Increasing rabies data availability: The example of a One Health research project in Chad, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali.

Rabies is a fatal but preventable disease that remains notoriously underreported. Weak data availability hampers advocacy, constitutes a barrier to resource allocation and inhibits effective prevention and control. To gain better insight into the global rabies burden and human vaccine demand several studies were funded through the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) learning agenda.

Burden of rabies in Mali.

Unlabelled: Rabies is the most dreaded neglected zoonosis worldwide. It affects mostly developing countries with limited access to post-exposure prophylaxis and a low coverage of dog vaccination.

Objective: This study estimates the burden of human rabies in Mali from the extrapolation of animal bite surveillance, mostly dogs, in the region of Sikasso and the District of Bamako in 2016 and 2017.

Serologic features of cohorts with variable genetic risk for systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences. In Western Europe and North America, individuals of West African descent have a 3-4 fold greater incidence of SLE than Caucasians. Paradoxically, West Africans in sub-Saharan Africa appear to have a low incidence of SLE, and some studies suggest a milder disease with less nephritis.

E-Health, another mechanism to recruit and retain healthcare professionals in remote areas: lessons learned from EQUI-ResHuS project in Mali.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceived influence of telehealth on recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals in remote areas in Mali.

Methods: After 15 months of diagnosis imaging training and telehealth activities at four project sites in remote Mali, between May 2011 and August 2012, a 75-item questionnaire was administered to healthcare professionals to assess the various factors related to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), especially telehealth, and their influence on health personnel recruitment and retention. Questions assessing perceived impact of telehealth on recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals were rated on a five-point Likert scale.

Wuchereria bancrofti transmission pattern in southern Mali prior to and following the institution of mass drug administration.

Background: The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) was launched in 2000 with the goal of stopping transmission of lymphatic filariasis (LF) through yearly mass drug administration (MDA). Although preliminary surveys of the human population in Mali suggested that Wuchereria bancrofti infection was highly endemic in the Sikasso district, baseline entomological data were required to confirm high levels of transmission prior to the selection of villages in this region for a study of the impact of MDA on transmission of LF by anopheline vectors.

Methods: W.

Effect on school attendance and performance of iron and multiple micronutrients as adjunct to drug treatment of Schistosoma-infected anemic schoolchildren.

Background: Relationships among Schistosoma haematobium, anemia, and iron deficiency have been documented, and all have been found to be associated with a decline in school attendance and lower performance.

Objective: To assess the effect of single or combined iron and multiple micronutrients and/or praziquantel on school attendance and achievement in randomly selected 7- to 12-year-old anemic children with documented S. haematobium infection (n = 406) in Mali over a 3-month period.

Multiple micronutrients including iron are not more effective than iron alone for improving hemoglobin and iron status of Malian school children.

Iron deficiency and anemia remain among the most important global public health problems facing school children. Helminth infections often peak at school age and aggravate nutritional risks. We conducted a 12-wk randomized controlled trial in 406 Malian anemic schoolchildren infected with Schistosoma hematobium to examine the effects of 2 doses of praziquantel (P) (40 mg/kg body weight), P + 60 mg/d iron (Fe), and/or a multiple micronutrient supplement (MM) that included 18 mg/d Fe.

Determinants of anemia among pregnant women in Mali.

Background: Anemia in pregnancy remains a major problem in nearly all developing and many industrialized countries. In Mali, the subpopulation prevalence and etiology of anemia during pregnancy are largely unknown.

Objective: To examine the prevalence and likely etiologies of anemia in pregnancy in a poor urban population in Bamako, Mali.

Integration of basic dermatological care into primary health care services in Mali.

Objective: To evaluate, in a developing country, the effect of a short training programme for general health care workers on the management of common skin diseases--a neglected component of primary health care in such regions.

Methods: We provided a one-day training programme on the management of the skin diseases to 400 health care workers who worked in primary health care centres in the Bamako area. We evaluated their knowledge and practice before and after training.

Malaria treatment in remote areas of Mali: use of modern and traditional medicines, patient outcome.

Use of official health services often remains low despite great efforts to improve quality of care. Are informal treatments responsible for keeping a number of patients away from standard care, and if so, why? Through a questionnaire survey with proportional cluster samples, we studied the case histories of 952 children in Bandiagara and Sikasso areas of Mali. Most children with reported uncomplicated malaria were first treated at home (87%) with modern medicines alone (40%), a mixture of modern and traditional treatments (33%), or traditional treatment alone (27%).