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Table of Contents

July 2011

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Health Care Systems and Conflict: A Fragile State of Affairs.
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In the July issue of PLoS Medicine, Anbrasi Edward and colleagues report on the performance of Afghanistan’s health care services between 2004 and 2008, demonstrating dramatic improvements in many areas, including health service capacity and delivery of care. In a linked editorial, the PLoS Medicine Editors discuss the impact armed conflict can have on a country’s health care systems, and announce their support of the International Health Protection Initiative's resolution to reinforce the Geneva Conventions by calling on states to comply with international humanitarian law and to prosecute perpetrators of attacks on health care facilities, equipment, and personnel. They conclude that “The development of fragile states is complex: security must be provided and maintained, unemployment addressed, and education fostered. The adequate and equitable provision of quality health care is also, however, a fundamental need. This need will be met only if health systems and structures are preserved and developed, and if health care personnel have the freedom and safety to provide necessary care to those who need it.”

Image Credit: Image Credit: The Ranger Production Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_ambulance)

Editorial

Health Care Systems and Conflict: A Fragile State of Affairs

The PLoS Medicine Editors

PLOS Medicine: published July 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001065

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Essays

Is Scale-Up Worth It? Challenges in Economic Analysis of Diagnostic Tests for Tuberculosis

David W. Dowdy, Adithya Cattamanchi, Karen R. Steingart, Madhukar Pai

PLOS Medicine: published July 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001063

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  4. Screening for HIV-Associated Tuberculosis and Rifampicin Resistance before Antiretroviral Therapy Using the Xpert MTB/RIF Assay: A Prospective Study
  5. Is Scale-Up Worth It? Challenges in Economic Analysis of Diagnostic Tests for Tuberculosis

Individualized Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

John P. A. Ioannidis, Alan M. Garber

PLOS Medicine: published July 12, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001058

Perspectives

Simplified ART Delivery Models Are Needed for the Next Phase of Scale Up

Nathan Ford, Edward J. Mills

PLOS Medicine: published July 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001060

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GeneXpert—A Game-Changer for Tuberculosis Control?

Carlton A. Evans

PLOS Medicine: published July 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001064

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Health in Action

Evidence-Based African First Aid Guidelines and Training Materials

Stijn Van de Velde, Emmy De Buck, Philippe Vandekerckhove, Jimmy Volmink

PLOS Medicine: published July 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001059

Policy Forum

Global Pharmacovigilance for Antiretroviral Drugs: Overcoming Contrasting Priorities

Nyasha Bakare, Ivor Ralph Edwards, Andy Stergachis, Shanthi Pal, Charles B. Holmes, Marie Lindquist, Chris Duncombe, Alex Dodoo, Joel Novendstern, Jude Nwokike, Ricardo Kuchenbecker, Judith A. Aberg, Veronica Miller, Jur Strobos

PLOS Medicine: published July 5, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001054

Research Articles

Retention in HIV Care between Testing and Treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

Sydney Rosen, Matthew P. Fox

PLOS Medicine: published July 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001056

Screening for HIV-Associated Tuberculosis and Rifampicin Resistance before Antiretroviral Therapy Using the Xpert MTB/RIF Assay: A Prospective Study

Stephen D. Lawn, Sophie V. Brooks, Katharina Kranzer, Mark P. Nicol, Andrew Whitelaw, Monica Vogt, Linda-Gail Bekker, Robin Wood

PLOS Medicine: published July 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001067

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Treatment Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness of Shifting Management of Stable ART Patients to Nurses in South Africa: An Observational Cohort

Lawrence Long, Alana Brennan, Matthew P. Fox, Buyiswa Ndibongo, Imogen Jaffray, Ian Sanne, Sydney Rosen

PLOS Medicine: published July 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001055

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A Multi-Country Non-Inferiority Cluster Randomized Trial of Frontloaded Smear Microscopy for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Luis Eduardo Cuevas, Mohammed Ahmed Yassin, Najla Al-Sonboli, Lovett Lawson, Isabel Arbide, Nasher Al-Aghbari, Jeevan Bahadur Sherchand, Amin Al-Absi, Emmanuel Nnamdi Emenyonu, Yared Merid, Mosis Ifenyi Okobi, Juliana Olubunmi Onuoha, Melkamsew Aschalew, Abraham Aseffa, Greg Harper, Rachel Mary Anderson de Cuevas, Kristin Kremer, Dick van Soolingen, Carl-Michael Nathanson, Jean Joly, Brian Faragher, Stephen Bertel Squire, Andrew Ramsay

PLOS Medicine: published July 12, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000443

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LED Fluorescence Microscopy for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Multi-Country Cross-Sectional Evaluation

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Predicting the Epidemic Sizes of Influenza A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B: A Statistical Method

Edward Goldstein, Sarah Cobey, Saki Takahashi, Joel C. Miller, Marc Lipsitch

PLOS Medicine: published July 5, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001051

Risk Factors for Severe Outcomes following 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Infection: A Global Pooled Analysis

Maria D. Van Kerkhove, Katelijn A. H. Vandemaele, Vivek Shinde, Giovanna Jaramillo-Gutierrez, Artemis Koukounari, Christl A. Donnelly, Luis O. Carlino, Rhonda Owen, Beverly Paterson, Louise Pelletier, Julie Vachon, Claudia Gonzalez, Yu Hongjie, Feng Zijian, Shuk Kwan Chuang, Albert Au, Silke Buda, Gerard Krause, Walter Haas, Isabelle Bonmarin, Kiyosu Taniguichi, Kensuke Nakajima, Tokuaki Shobayashi, Yoshihiro Takayama, Tomi Sunagawa, Jean Michel Heraud, Arnaud Orelle, Ethel Palacios, Marianne A. B. van der Sande, C. C. H. Lieke Wielders, Darren Hunt, Jeffrey Cutter, Vernon J. Lee, Juno Thomas, Patricia Santa-Olalla, Maria J. Sierra-Moros, Wanna Hanshaoworakul, Kumnuan Ungchusak, Richard Pebody, Seema Jain, Anthony W. Mounts, on behalf of the WHO Working Group for Risk Factors for Severe H1N1pdm Infection

PLOS Medicine: published July 5, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001053

Comparison of Xpert MTB/RIF with Other Nucleic Acid Technologies for Diagnosing Pulmonary Tuberculosis in a High HIV Prevalence Setting: A Prospective Study

Lesley E. Scott, Kerrigan McCarthy, Natasha Gous, Matilda Nduna, Annelies Van Rie, Ian Sanne, Willem F. Venter, Adrian Duse, Wendy Stevens

PLOS Medicine: published July 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001061

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Configuring Balanced Scorecards for Measuring Health System Performance: Evidence from 5 Years' Evaluation in Afghanistan

Anbrasi Edward, Binay Kumar, Faizullah Kakar, Ahmad Shah Salehi, Gilbert Burnham, David H. Peters

PLOS Medicine: published July 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001066

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