Publications by authors named "Binta Sarr"
Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis culturing remains the gold standard for laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis remains a great public health problem in developing countries like The Gambia, as most of the methods currently used for bacterial isolation are either time-consuming or costly.
Objective: To evaluate the Kudoh swab method in a West African setting in Gambia, with a particular focus on the method's performance when culturing Mycobacterium africanum West Africa 2 (MAF2) isolates.
Article Synopsis
- Blood-based biomarkers could provide a more effective way to monitor treatment response in active tuberculosis compared to traditional sputum-based methods.
- In a study with twenty adults, immune responses were measured before and after two months of standard TB treatment, revealing key differences in T cell activation between fast and slow responders.
- Findings suggest that while treatment may reduce T cell activation markers, the initial levels of these markers could help predict how quickly a patient responds to treatment.
Article Synopsis
- Mycobacterium africanum (MAF) lineages, primarily found in West Africa, are significant contributors to tuberculosis, yet their co-evolution with local populations remains poorly understood.
- Differences in clinical characteristics between MAF and M. tuberculosis (MTB) may be linked to mutations in their electron transport chain and central carbon metabolic pathways.
- Our analysis revealed more mutations affecting metabolic enzymes in MAF than in MTB, suggesting that MAF may have adapted to unique ecological conditions, possibly low oxygen environments.