Journal Watch

Hans Hartmann, MD Clinic for Pediatric Kidney-, Liver- and Metabolic Diseases Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany hartmann.hans@mh-hannover.de The term ‘neonatal encephalopathy’ refers to neonates presenting with a wide spectrum of neurological symptoms, in particular with impairment of consciousness and seizures. There is no generally accepted definition and it can be due to various underlying etiologies, including genetic and acquired conditions. In neonates presenting with symptoms suggestive of an ‘encephalopathy’, an acquired condition is usually suspected. Recent work has highlighted the role of genetic workup in the absence of a clear history of an acquired condition,...

Kate Oyieke, Mohamed Oshi, Jo Wilmshurst Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa Respiratory diseases caused by viral agents are one of the most critical problems in public health, as every year they are responsible for high rates of morbidity and mortality, mainly of young children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals [1-3]. Viral respiratory pathogens have come to the fore as a major cause for pandemics and therefore a better understanding of their disease spectrum is of great public health significance [4, 5]. The current challenges (in case definition, symptom profiling, estimation of...