[Uncommon signs of mycetoma].

Mycetoma is a chronic inflammatory process during which exogenous fungal or actinomycosic agents produce grains. The infection involves the skin, the subcutaneous tissues, the muscles and the bones. We report the case of a 39-year old woman, a teacher, living in Brazzaville, who had regularly resided in the village.

Syphilis and HIV infections among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Republic of Congo.

Introduction: HIV and syphilis during pregnancy remain a public health concern especially in developing countries. Pregnant women attending antenatal clinics sites for the first time between September and December 2011 and who accepted to participate in the study were enrolled. The objective was to estimate the syphilis and HIV infection rate in this population.

HIV-1 genetic diversity and primary drug resistance mutations before large-scale access to antiretroviral therapy, Republic of Congo.

Background: In this work, we investigated the genetic diversity of HIV-1 and the presence of mutations conferring antiretroviral drug resistance in 50 drug-naïve infected persons in the Republic of Congo (RoC). Samples were obtained before large-scale access to HAART in 2002 and 2004.

Methods: To assess the HIV-1 genetic recombination, the sequencing of the pol gene encoding a protease and partial reverse transcriptase was performed and analyzed with updated references, including newly characterized CRFs.