Plasmodium infection is associated with cross-reactive antibodies to carbohydrate epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein.

Sero-surveillance can monitor and project disease burden and risk. However, SARS-CoV-2 antibody test results can produce false positive results, limiting their efficacy as a sero-surveillance tool. False positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody results are associated with malaria exposure, and understanding this association is essential to interpret sero-surveillance results from malaria-endemic countries.

Snakebite frequencies and envenomation case management in primary health centers of the Bobo-Dioulasso health district (Burkina Faso) from 2014 to 2018.

Background: Snakebite envenomation is a significant public health problem in Burkina Faso. Our study describes the epidemiological and therapeutic aspects of snakebite cases at primary health centers in Houet Province, which is located in the western area of Burkina Faso.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 664 snakebite cases occurring at 10 primary health centers in Houet Province from January 2014 to December 2018.

Persistent Submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum Parasitemia 72 Hours after Treatment with Artemether-Lumefantrine Predicts 42-Day Treatment Failure in Mali and Burkina Faso.

A recent randomized controlled trial, the WANECAM (West African Network for Clinical Trials of Antimalarial Drugs) trial, conducted at seven centers in West Africa, found that artemether-lumefantrine, artesunate-amodiaquine, pyronaridine-artesunate, and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine all displayed good efficacy. However, artemether-lumefantrine was associated with a shorter interval between clinical episodes than the other regimens. In a further comparison of these therapies, we identified cases of persisting submicroscopic parasitemia by quantitative PCR (qPCR) at 72 h posttreatment among WANECAM participants from 5 sites in Mali and Burkina Faso, and we compared treatment outcomes for this group to those with complete parasite clearance by 72 h.

infection induces cross-reactive antibodies to carbohydrate epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein.

Individuals with acute malaria infection generated high levels of antibodies that cross-react with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. Cross-reactive antibodies specifically recognized the sialic acid moiety on N-linked glycans of the Spike protein and do not neutralize SARS-CoV-2. Sero-surveillance is critical for monitoring and projecting disease burden and risk during the pandemic; however, routine use of Spike protein-based assays may overestimate SARS-CoV-2 exposure and population-level immunity in malaria-endemic countries.

Short Persistence and Vector Susceptibility to Ficam 80WP (bendiocarb active ingredient) During Pilot Application of Indoor Residual Spraying in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Indoor residual spraying (IRS) was applied in addition to the use of long-lasting insecticidal nets in the South West in Burkina Faso, where Anopheles gambiae s.l. the major malaria vector was resistant to pyrethroids.

Investigating selected host and parasite factors potentially impacting upon seasonal malaria chemoprevention in Bama, Burkina Faso.

Background: Since 2014, seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) with amodiaquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (AQ-SP) has been implemented on a large scale during the high malaria transmission season in Burkina Faso. This paper reports the prevalence of microscopic and submicroscopic malaria infection at the outset and after the first round of SMC in children under 5 years old in Bama, Burkina Faso, as well as host and parasite factors involved in mediating the efficacy and tolerability of SMC.

Methods: Two sequential cross-sectional surveys were conducted in late July and August 2017 during the first month of SMC in a rural area in southwest Burkina Faso.

Efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine and artesunate-amodiaquine as first line therapy of uncomplicated malaria in Burkina Faso, 11 years after policy change.

Introduction: Artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) are the first line therapy of uncomplicated malaria in Burkina Faso. We assessed the treatment efficacy, tolerability of these drugs 11 years following its adoption as first line treatment.

Methods: In this opened randomized controlled trial carried out in 2016, participants with age over 6 months who consented to participate were randomly assigned treatment with artemether-lumefantrine or artesunate-amodiaquine and followed up for 28 days.

High concordance of Pfdhfr and Pfdhps genotypes between matched peripheral and placental isolates of delivered women in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

Whether maternal peripheral parasites constitute a representative sample of the overall population infecting the individual, remains unknown in Burkina Faso. We therefore compared Pfdhfr and Pfdhps genotypes between matched peripheral and placental isolates. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of polymorphic codons of the Pfdhfr gene (51, 59, 108 and 164) and the Pfdhps gene (437 and 540) was performed in 18 matched peripheral and placental dried blood spots of delivered women in Bobo-Dioulasso.

HRP2 and pLDH-Based Rapid Diagnostic Tests, Expert Microscopy, and PCR for Detection of Malaria Infection during Pregnancy and at Delivery in Areas of Varied Transmission: A Prospective Cohort Study in Burkina Faso and Uganda.

Background: Intermittent screening and treatment (IST) of malaria during pregnancy has been proposed as an alternative to intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp), where IPTp is failing due to drug resistance. However, the antenatal parasitaemias are frequently very low, and the most appropriate screening test for IST has not been defined.

Methodology/principal Findings: We conducted a multi-center prospective study of 990 HIV-uninfected women attending ANC in two different malaria transmission settings at Tororo District Hospital, eastern Uganda and Colsama Health Center in western Burkina Faso.

The effect of dosing strategies on the therapeutic efficacy of artesunate-amodiaquine for uncomplicated malaria: a meta-analysis of individual patient data.

Background: Artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ) is one of the most widely used artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) to treat uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Africa. We investigated the impact of different dosing strategies on the efficacy of this combination for the treatment of falciparum malaria.

Methods: Individual patient data from AS-AQ clinical trials were pooled using the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) standardised methodology.

Efficacy and day 7 plasma piperaquine concentrations in African children treated for uncomplicated malaria with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine.

Background: One promising new Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) is dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PQ). However, the pharmacokinetics of piperaquine and the relationship between drug levels and clinical efficacy are incompletely characterized, particularly in children.

Methods: We performed a single-arm open-label trial in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.