Histidine-rich protein (hrp) 2-based RDT false-negatives and Plasmodium falciparum hrp 2 and 3 gene deletions in low, seasonal and intense perennial transmission zones in Cameroon: a cross - sectional study.

Background: False negative rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) accruing to the non-detection of Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2/3 (Pfhrp2/3) is threatening the diagnosis and management of malaria. Although regular monitoring is necessary to gauge the level of efficacy of the tool, studies in Cameroon remain limited. This study assessed Plasmodium spp.

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.

Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Plus Azithromycin to Prevent Malaria and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Pregnant Women With HIV (PREMISE): A Randomized, Double-Masked, Placebo-Controlled, Phase IIB Clinical Trial.

Background: This trial tested the effectiveness of a novel regimen to prevent malaria and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among pregnant women with HIV in Cameroon. Our hypothesis was that the addition of azithromycin (AZ) to standard daily trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) prophylaxis would reduce malaria and STI infection rates at delivery.

Methods: Pregnant women with HIV at gestational age <28 weeks were randomized to adjunctive monthly oral AZ 1 g daily or placebo for 3 days and both groups received daily standard oral TMP-SMX through delivery.

Prophylactic effects of probiotic bacterium Latilactobacillus sakei on haematological parameters and cytokine profile of mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA during early malaria infection.

Malaria is a deadly parasitic disease caused a by protozoan parasite of the genus plasmodium. The challenges facing by chemotherapy and vector control couple with the lack of vaccine against malaria necessitate an urgent need for the development of alternative treatment regimens to combat this disease. One possible antimalarial treatment regimen is the use of probiotic bacteria as dietary supplements.

Sub-microscopic Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia, dihydropteroate synthase (dhps) resistance mutations to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, transmission intensity and risk of malaria infection in pregnancy in Mount Cameroon Region.

Background: Plasmodium falciparum resistance to intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) continues to spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed the occurrence of microscopic and sub-microscopic P. falciparum parasitaemia, dihydropteroate synthase mutations associated with resistance to SP and maternal anaemia in the Mount Cameroon area.

Intermittent preventive treatment with Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) is associated with protection against sub-microscopic P. falciparum infection in pregnant women during the low transmission dry season in southwestern Cameroon: A Semi - longitudinal study.

The current guidelines for malaria prevention and control during pregnancy in Africa is predicated on the prevention of infection and/or disease through intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp), insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and effective malaria case diagnosis and management. Concerns that increasing SP resistance in some areas of SSA may have compromised IPTp-SP efficacy prompted this contemporaneous study, designed to assess the prevalence and risk factors of sub-microscopic infection in parturient women during the low transmission season in Mutengene, a rapidly growing semi-urban area in Southwest Region, Cameroon. Pregnant women originally reporting for the establishment of antenatal clinic care during the dry season were followed-up to term and their pregnancy outcomes recorded.

Diversity and behavioral activity of Anopheles mosquitoes on the slopes of Mount Cameroon.

Background: Malaria remains endemic in Cameroon, with heterogeneous transmission related to eco-climatic variations, vector diversity and spatial distribution. The intensification of malaria prevention and control through the free distribution of insecticide-treated nets in recent years may have altered the composition, geographic distribution and natural infection rate of Anopheles species, with implications for malaria transmission dynamics. The present study seeks to assess the vectorial diversity, dynamics and infectivity across different seasons and altitudes in relationship to parasite prevalence around the slopes of Mount Cameroon, southwestern region.

In vivo antimalarial activity of a probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus sakei isolated from traditionally fermented milk in BALB/c mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Milk production, processing and consumption are integral part of traditional practices in Fulani tribe of Cameroon. It has been observed that Fulani are resistant to malaria. Dairy products traditionally processed by Fulani are intensively used in the ritual treatment of malarial, inflammations and behavioural disorders.

Comparison of conventional and non-invasive diagnostic tools for detecting Plasmodium falciparum infection in southwestern Cameroon: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Malaria remains a significant health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, with early diagnosis critical to reducing its morbidity and mortality. Despite the increasing Plasmodium spp. diagnostic capabilities, access to testing is limited in some cases by the almost absolute requirement for blood from potentially infected subjects as the only sample source for all conventional methods.

Fine scale human genetic structure in three regions of Cameroon reveals episodic diversifying selection.

Inferences from genetic association studies rely largely on the definition and description of the underlying populations that highlight their genetic similarities and differences. The clustering of human populations into subgroups (population structure) can significantly confound disease associations. This study investigated the fine-scale genetic structure within Cameroon that may underlie disparities observed with Cameroonian ethnicities in malaria genome-wide association studies in sub-Saharan Africa.

Drug resistance markers within an evolving efficacy of anti-malarial drugs in Cameroon: a systematic review and meta-analysis (1998-2020).

Background: Malaria remains highly endemic in Cameroon. The rapid emergence and spread of drug resistance was responsible for the change from monotherapies to artemisinin-based combinations. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the prevalence and distribution of Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance markers within an evolving efficacy of anti-malarial drugs in Cameroon from January 1998 to August 2020.

Pharmacogenetic considerations in the treatment of co-infections with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Congolese populations of Central Africa.

Background: HIV-infection, tuberculosis and malaria are the big three communicable diseases that plague sub-Saharan Africa. If these diseases occur as co-morbidities they require polypharmacy, which may lead to severe drug-drug-gene interactions and variation in adverse drug reactions, but also in treatment outcomes. Polymorphisms in genes encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes are the major cause of these variations, but such polymorphisms may support the prediction of drug efficacy and toxicity.

Coverage and effectiveness of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) on adverse pregnancy outcomes in the Mount Cameroon area, South West Cameroon.

Background: Growing concerns about the waning efficacy of IPTp-SP warrants continuous monitoring and evaluation. This study determined coverage of IPTp-SP and compared the effectiveness of the 3-dose to 2-dose regimen on placental malaria (PM) infection and low birth weight (LBW) in the Mount Cameroon area.

Methods: Consenting pregnant women were enrolled consecutively through a cross-sectional survey at delivery at four antenatal clinics, two each from semi-rural and semi-urban settings from November 2016 to December 2017.

Coverage and usage of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) within households: associated factors and effect on the prevalance of malaria parasitemia in the Mount Cameroon area.

Background: Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are a widely used tool that has been proven to be effective in the prevention and control of malaria in malaria endemic countries. However, usage varies among households and can greatly affect the benefits of ITNs as a control tool for malaria transmission. This study determined the coverage and usage of ITNS as well as associated factors and the effect of coverage and usage on the prevalence of malaria parasitemia within households in the Mount Cameroon area.

Using a composite adherence tool to assess ART response and risk factors of poor adherence in pregnant and breastfeeding HIV-positive Cameroonian women at 6 and 12 months after initiating option B.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence in preventing HIV mother-to-child transmission in association with virological suppression and risk factors of low adherence in the Cameroon's Option B+ programme are poorly understood. We used a composite adherence score (CAS) to determine adherence and risk factors of poor adherence in association with virological treatment response in HIV-positive pregnant and breastfeeding women who remained in care at 6 and 12 months after initiating ART.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 268 women after ART initiation between October 2013 and December 2015 from five facilities within the Kumba health district.

Vitamin D Status and Its Associated Risk Factors among Adults in the Southwest Region of Cameroon.

Background: Vitamin D has been shown to exert its actions on the musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, prostate, renal, endocrine, immune, and cardiovascular systems. Current reported data of hypovitaminosis D reveals a global pandemic, with an estimated one billion people worldwide presenting with hypovitaminosis D.

Objective: This study aimed at investigating the vitamin D status and its associated risk factors in Cameroonians from the South West Region.

Profile of red blood cell morphologies and causes of anaemia among pregnant women at first clinic visit in the mount Cameroon area: a prospective cross sectional study.

Objective: Anaemia is a serious problem in pregnancy in malaria-endemic countries. This study investigated red cell morphologies and possible causes of anaemia among pregnant women at first clinic visit. Venous blood samples from consented women were used to determine haemoglobin (Hb) levels, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) using an automated haematology analyzer.

Molecular markers for artemisinin and partner drug resistance in natural Plasmodium falciparum populations following increased insecticide treated net coverage along the slope of mount Cameroon: cross-sectional study.

Background: Drug resistance is one of the greatest challenges of malaria control programmes, with the monitoring of parasite resistance to artemisinins or to Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT) partner drugs critical to elimination efforts. Markers of resistance to a wide panel of antimalarials were assessed in natural parasite populations from southwestern Cameroon.

Methods: Individuals with asymptomatic parasitaemia or uncomplicated malaria were enrolled through cross-sectional surveys from May 2013 to March 2014 along the slope of mount Cameroon.

Resistance to malaria through structural variation of red blood cell invasion receptors.

The malaria parasite invades human red blood cells by a series of interactions between host and parasite surface proteins. By analyzing genome sequence data from human populations, including 1269 individuals from sub-Saharan Africa, we identify a diverse array of large copy-number variants affecting the host invasion receptor genes and We find that a nearby association with severe malaria is explained by a complex structural rearrangement involving the loss of and gain of two hybrid genes, which encode a serologically distinct blood group antigen known as Dantu. This variant reduces the risk of severe malaria by 40% and has recently increased in frequency in parts of Kenya, yet it appears to be absent from west Africa.

IgG isotypic antibodies to crude Plasmodium falciparum blood-stage antigen associated with placental malaria infection in parturient Cameroonian women.

Background: Few studies have reported an association between placental malaria (PM) infection and levels of isotypic antibodies against non-pregnancy associated antigens.

Objective: To determine and evaluate IgG isotypic antibody levels to crude P. falciparum blood stage in women with and without PM infection.

Predictors of the use of interventions to prevent malaria in pregnancy in Cameroon.

Background: Malaria in pregnancy is common in sub-Saharan Africa where it contributes to perinatal morbidity and mortality. Use of insecticide-treated bed nets and intermittent preventive therapy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine during pregnancy are effective but underutilized interventions to prevent infection. Factors associated with bed net ownership and usage, and use of prophylaxis among recently pregnant women in Cameroon were investigated.

Coinfection with and and Anaemia Severity among Pregnant Women in Munyenge, Mount Cameroon Area: A Cross-Sectional Study.

. Malaria and urogenital schistosomiasis are coendemic in Mount Cameroon Area. This study investigated the prevalence of , and coinfections and their effect on anaemia in pregnancy.