Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a systemic disease caused by Leishmania species. It is a life-threatening condition often presenting with nonspecific symptoms that can mimic other conditions such as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a severe hyperinflammatory syndrome defined by HLH-04 criteria. Although HLH-04 criteria show limitations in distinguishing these conditions, a differentiation of VL from HLH is crucial for initiating appropriate therapy promptly and improving patient outcomes. This report discusses 2 pediatric cases of VL presenting with HLH-like features. This highlights the importance of being more aware of these overlapping conditions and developing clearer guidelines to tell them apart effectively.

In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) adapted its pediatric tuberculosis disease (TBD) treatment guidelines, recommending a shortened 4-month treatment regimen for nonsevere TB, based on a single study in high TB prevalence, low-resource settings. This study investigated to what extent the recommendations apply to a high-resource setting.

Klebsiella spp. are frequently found as commensals of the gastrointestinal tract in infants, and their presence in stool cultures is often dismissed as colonization. However, their role in causing severe diarrhea in previously healthy infants remains unclear.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) is the leading bacterial pathogen causing complicated pneumonia, that is, with parapneumonic effusion/pleural empyema (PPE/PE). In 2022, there was a rise in group A Streptococcus (GAS)-complicated pneumonias in children.

To compare the characteristics, manifestations and outcome of children hospitalized with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection according to the dominant variant period.

Chronic active EBV infection (CAEBV) is a rare but life-threatening Epstein-Barr virus-driven T/natural killer (NK)-cell lymphoproliferative disorder with heterogeneous clinicopathologic features and poorly defined prognostic markers. We aimed to characterize the histopathologic spectrum of pediatric CAEBV and assess its correlation with clinical outcomes.

Diagnosing pediatric pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) remains challenging due to low bacterial load and difficulty obtaining specimens. Current guidelines recommend 3-day acid-fast bacilli (AFB) and culture, with 1 molecular testing. We aimed to compare diagnostic yield across 1-, 2- and 3-day collection protocols.

This study aimed to evaluate in detail the short- and long-term humoral responses to the BNT162b2 (BioNTech, SE, Mainz, Germany/Pfizer Inc, New York, NY) vaccine in immunosuppressed children aged 5-11 years compared with healthy children.

Pediatric nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Clinical features may mimic malignancy, and although prognosis is favorable, treatment is often prolonged and may result in cosmetic sequelae.

Ureaplasma parvum , a facultative anaerobic commensal of the urogenital tract, can cause extragenital disease in neonates and immunocompromised individuals. Extragenital detection of U. parvum disease is severely limited by conventional diagnostic techniques. We describe the first case of complicated pneumonia secondary to U. parvum in an immunocompetent pediatric host outside the neonatal period, identified by next-generation sequencing.

Maternal antibodies are critical for infant protection. We analyzed the dynamics of placental transferred antibodies generated after SARS-CoV-2 maternal infection and/or vaccination.

The elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as a public health threat is impossible to achieve without micro-elimination in children. Our study aimed to analyze the use of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (GLE/PIB), one of the pangenotypic options recommended in children, which provides the shortest possible therapy duration.

After the lifting of the nonpharmaceutical interventions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Enterovirus reappeared 16 months after COVID-19 onset; bronchiolitis, 33 months; group A Streptococcus infections, 36 months; pneumonia, 45 months and pertussis, 51 months. These differences across pathogens shed light on differences in herd immunity durability and pathogen-specific vulnerability.

Infectious myositis in children is typically linked to influenza viruses and involves the lower limb muscles. We report the first pediatric case of bilateral temporal myositis associated with adenovirus infection in a 3-year-old child. Diagnosis was supported by ultrasound evidence of temporalis muscle inflammation. Symptoms resolved with supportive care, and 1-month follow-up confirmed full recovery without recurrence or complications.

Nirsevimab was incorporated into the universal infant immunization schedule in October 2023. While its effectiveness during the first season has been described, real-world data on the second season and its impact on other respiratory virus hospitalizations are still limited, though more studies are likely to forthcoming. We aimed to evaluate the effect of nirsevimab implementation on hospital and PICU admissions for acute lower respiratory tract infections, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and non-RSV etiologies, in children under 5 years of age with a specific focus on the second postintroduction season.

Balamuthia mandrillaris causes granulomatous amebic encephalitis. It is puzzling that unlike many blood-borne pathogens that can invade the central nervous system within hours, B. mandrillaris typically takes weeks to months before culminating in encephalitis. Here, we discuss basis of Balamuthia's slow pathogenesis with an eye for improving early recognition, therapeutic interventions and identifying novel targets for intervention.

Indigenous children in the Southwest United States are disproportionately affected by pneumococcal disease compared with the general population. The prevalence of pediatric pneumococcal carriage by culture in 2015-2017 in the Southwest was 49.5%. Since then, pandemic-related changes in pathogen circulation have occurred, and new pneumococcal vaccines were introduced, potentially altering pneumococcal carriage. This study was conducted to estimate carriage prevalence and serotype distribution among children <5 years of age in the Southwest in 2022-2023.

Infant botulism accounts for many new botulism cases each year. Geographic case clustering has been previously described in California. This study aimed to describe whether case clustering was present in Victoria, Australia.