Epidemiology and diversity of Plasmodium species in Franceville and their implications for malaria control.

Malaria is a significant public health challenge in Gabon, with high prevalence rates in rural and semi-urban areas. This study investigated Plasmodium infection prevalence among outpatients at a medical laboratory in Franceville, Gabon, in 2020. Data from 500 patients were analyzed, revealing an overall infection rate of 33.

Parasitic infections during pregnancy in Gabon affect glycosylation patterns of maternal and child antibodies.

Antibody glycosylation patterns can affect antibody functionality and thereby contribute to protection against invading pathogens. During pregnancy, maternal antibodies can be transferred through the placenta and contribute to modulating both the mother's and her child's immune responses. Although several studies of IgG glycosylation during pregnancy have been carried out, very few cohorts studied were from sub-Saharan Africa, where exposure to microorganisms and parasites is high.

Genome sequencing of Plasmodium malariae identifies continental segregation and mutations associated with reduced pyrimethamine susceptibility.

Plasmodium malariae parasites are widely observed across the tropics and sub-tropics. This slow-growing species, known to maintain chronic asymptomatic infections, has been associated with reduced antimalarial susceptibility. We analyse 251 P.

Immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in sub-Saharan Africa and western Europe: a retrospective, population-based, cross-sectional study.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with a higher proportion of asymptomatic infections and lower mortality in sub-Saharan Africa than high-income countries. However, there is currently a lack of data on cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in people living in Africa compared with people in high-income regions of the world. We aimed to assess geographical variation in peripheral and mucosal immune responses.

Resistance of Anopheles gambiae s.s. against commonly used insecticides and implication of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase in resistance to pyrethroids in Lambaréné (Gabon).

Background: Insecticides are a crucial component of vector control. However, resistance constitute a threat on their efficacy and the gains obtained over the years through malaria vector control. In Gabon, little data on phenotypic insecticide resistance in Anopheles vectors are published, compromising the rational implementation of resistance management strategies.

SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Seroprevalence in Gabon: Findings from a Nationwide Household Serosurvey in a Sub-Saharan Africa Country.

Seroconversion surveys of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies provide accurate estimates of the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections. This nationwide population-based cross-sectional serosurvey aimed to evaluate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among residents in Gabon and compare the estimated cumulative number of COVID-19 cases with the officially registered number of laboratory-confirmed cases up to December 2021. Households in each province were randomly selected.

Safety and efficacy of praziquantel in pregnant women infected with Schistosoma haematobium in Lambaréné, Gabon - Clinical results from the randomized, single-blinded, controlled freeBILy-Gabon trial.

Objectives: Despite evidence of praziquantel's (PZQ) safety for treating schistosomiasis in pregnancy, many countries withhold treatment. Only two randomized controlled trials have investigated PZQ in pregnancy, none involving Schistosoma haematobium.

Methods: Pregnant women during the second trimester in Lambaréné (Gabon) were screened for S.

Focal spleen lesions in loiasis: A pilot study in Gabon.

Background: Infection with the filarial nematode Loa loa, endemic in Central and Western Africa, has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. A number of reports described the presence of spleen nodules, originating from degenerating microfilariae, in humans and animals infected with L. loa.

Reported healthcare-seeking of loiasis patients and estimation of the associated monetary burden in Gabon: Data from a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Loiasis is a disease of relevance in endemic populations and there has been advocacy for its inclusion on the World Health Organization's neglected tropical diseases list. As loiasis-related healthcare-seeking behaviors and related costs are unknown, we aimed to evaluate these aspects in a population residing in an endemic region in Gabon.

Methods: Data were collected during a community-based, cross-sectional study assessing the disease burden due to loiasis.

Drug-induced hepatotoxicity and association with slow acetylation variants NAT2*5 and NAT2*6 in Cameroonian patients with tuberculosis and HIV co-infection.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) are major contributors to morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa including Cameroon. Pharmacogenetic variants could serve as predictors of drug-induced hepatotoxicity (DIH), in patients with TB co-infected with HIV. We evaluated the occurrence of DIH and pharmacogenetic variants in Cameroonian patients.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to soil-transmitted helminth infections among residents of Bata district, Equatorial Guinea; a cross-sectional study.

Background: Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection control remains a priority in endemic regions where local epidemiological data are needed for sustainable control strategies, particularly regarding population knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). Our work assessed KAP toward STH infection and associated factors among residents of Bata district, Equatorial Guinea.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 14 randomly selected communities in the Bata district.

Impact of helminth infections during pregnancy on maternal and newborn Vitamin D and on birth outcomes.

Poor birth outcomes in low- and middle income countries are associated with maternal vitamin D deficiency and chronic helminth infections. Here, we investigated whether maternal Schistosoma haematobium affects maternal or cord vitamin D status as well as birth outcomes. In a prospective cross-sectional study of pregnant women conducted in Lambaréné, Gabon, we diagnosed maternal parasitic infections in blood, urine and stool.

Temporal trends of skin and soft tissue infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Gabon.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the leading causes of mortality due to bacterial antimicrobial resistance. While S. aureus is common in skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) in Africa, data on MRSA rates are scarce and reports vary widely across the continent (5%-80%).

Molecular surveillance for dengue serotypes among the population living in Moyen-Ogooué province, Gabon; evidence of the presence of dengue serotype 1.

Background: Despite dengue virus (DENV) outbreak in Gabon a decade ago, less is known on the potential circulation of DENV serotypes in the country. Previous studies conducted in some areas of the country, are limited to hospital-based surveys which reported the presence of some cases of serotype 2 and 3 seven years ago and more recently the serotype 1. As further investigation, we extend the survey to the community of Moyen Ogooué region with the aim to assess the presence of the dengue virus serotypes, additionally to characterize chikungunya (CHIKV) infection and describe the symptomatology associated with infections.

Potentiation of the axis involving pentose phosphate pathway/NADPH oxidase/reactive oxygen species drives higher IL-10 production in monocytes of Sub-Saharan Africans.

Cellular metabolism is a key determinant of immune cell function. Here we found that CD14 monocytes from Sub-Saharan Africans produce higher levels of IL-10 following TLR-4 stimulation and are bioenergetically distinct from monocytes from Europeans. Through metabolomic profiling, we identified the higher IL-10 production to be driven by increased baseline production of NADPH oxidase-dependent reactive oxygen species, supported by enhanced pentose phosphate pathway activity.

Evaluation of knowledge, attitude and practices towards loiasis in the rural community of Sindara, in central African Gabon.

Background: More than 20 million people are infected with L. loa, and around 40 million live in high or intermediate-risk areas in West- and Central Africa. Although loiasis is associated with significant morbidity and excess mortality, little is known about the perception of loiasis by affected communities.

Eosinophils, basophils and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in chronic Loa loa infection and its treatment in an endemic setting.

Background: Chronic infection by Loa loa remains an unsolved immunological paradox. Despite harboring subcutaneously migrating adult worms and often high densities of microfilariae, most patients experience only relatively mild symptoms, yet microfilaricidal treatment can trigger life-threatening inflammation. Here, we investigated innate cell populations hypothesized to play a role in these two faces of the disease, in an endemic population in Gabon.

Gut microbiota in vaccine naïve Gabonese children with rotavirus A gastroenteritis.

Background: While the gut microbiome modulates the pathogenesis of enteric viruses, how infections caused by rotavirus A (RVA), with or without diarrhoea, alter the gut microbiota has been sparsely studied.

Methods: From a cohort of 224 vaccine naïve Gabonese children with and without diarrhoea (n = 177 and n = 67, respectively), 48 stool samples were analysed: (i) RVA with diarrhoea (n = 12); (ii) RVA without diarrhoea (n = 12); (iii) diarrhoea without RVA (n = 12); (iv) healthy controls without diarrhoea and RVA (n = 12). The 16S rRNA metabarcoding using Oxford Nanopore sequencing data was analysed for taxonomic composition, abundance, alpha and beta diversity, and metabolic pathways.

Safety and immunogenicity of the co-administered Na-APR-1 and Na-GST-1 hookworm vaccines in school-aged children in Gabon: a randomised, controlled, observer-blind, phase 1, dose-escalation trial.

Background: A human hookworm vaccine is being developed to protect children against iron deficiency and anaemia associated with chronic infection with hookworms. Necator americanus aspartic protease-1 (Na-APR-1) and N americanus glutathione S-transferase-1 (Na-GST-1) are components of the blood digestion pathway critical to hookworm survival in the host. Recombinant Na-GST-1 and catalytically inactive Na-APR-1 (Na-APR-1[M74]) adsorbed to Alhydrogel were safe and immunogenic when delivered separately or co-administered to adults in phase 1 trials in non-endemic and endemic areas.

Dynamics of Plasmodium species and genotype diversity in adults with asymptomatic infection in Gabon.

Objectives: We investigated the diversity and dynamics of Plasmodium infection in serially collected samples from asymptomatic participants of a clinical trial assessing the efficacy and safety of ivermectin in Gabon. We checked whether the baseline sample reflected the P. falciparum genotype and Plasmodium species diversity seen over 7 days of follow-up.