição de estrangeiro adquire na educação infantil de São Paulo e a construção de estigmas associados à produção da diferença como desvantagem para a criança que chega.

Measuring Capability Poverty: A Multidimensional Model-Based Approach

This paper proposes a model-based index for quantifying capability deprivation using multiple indicators for multiple dimensions. The proposed index, derived from a structural latent variable model, is a 'two-level' index which can be interpreted as a measure of the lack of freedom to achieve a minimal set of functionings. Applying our methodology to data on the two dimensions of knowledge and living conditions for Bolivian children, we find that deprivation is more intense among girls than boys and in rural areas, and the gender gap is slightly higher in the knowledge domain. Due to its model-based nature, our index enables us to identify the key explanatory factors of deprivation: in particular, parental education in the case of knowledge, and income level and economic diversification for living conditions. Comparison with traditional functionings-based measures confirm that outcome deprivation is different from choice-deprivation.

Biblioteca Th’uruchapitas and Appalachian State University: Mutual Benefits of Sharing Culture, Resources, and Hospitality Between Two Sister Libraries

Biblioteca Th’uruchapitas and Appalachian State University:Mutual Benefits of Sharing Culture, Resources, and Hospitality Between Two Sister Libraries Elizabeth Cramer, Gaby Vallejo Canedo, and Linda Veltze Project Strategies Biblioteca Th’uruchapitas is Bolivia’s first true children’s library, founded by Bolivian educator and author Gaby Vallejo. Along with a group of seven founding members that proudly bear the title Mujeres Peligrosas (dangerous women) due to their progressive ideas about education, Vallejo provides library and educational services to the children and youth of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Biblioteca Th’uruchapitas is not limited to a defined space that contains books for children, but is a network of volunteers that engages with local schools, neighboring public libraries, non-profit organizations, and the general public.1 Biblioteca Th’uruchapitas’ many projects include “La Ronda,” loaning books to public-school teachers who, in turn, loan them to students; and “Para No Estar Solos,” offering speech, reading, writing, and art sessions in conjunction with Centro de Apoyo Integral Carcelario y Comunitario (CAICC), a non-profit program for the children of inmates at the women’s prison near Cochabamba. In 1998, Linda Veltze, a library science faculty member at Appalachian State University, met Vallejo and together they formed a partnership between Biblioteca Th’uruchapitas and Appalachian State. This partnership was formally designated as a Sister Libraries Program by the White House Millennial Commission in 2000. The original intent of the partnership was to get sorely needed children’s books to Bolivia, but it soon became clear that the program offered additional benefits to both Th’uruchapitas and Appalachian State. In 2001, a group of study-abroad students from Appalachian State’s Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling agreed to carry donated books to Bolivia in their backpacks, eliminating the need for costly postage. Upon their return, the students were markedly impressed and transformed by their experience with Biblioteca Th’uruchapitas. They were deeply moved by the dedication of Vallejo and the Mujeres Peligrosas, who often take public buses to local schools, transporting boxes of books to distribute to teachers. The students developed a new understanding [End Page 76] of the importance of reading and literacy when they witnessed the tears of Gaby and other Th’uruchapitas founding members upon receiving so many new and beautiful books. After this first student trip to Bolivia, the focus of the partnership changed to a broader mutually beneficial exchange of opportunities. Appalachian students and faculty gained a great deal from interaction with another culture and group of devoted volunteers. The partnership began to draw interest and involvement from Appalachian State graduate and undergraduate programs, the University Libraries, the local community, and K-12 schools throughout North Carolina. Required Intercultural Skill Set Intercultural skills central to the success of this Sister Libraries Program are the ability to recognize and respect the personality and culture of each country. The partnership has been built on the exchange of information in order to learn each other’s stories, customs, and cultural practices. Participants recognize the importance of understanding the reality of the other in order to create shared successful projects and support, implement, evaluate, and maintain them. Robert Sanders, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at Appalachian State and frequent faculty leader for service projects in Bolivia, emphasized the importance of communicating with Biblioteca Th’uruchapitas to understand the reading preferences of educators and young readers in Bolivia: “We ask students to collect books to donate to the Biblioteca, but we don’t always know what they want or need. Often, we purchase or collect books that our own students enjoy, but may not be appreciated by Bolivian children due to cultural references unique to American life. We need to find ways of being more sensitive to the specific needs and interests of the children in Bolivia who will read these books.” For the partnership to succeed, the leaders had to devise creative methods to communicate in Spanish and English. The key players drew on their language skills and developed a process in which individuals write to each other in their native languages. Vallejo, Veltze, and others have sufficient knowledge of the second language to understand what is written. This process allows individuals to...

Young Adult Literature in Bolivia

Young Adult Literature in Bolivia Gaby Vallejo Canedo (bio) A few years ago in Bolivia, there only existed books for children and books for adults. It was not possible to think of any books for young adults. It was almost a barren territory. At that time I wrote an article about Bolivian children’s literature written in Bolivia: “Country Survey: Bolivia,” which was published by Bookbird. It may be said that Bolivian books, which could be read by young adults were not written for them; they didn’t relate to their problems and interests. The current scenario is different. A significant group of writers has begun to direct their writings to young adults and their production is not only more abundant than literature for younger children, but also the issues they address are more meaningful for the life of young adults, they are new and questioning, and include topics such as military dictatorships, migration, gangs, bullying. I will briefly go over some of them: La sonrisa cortada [The cut Smile] by Giggia Talarico, a tale told by a teenage girl interspersed with the journal or memory book of another adolescent. [End Page 91] They both feel uncomfortable in the world of adults: the perpetual state of family conflict, the perspective of the adult world as ugly, insipid, dark, full of enigmas and bizarre secrets, the fear of becoming an adult like them ends when the truth hidden for years emerges. Because of telling the truth, “volvió la respiración y la esperanza” [breathing and hope returned], said one of them. There are some very sad pages, linked to politics during times of dictatorship. In the end, the spiritual growth of both young people takes place. The language throughout the whole novel is completely youthful and informal. Another book, El abrigo de Matilde y otros cuentos en tiempo de dictadura [Matilde’s Coat and Other Stories from Times of Dictatorship] by Carlos Azurduy, is also linked to the times of military dictatorship in Bolivia. These are tales where the main characters are all children, either victims of the repression, vanishings, exile, or death. With the key idea of “as long as stories are told and heard, memories will live on,” the author wants to show the suffering of children during dictatorships to young adults of today. Sometimes, important historical details are included. The stories are all very well written and most of them have a shocking ending. Absent parents, the poverty in Bolivia, which originates a constant migration, and the abandonment of children inspired Carlos Vera to write the novel for young adults El vuelo del murcielago Barba de Pétalo [The Flight of the Petal Beard Bat]. What’s original about this tale is that the child characters, who were at first made miserable by their family situation, meet a young researcher studying the life of bats; this allows them to relate their situation of victims of migration with the situation of the bat which is forced to migrate because of the climatic changes. At times, the author engages in word games; at other times, he stops to analyze the serious emotional situation lived by young adults. Tatuaje Mayor [The Greatest Tattoo], one of my young adult novels, centers on the generation gap between a young fifteen year old girl and her grandmother. The young girl finds her grandmother’s journal on the day of her death and the dialogue begins, a dialogue which opposes ways of life, situations, decisions, all of them related to the main topics: love, loneliness, death. The connection of the main characters to gangs, tattoos, graffiti and drugs, makes the reading appealing for young adults. Roger Otero writes a cinematographic novel, Bullying, about harassment in schools, attaining an excellent narrative tension in each chapter. Four violent teenagers use the Internet to show films about harassment in a prestigious school, installing fear among students, teachers and especially in the principal. To counter this situation, a young girl faces the band, smartly organizes the exposure of the bullying, and heals the secret wounds left by the rape and murder of her mother. This novel, despite all her suffering, includes the topic of love. Fernando Canedo offers horror...

X-Ray Fluorescence to Determine Zn in Bolivian Children using Hair Samples

As a first step in the evaluation of nutritional levels in Bolivian children (8–13 years-old), we carried out X-Ray Fluorescence measurements in hair samples of children belonging to different social classes and living either in rural areas or in cities. The aim of this study is to contribute to health policies tending to improve the global health of children and consequently avoid malnutrition. Our method intends to have maximum reliability and at the same time be as simple as possible from an experimental point of view. Additionally, we use this method to determine some other elements such as Fe, Cu, Pb, As and Hg, the latter three considered as contaminants that could be present in children living in areas which neighbor mines and industries. This work will be complemented by some biological and medical tests.

Recurrence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Bolivian children and adults after a population-based "screen and treat" strategy.

Strategies to prevent gastric cancer by decreasing Helicobacter pylori infections in high-prevalence, low-income countries could include a population-based "screen and treat" eradication program. We tested residents of two rural villages for H. pylori infection using urea breath test (UBT), treated infected persons using directly observed therapy (DOT), retested for cure, and retested after 1 year later for H. pylori infection. We tested 1,065 (92%) of 1153 residents from two villages in rural Bolivia. Baseline H. pylori prevalence was 80% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 78-84). Age-specific cure rates were similar (≥92%) after DOT. Among those cured, 12% (95% CI: 8-15) had recurrent infection. Age-specific annual H. pylori recurrence rates for combined villages were 20% (95% CI: 10-29) in persons <5 years, 20% (95% CI: 10-29) in 5-9 years, 8% (95% CI: 1-15) in 10-14 years, and 8% (95% CI: 4-12) in persons ≥15 years. Compared with the referent population, those ≥15 years, recurrent infections were significantly more likely in children <5 years (odds ratios [OR] 2.7, 95% CI: 1.2-5.8) and 5-9 years (OR 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4-5.1). Children <10 years had high H. pylori recurrence rates following a population-based screen and treat program; this H. pylori eradication strategy may not be feasible in high-prevalence, low-income settings.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B in two period birth cohorts of Bolivian children: effect of universal vaccination

Since 2000 universal routine immunization against the hepatitis B virus (HBV) was implemented in Bolivia. This study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of markers against HBV in two different birth cohorts (pre-universal vaccine cohort and post-universal vaccine cohort) from Cochabamba, Bolivia. We performed a school-based seroepidemiological survey (n = 424) of HBV in 2010 in the Cochabamba region. An ELISA test was used to measure antibodies to the hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs IgG) and to the hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc IgG). The prevalence of anti-HBs IgG in the pre-universal vaccine cohort was 5.8% (95% CI: 3.3-8.3%); it was higher in boys (9.1%), and those living in suburbs (9.7%). The anti-HBs IgG prevalence among post-universal vaccine cohort was 37.9% (95% CI: 28.5-48.1%), and was higher in children who spoke Quechua at home (51.0%), those living in suburbs (53.9%), and those born in 2005 (72.7%). Neither cohort showed differences relating to parental education. The prevalence of anti-HBc IgG was 1.1% among post-universal vaccine cohort and 1.2% among pre-universal vaccine cohort (p > 0.05). This study identified a persistent low seroprevalence of hepatitis B infection in spite of a decade of universal immunization, and low long-term humoral immunity against HBV infection in vaccinated children in Cochabamba.

Effectiveness of monovalent rotavirus vaccine in Bolivia: case-control study

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of two doses of a monovalent rotavirus vaccine (RV1) against hospital admission for rotavirus in Bolivia.Design Case-control study.Setting Six hospitals in Bolivia, between March 2010...

Molecular Characterization of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Isolates Recovered from Children with Diarrhea during a 4-Year Period (2007 to 2010) in Bolivia

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an important cause of childhood diarrhea. This study aimed to characterize ETEC strains isolated from Bolivian children aged <5 years according to enterotoxin profile, colonization factors (CFs), suggested virulence genes, and severity of disease. A total of 299 ETEC isolates recovered from children with diarrhea and 55 ETEC isolates from children without diarrhea (controls) were isolated over a period of 4 years. Strains expressing heat-labile toxin (LT) or heat-stable toxin (ST) alone were about equally common and twice as common as ETEC producing both toxins (20%). ETEC strains expressing human ST (STh) were more common in children aged <2 years, while ETEC strains expressing LT plus STh (LT/STh) were more frequent in 2- to 5-year-old children. Severity of disease was not related to the toxin profile of the strains. CF-positive isolates were more frequently identified in diarrheal samples than in control samples (P = 0.02). The most common CFs were CFA/I and CS14. CFA/I ETEC strains were more frequent in children aged <2 years than CS1+CS3 isolates and CS14 isolates, which were more prevalent in 2- to 5-year-old children. The presence of suggested ETEC virulence genes (clyA, eatA, tia, tibC, leoA, and east-1) was not associated with disease. However, east-1 was associated with LT/STh strains (P < 0.001), eatA with STh strains (P < 0.001), and tia with LT/STh strains (P < 0.001). A minor seasonal peak of ETEC infections was identified in May during the cold-dry season and coincided with the peak of rotavirus infections; this pattern is unusual for ETEC and may be important for vaccination strategies in Bolivia.