Background: Accurate and timely infectious disease surveillance is pivotal for effective public health responses. An important component of this is the disease surveillance tools used. Understanding views and experiences of users is crucial for informing policy decisions and ensuring the seamless functioning of surveillance systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) has been implemented for various infectious diseases since 2015. 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, SORMAS was adapted to SARS-CoV2.
Methods: We assessed the acceptability and usability of SORMAS and accompanied its implementation in two pilot regions of Côte d'Ivoire (Abidjan 2 and Gbêkê) from July/August 2021 to March 2022.
Background: Rapid urbanisation in Sub-Saharan African cities such as Dakar, Senegal, leads to proliferation of informal braised meat restaurants known as "dibiteries". Dibiteries do not often comply with minimal hygiene and food safety standards. The primary objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness and cost of a good hygiene practice intervention, identify factors that incentivize hygiene improvement and how that impacts on dibiteries' income.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAt the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, preventive measures seemed the most appropriate method to control its spread. We assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the Ivorian public regarding preventive measures, conducting a hybrid survey across the country. Participants were invited to complete a questionnaire online, by phone, or face-to-face.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Plasmodium spp. and helminths are co-endemic in many parts of the tropics; hence, co-infection is a common phenomenon. Interactions between Plasmodium and helminth infections may alter the host's immune response and susceptibility and thus impact on morbidity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParasit Vectors
February 2018
Background: Preventive chemotherapy with donated anthelminthic drugs is the cornerstone for the control of helminthiases. However, reinfection can occur rapidly in the absence of clean water and sanitation coupled with unhygienic behaviour. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of an integrated package of interventions, consisting of preventive chemotherapy, community-led total sanitation (CLTS) and health education, on the prevalence of helminth and intestinal protozoa infections and on participants' knowledge, attitude, practice and beliefs (KAPB) towards these diseases including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In Côte d'Ivoire, malaria remains a major public health issue, and thus a priority to be tackled. The aim of this study was to identify spatially explicit indicators of Plasmodium falciparum infection among school-aged children and to undertake a model-based spatial prediction of P. falciparum infection risk using environmental predictors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Soil-transmitted helminthiasis affects more than a billion people in the world and accounts for a global burden of 5.1 million disability-adjusted life years. The objectives of this study were (i) to map and predict the risk of soil-transmitted helminth infections among school-aged children in Côte d'Ivoire; (ii) to estimate school-aged children population-adjusted risk; and (iii) to estimate annual needs for preventive chemotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is limited knowledge on the malaria burden of school-aged children in Côte d'Ivoire. The aim of this study was to assess Plasmodium falciparum infection, malaria-related morbidity, use of preventive measures and treatment against malaria, and physical access to health structures among school-aged children across Côte d'Ivoire.
Methods: A national, cross-sectional study was designed, consisting of clinical and parasitological examinations and interviews with schoolchildren.
Background: Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni are blood flukes that cause urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis, respectively. In Côte d'Ivoire, both species are endemic and control efforts are being scaled up. Accurate knowledge of the geographical distribution, including delineation of high-risk areas, is a central feature for spatial targeting of interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Parasitic infections are still of considerable public health relevance, notably among children in low- and middle-income countries. Measures to assess the magnitude of ill-health in infected individuals, however, are debated and patient-based proxies through generic health-related quality of life (HrQoL) instruments are among the proposed strategies. Disability estimates based on HrQoL are still scarce and conflicting, and hence, there is a need to strengthen the current evidence-base.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Malaria and helminth infections are thought to negatively affect children's nutritional status and to impair their physical and cognitive development. Yet, the current evidence-base is weak. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of deworming against soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis on children's physical fitness, cognition and clinical parameters in a malaria-helminth co-endemic setting of Côte d'Ivoire.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Helminth infection and malaria remain major causes of ill-health in the tropics and subtropics. There are several shared risk factors (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Polyparasitism is still widespread in rural communities of the developing world. However, the epidemiology of polyparasitism and implications for morbidity are poorly understood. We studied patterns of multiple species parasite infection in two rural communities of Côte d'Ivoire, including associations and interactions between infection, clinical indicators and self-reported morbidity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: More than 1 billion people are currently infected with soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomes. The global strategy to control helminthiases is the regular administration of anthelmintic drugs to at-risk populations. However, rapid re-infection occurs in areas where hygiene, access to clean water, and sanitation are inadequate.
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