Scholars@Duke
Ganga Moorthy

Ganga Moorthy

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases
ganga.moorthy@duke.edu
315 Trent Drive, Hanes House Office 368, DUMC 3499, Durham, NC 27705
315 Trent Drive, Hanes House Office 368, DUMC 3499, Durham, NC 27705

Scholarly Works - Journal articles

Respiratory Pathogen Detection Among Febrile Inpatients in Northern Tanzania, 2016-2019.

Journal article Open Forum Infect Dis · July 2026 BACKGROUND: Febrile illness is a common reason for hospital admission in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the illness etiology often remains unknown. To address these knowledge gaps, we conducted respiratory pathogen testing in a cohort of febrile inpatients in nor ... Full text Link to item Cite

Antibodies to Tick Salivary Antigens AV422 and Calreticulin in Patients With Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses and Other Febrile Illnesses in Northern Tanzania.

Journal article J Infect Dis · January 17, 2026 BACKGROUND: Timely and accurate diagnosis of spotted fever rickettsioses (SFR) is difficult due to nonspecific symptoms and testing challenges. We evaluated serum antibodies to the tick salivary proteins AV422 and calreticulin as potential markers of recen ... Full text Link to item Cite

Derivation and Internal Validation of a Clinical Prediction Model for Diagnosis of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses in Northern Tanzania.

Journal article Open Forum Infect Dis · March 2025 Spotted fever group rickettsioses (SFGR) pose a global threat as emerging zoonotic infectious diseases; however, timely and cost-effective diagnostic tools are currently limited. We used data from 449 patients presenting to 2 hospitals in northern Tanzania ... Full text Link to item Cite

Implementation of Bundled Interventions to Reduce Surgical Site Infections in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Cardiothoracic Surgery: A Quality Improvement Project.

Journal article AORN J · February 2025 Pediatric patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery are at increased risk for health care-associated infections, especially surgical site infections (SSIs). Delayed sternal closures are associated with prolonged lengths of stay and contribute to infection ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical characteristics, antimicrobial resistance, and mortality of neonatal bloodstream infections in Northern Tanzania, 2022-2023.

Journal article PLoS One · 2025 Neonatal bloodstream infections (BSI) make a substantial contribution to morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), but data on the epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Tanzania are limited. We describe the prevalenc ... Full text Link to item Cite

Physician knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of antibiograms: a pre-implementation study in southern Sri Lanka.

Journal article Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol · 2025 OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to explore physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions toward antibiograms and identify perceived barriers and facilitators to their implementation in a low-resource setting in Sri Lanka. DESIGN: A qualitative ... Full text Link to item Cite

Risk Factors for Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania.

Journal article Open Forum Infect Dis · December 2024 BACKGROUND: Knowledge gaps exist on risk factors for spotted fever group rickettsioses (SFGR) in sub-Saharan Africa. We sought to identify SFGR risk factors in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. METHODS: We recruited febrile patients presenting at 2 hospitals i ... Full text Link to item Cite

Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs Reduce Antibiotic Use at Combined Adult-Pediatric Hospitals.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · August 16, 2024 Implementation of dedicated pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) at 2 combined adult-pediatric hospitals with existing ASPs was associated with sustained decreases in pediatric antibiotic use out of proportion to declines seen in adult inpat ... Full text Link to item Cite

Variations in antibiotic prescribing among children enrolled in North Carolina Medicaid, 2013-2019.

Journal article J Rural Health · June 2024 PURPOSE: The majority of pediatric antibiotic prescribing occurs in the outpatient setting and inappropriate use contributes to antimicrobial resistance. There are regional variations in outpatient antibiotic use with the highest rates occurring in the Sou ... Full text Link to item Cite

Prevalence and risk factors for Q fever, spotted fever group rickettsioses, and typhus group rickettsioses in a pastoralist community of northern Tanzania, 2016-2017.

Journal article Trop Med Int Health · May 2024 BACKGROUND: In northern Tanzania, Q fever, spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses, and typhus group (TG) rickettsioses are common causes of febrile illness. We sought to describe the prevalence and risk factors for these zoonoses in a pastoralist communit ... Full text Link to item Cite

Utility of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Nasal PCR Testing in Pediatric Patients With Suspected Respiratory Infections.

Journal article J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc · April 24, 2024 Observational studies in adults suggest nasal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) swabs have a high negative predictive value (NPV) for ruling out MRSA pneumonia, however, pediatric data are limited. This retrospective study of 505 pediatric ... Full text Link to item Cite

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Preventive Health Care Among North Carolina Children Enrolled in Medicaid.

Journal article J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc · December 26, 2023 BACKGROUND: Children enrolled in private insurance had reduced preventive health care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the impact of the pandemic on children enrolled in Medicaid has been minimally described. METHODS: We us ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing varies by clinical services at United States children's hospitals.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · November 2023 OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing at US children's hospitals and how these patterns vary by clinical service. DESIGN: Serial, cross-sectional study using quarterly surveys. SETTING: Surveys were completed in quarter 1 ... Full text Link to item Cite

Antibacterial Utilization for Febrile Illnesses and Laboratory-Confirmed Bloodstream Infections in Northern Tanzania.

Journal article Open Forum Infect Dis · August 2023 BACKGROUND: We describe antibacterial use in light of microbiology data and treatment guidelines for common febrile syndromes in Moshi, Tanzania. METHODS: We compared data from 2 hospital-based prospective cohort studies, cohort 1 (2011-2014) and cohort 2 ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Racial Inequities in Sepsis Mortality Among Children in the United States.

Journal article Pediatr Infect Dis J · May 1, 2023 BACKGROUND: Racial inequities influence health outcomes in the United States, but their impact on sepsis outcomes among children is understudied. We aimed to evaluate for racial inequities in sepsis mortality using a nationally representative sample of ped ... Full text Link to item Cite

Defining Variability in Evaluation and Management of Children with Chronic Osteomyelitis.

Journal article J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc · April 28, 2023 Pediatric chronic osteomyelitis is a rare, debilitating condition lacking management guidelines. In a national survey of 162 pediatric infectious disease physicians through the Emerging Infections Network, tremendous variability in diagnostic approaches an ... Full text Link to item Cite

SARS-CoV-2 Screening Testing Programs for Safe In-person Learning in K-12 Schools.

Journal article J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc · February 27, 2023 BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) screening testing is a recommended mitigation strategy for schools, although few descriptions of program implementation are available. METHODS: Kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Causal Association of Physician-in-Triage with Improved Pediatric Sepsis Care: A Single-Center, Emergency Department Experience.

Journal article Pediatr Qual Saf · 2023 UNLABELLED: Approximately 75,000 children are hospitalized for sepsis yearly in the United States, with 5%-20% mortality estimates. Outcomes are closely related to the timeliness of sepsis recognition and antibiotic administration. METHODS: A multidiscipli ... Full text Link to item Cite

Test-to-Stay After SARS-CoV-2 Exposure: A Mitigation Strategy for Optionally Masked K-12 Schools.

Journal article Pediatrics · November 1, 2022 OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the impact of a test-to-stay (TTS) program on within-school transmission and missed school days in optionally masked kindergarten through 12th grade schools during a period of high community severe acute respiratory syndrome corona ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Exebacase in an Infant With Disseminated Staphylococcus aureus Infection.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · August 25, 2022 Exebacase, an antistaphylococcal lysin produced from a bacteriophage-encoded gene, is a promising adjunctive therapy for severe methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. We describe the first infant to receive exebacase, dosing, and pharmacok ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Test-to-Stay After Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in K-12 Schools.

Journal article Pediatrics · May 1, 2022 OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the safety and efficacy of a test-to-stay program for unvaccinated students and staff who experienced an unmasked, in-school exposure to someone with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Masking Adherence in K-12 Schools and SARS-CoV-2 Secondary Transmission.

Journal article Pediatrics · February 1, 2022 OBJECTIVES: Masking is an essential coronavirus 2019 mitigation tool assisting in the safe return of kindergarten through 12th grade children and staff to in-person instruction; however, masking adherence, compliance evaluation methods, and potential conse ... Full text Link to item Cite

Building a National Framework to Pair Scientists and Schools During a Global Pandemic.

Journal article Pediatrics · February 1, 2022 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced the suspension of in-person education in schools serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) across the United States. As time passed, teachers, students, and parents struggled with rem ... Full text Link to item Cite

A School-Based SARS-CoV-2 Testing Program: Testing Uptake and Quarantine Length After In-School Exposures.

Journal article Pediatrics · February 1, 2022 OBJECTIVES: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related quarantines, which are required after close contact with infected individuals, have substantially disrupted in-person education for kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) stud ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Community SARS-CoV-2 Surge and Within-School Transmission.

Journal article Pediatrics · October 2021 OBJECTIVES: When the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic began, experts raised concerns about in-person instruction in the setting of high levels of community transmission. We describe secondary transmission of SARS-CoV-2 ... Full text Link to item Cite

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine in Children.

Journal article Pediatr Rev · October 2021 Full text Link to item Cite

A Rare Association of Non-Compaction of the Ventricular Myocardium, and Non-Immune Hydrops Fetalis.

Journal article J Okla State Med Assoc · 2016 Hydrops fetalis is a rare manifestation of severe congestive heart failure in a fetus, resulting in pathological fluid accumulation in fetal soft tissues and/or serous cavities. Non-compaction of the ventricular myocardium, frequently referred to as the le ... Link to item Cite