Efficacy of an iron-fortified infant cereal to reduce the risk of iron deficiency anemia in young children in East Cameroon.

Complementary foods in Africa are often poor sources of bioavailable iron. We assessed the efficacy of iron-fortified wheat-based infant cereal (IC) to reduce the risk of iron deficiency anemia in children aged 18-59 months in Cameroon. A 6-month double-blind, cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2017 among anemic (hemoglobin 7-11 g/dl) but otherwise healthy children.

The Influence of Iron and Zinc Supplementation on the Bioavailability of Provitamin A Carotenoids from Papaya Following Consumption of a Vitamin A-Deficient Diet.

Iron deficiency anemia, zinc and vitamin A deficiencies are serious public health problems in Cameroon, as in many developing countries. Local vegetables which are sources of provitamin A carotenoids (PACs) can be used to improve vitamin A intakes. However, traditional meals are often unable to cover zinc and iron needs.

Preventing HIV-1 transmission in breastfed infants in low resource settings: early HIV infection and late postnatal transmission in a routine prevention of mother-to-child transmission program in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Objective: To report on overall HIV-transmission rates [early and late postnatal transmission (LPNT)] in breastfed infants born to HIV-positive women.

Methods: Mother-baby pairs in a routine prevention of mother-to-child transmission program. Promotion of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) coupled with access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) or prevention using antiretroviral (pARV).

Trace elements in foods of children from Cameroon: a focus on zinc and phytate content.

In developing countries, complementary foods are based on local cereal porridges. These foods are poor in trace elements, with a high risk of inducing micronutrient deficiencies-the primary cause of mortality in children under the age of five. Inappropriate feeding of complementary foods is the major factor creating malnutrition and micronutrients deficiencies in Cameroon children, as well as in other developing countries.

Bacterial meningitis and pneumococcal serotype distribution in children in cameroon.

Acute bacterial meningitis causes a substantial number of deaths in Cameroon. Among 170 children with acute meningitis, 112 were positive for a bacterial pathogen when tested using polymerase chain reaction amplification, and Streptococcus pneumoniae accounted for 57.1% of cases.

The frequency and magnitude of growth failure in a group of HIV-infected children in Cameroon.

Background: Growth impairment is a major manifestation of HIV infection in children and has been implicated as a major contributor to both morbidity and mortality. This study the first to be done in this setting, was aimed at comparing the growth of HIV infected children to that of non-infected children in two referral health facilities in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Methods: A prospective case control study was carried out on 39 HIV infected children in two referral hospitals and followed up for a period of 12 months.

The empiric use of palm kernel oil in neonatal skin care: justifiable or not?

Palm kernel oil is a vegetable oil derived from Elaeis guineensis and widely used in neonatal settings for skin care. It is a good emollient with a beneficial effect in moisturizing the skin and preventing transdermal heat and water loss. However, it's putative roles in the prevention or treatment of fatty acid defificiency is still controversial.

HIV exposure and related newborn morbidity and mortality in the University Teaching Hospital of Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Introduction: Few studies have established the role of maternal HIV infection on neonatal disease and death. In order to determine whether neonatal morbidity and mortality were associated to maternal HIV infection, a case-control study was conducted in the neonatal unit of the University Teaching Hospital of Yaoundé from July 2006 to December 2007.

Methods: Babies born from HIV positive mothers were recruited as cases.

Disseminated leishmaniasis in a four-year-old child in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by a protozoan parasite of the genus leishmania with worldwide distribution and is transmitted to man by phlebotomine sand flies. The clinical presentation could range from a single cutaneous ulcer to disseminated leishmaniasis. We report the case of a four-year-old boy admitted to our hospital with ulcers, wasting, progressively distending abdomen, and fatigue evolving for about two months.

Heat impact on schoolchildren in Cameroon, Africa: potential health threat from climate change.

Background: Health impacts related to climate change are potentially an increasing problem in Cameroon, especially during hot seasons when there are no means for protective and adaptive actions.

Objective: To describe environmental conditions in schools and to evaluate the impact of heat on schoolchildren's health during school days in the Cameroon cities of Yaoundé and Douala.

Methods: Schoolchildren (N = 285) aged 12-16 years from public secondary schools completed a questionnaire about their background, general symptoms, and hot feelings in a cross-sectional study.

Frequent failure of adolescent booster responses to tetanus toxoid despite infant immunization: waning of infancy-induced immune memory?

To define the capacity of a tetanus toxoid booster to reactivate infant-triggered immunity, anti-tetanus antibodies were assessed before and after boosting 162 adolescents and 219 children from Mfou (Cameroon). Among 63 adolescents with 3 recorded dose of infant DTP, 29/63 (46%) responded with a > or =4-fold increase of antibody titers, 35/63 (55%) reaching the 0.10UI/ml threshold.

[Causes of anaemia in African children aged 5 to 10 years].

This study was conducted among two groups of 105 children in a hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to determine the causes of anaemia in children aged 5- 10-years-old. The study group included children presenting clinical evidence of anaemia while the control group was made of children without anaemia. Both sets of children were matched for neighbourhoods within the city of Yaoundé.

Chronic disease management in Sub-Saharan Africa: whose business is it?

Public health specialists and clinicians alike agree that Humanity faces a global pandemic of chronic diseases in the 21(st) century. In this article we discuss the implications of this pandemic on another global issue, the health workforce. Because both issues are particularly acute in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), we will focus on this region and use Cameroon as a case in point.

Management of neural tube defects in a Sub-Saharan African country: the situation in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Background: Neural tube defect is a serious disabling but preventable congenital malformation with an incidence of 1.99 per 1000 births in Yaounde [A.K.