Assessment of the performance of five malaria rapid diagnostic tests in health facilities in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).

Regular monitoring of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for the management of uncomplicated malaria in healthcare facilities is a key factor in improving diagnostic quality and ensuring better case management. This study aimed to assess the performance of five RDTs (Standard Q Malaria P.f Ag and Standard Q Malaria P.

Evaluation of Malaria Microscopy Diagnostic Performance at 40 Public Health Facilities in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire in 2020.

Purpose: Microscopic diagnosis of Giemsa-stained thick and thin blood films remained the gold standard laboratory method for the diagnosis of malaria. In this context, we felt it was important to conduct this evaluation with 40 public medical biology laboratories (MBLs) in the Abidjan 1 health region that perform blood parasitology tests to improve their implementation process.

Methods: This descriptive and analytical study took place in July 2020 and involved participating laboratories (PLs) from the public sector in Abidjan.

Molecular epidemiology of non-falciparum Plasmodium infections in three different areas of the Ivory Coast.

Background: Malaria is a major public health problem, particularly in the tropical regions of America, Africa and Asia. Plasmodium falciparum is not only the most widespread but also the most deadly species. The share of Plasmodium infections caused by the other species (Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malariae) is clearly underestimated.

Dermatophytosis and the associated risk factors among primary school children in southern and central Côte d'Ivoire.

Background: Dermatophytosis, particularly the subtype tinea capitis, is common among African children; however, the risk factors associated with this condition are poorly understood.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the factors associated with tinea capitis and the prevalence rate of other dermatophytoses among primary school students in the rural and urban areas of the southern and central Côte d'Ivoire.

Patients And Methods: The study was carried out in seven towns of Côte d'Ivoire from October 2008 to July 2009, among 17,745 children aged 4-17 years and attending urban and rural primary schools; a complete physical examination of the skin and appendages, including nails and hair, was performed by the physicians.

Genotyping Canadian Isolates to Supplement Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Investigations.

is an emerging foodborne parasite that causes cyclosporiasis, an enteric disease of humans. Domestically acquired outbreaks have been reported in Canada every spring or summer since 2013. To date, investigations into the potential sources of infection have relied solely on epidemiological data.

Virological failure and drug resistance in West African HIV-infected adults who started ART immediately or deferred ART initiation.

Background: Asymptomatic HIV-infected people who start ART early may feel less motivated and neglect compliance. This might promote the emergence of resistance.

Methods: In the Temprano trial, ART-naive HIV-infected adults with high CD4 counts were randomly assigned to start ART immediately (immediate group) or defer ART until the WHO criteria were met (deferred group).

Elite and viremic HIV-1 controllers in West Africa.

Background: Data on HIV-1 controllers in Africa are scarce. We report the proportion of HIV-1 controllers in a group of adults prospectively monitored with frequent viral load measurements as part of a clinical trial in West Africa.

Methods: For the Temprano trial, antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive HIV-1 infected adults with no criteria for starting ART were randomized to start ART immediately or defer ART until the WHO starting criteria were met.

Higher risk of mortality in HIV-HBV co-infected patients from sub-Saharan Africa is observed at lower CD4 cell counts.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) co-infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals increases the risk of overall mortality, especially when HBV DNA levels are high. The role of CD4 cell counts in this association is poorly defined. We aimed to determine whether HIV-HBV co-infection influences changes in CD4 cell count before and during antiretroviral therapy and whether it affects mortality risk at levels of CD4.

Mortality in relation to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection status among HIV-HBV co-infected patients in sub-Saharan Africa after immediate initiation of antiretroviral therapy.

It is unknown how past and active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection affect immunorecovery and mortality in people with HIV who initiate tenofovir-based antiretroviral therapy (ART). Using data collected between 2008 and 2015, we studied people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa initiating immediate ART in the Temprano randomized control trial. We classified participants into HBV groups at ART initiation: hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive with HBV DNA ≥ 2,000 IU/ml; HBsAg-positive with HBV DNA < 2,000 IU/ml; isolated HBcAb-positive; resolved infection (HBsAb-positive/HBcAb-positive); and HBV non-immune/vaccinated (HBcAb-negative).

Association between cellular HIV-1 DNA level and mortality in HIV-1 infected African adults starting ART with high CD4 counts.

Background: High HIV-1 DNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were associated with a higher risk of severe morbidity and a faster decline in CD4 count in ART-naive patients. We report the association between HIV-1 DNA and mortality in HIV-infected adults in a trial of early ART in West Africa.

Methods: In the Temprano trial, HIV-infected adults were randomly assigned to start ART immediately or defer ART.

Efficacy and safety of artesuante-amodiaquine and artemether lumefantrine, the first line malaria treatment in six sentinel's sites of Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.

The purpose of this study was to update efficacy data of Artesunate-Amodiaquine (AS+AQ) and Artemether-Lumefantrine (AL) used as first-line malaria treatment in Côte d'Ivoire since 2005. This was an open-label, randomized trial conducted in patients older than 6 months with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria at six sentinel sites.

Cryptococcus genetic diversity and mixed infections in Ivorian HIV patients: A follow up study.

Genetic diversity analyses were performed by sero-genotyping and multi-locus sequence typing on 252 cryptococcal isolates from 13 HIV-positive Ivorian patients followed-up for cryptococcal meningitis. Antifungal susceptibility analyses were performed according to the CLSI M27A3 method. The majority (67.

High prevalence of × hybrids in schoolchildren in Côte d'Ivoire.

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease, though it is highly prevalent in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. While Schistosoma haematobium-bovis hybrids have been reported in West Africa, no data about Schistosoma hybrids in humans are available from Côte d'Ivoire. This study aimed to identify and quantify S.

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Schistosomiasis among Schoolchildren in two Settings of Côte d'Ivoire.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease affecting more than 250 million people, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. In Côte d'Ivoire both (causing urogenital schistosomiasis) and (causing intestinal schistosomiasis) co-exist. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of and and to identify risk factors among schoolchildren in the western and southern parts of Côte d'Ivoire.

Dynamics of genetic diversity among asymptomatic and symptomatic children in three epidemiological areas in Cote d'Ivoire.

Asymptomatic carriers of are considered a reservoir of the parasite in humans. Therefore, in order to be effective, new malaria elimination strategies must take these targets into account. The aim of this study was to analyse genetic diversity of among schoolchildren in three epidemiological areas in Côte d'Ivoire.

[A plea for introduction of hepatitis B vaccination at birth in Côte d'Ivoire].

The Côte d'Ivoire National Immunization Technical Advisory Group 2015 work plan included elaboration of an opinion on inclusion of hepatitis B vaccination at birth in the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in Côte d'Ivoire. A task force was set up to conduct this assessment according to a systematized method. The task force analysed scientific articles on the burden of hepatitis B in Côte d'Ivoire, the burden of mother-child transmission, the impact of hepatitis B vaccination at birth in countries which have adopted this strategy, the efficacy and safety of hepatitis B vaccine in newborns, the cost-effectiveness of hepatitis B vaccination at birth, and the best strategy to introduce hepatitis B vaccination at birth in the EPI.

Sustained Effectiveness of a Fixed-Dose Combination of Artesunate and Amodiaquine in 480 Patients with Uncomplicated Malaria in Côte d'Ivoire.

The objective of this study was to monitor the effectiveness of artesunate-amodiaquine fixed-dose combination tablets (ASAQ Winthrop®) in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Côte d'Ivoire. Two enrolment periods (November 2009 to May 2010 and March to October 2013) were compared using an identical design. Subjects with proven monospecific infection according to the WHO diagnostic criteria were eligible.

Comparative typing analyses of clinical and environmental strains of the Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complex from Ivory Coast.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the biotope of the Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complex from Ivory Coast, and clarify the possible epidemiological relationship between environmental and clinical strains.

Methodology: Samples from Eucalyptus camaldulensis (n=136), Mangifera indica (n=13) and pigeon droppings (n=518) were collected from different sites close to the living environment of Ivorian HIV patients with cryptococcosis (n=10, 50 clinical strains). Clinical and environmental strains were characterized by molecular serotyping and genotyping [RFLP analysis of the URA5 gene, (GACA)4, (GTG)5 and M13 PCR fingerprinting] and compared.

Effect of isoniazid preventive therapy on risk of death in west African, HIV-infected adults with high CD4 cell counts: long-term follow-up of the Temprano ANRS 12136 trial.

Background: Temprano ANRS 12136 was a factorial 2 × 2 trial that assessed the benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART; ie, in patients who had not reached the CD4 cell count threshold used to recommend starting ART, as per the WHO guidelines that were the standard during the study period) and 6-month isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) in HIV-infected adults in Côte d'Ivoire. Early ART and IPT were shown to independently reduce the risk of severe morbidity at 30 months. Here, we present the efficacy of IPT in reducing mortality from the long-term follow-up of Temprano.

First case of mixed infection with and VNI in an Ivorian HIV-positive patient.

Introduction: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) may be caused by several species of

Case Presentation: We describe a fatal case of CM in a HIV-positive patient from Ivory Coast infected by VNI and . Isolates were recovered from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) prior to systemic antifungal treatment. Six isolates were studied (the entire culture plus five isolated colonies from it).

Immunity Status of Blood Donors Regarding Infection in a Low-Income District of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.

. Toxoplasmosis is a widespread cosmopolitan anthropozoonosis, which affects more than a third of the world population. Except the modes of transmission well known, can be transmitted during transplantation or blood transfusion.

Molecular epidemiology reveals genetic diversity among 363 isolates of the Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii species complex in 61 Ivorian HIV-positive patients.

Cryptococcal meningitis is a severe opportunistic infection in HIV-infected patients. In Ivory Coast, despite the availability of antiretroviral treatment (ART), this infection is still prevalent. The study investigates the genetic diversity of 363 clinical isolates of Cryptococcus from 61 Ivorian HIV-positive patients, the occurrence of mixed infections and the in vitro antifungal susceptibility of the isolates.