Effects of Five Years of Treatment of Onchocerciasis with Ivermectin under Community Guidelines in Resurgent Areas of Burkina Faso: A before-and-after Analysis.

Background: Almost the entire country of Burkina Faso was endemic to onchocerciasis. Onchocerciasis control efforts thus brought the prevalence of to a level where the disease was no longer a public health problem in 2002. A resurgence of onchocerciasis cases has been observed in two regions (Cascades and the Southwest) located around several river basins in 2010-2011.

Field sensitivity and specificity of the SD BIOLINE onchocerciasis IgG4 Rapid Diagnostic Test in children <10 years old from endemic areas in Burkina Faso.

Skin biopsies (Skin snips) have historically been the gold standard for the diagnosis of onchocerciasis. However, in low prevalence areas and in areas with successful ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA) programs, skin snips are not sensitive enough to decide when to stop MDA; thus, serological diagnostic tools have been recommended for this purpose. This study assessed the sensitivity and specificity of the Ov16 Rapid Diagnostic Test (SD BIOLINE Onchocerciasis RDT) compared to skin snip in endemic areas undergoing ivermectin mass distribution using Community Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI) strategy.

Progress towards elimination of onchocerciasis in the Region du Sud-Ouest of Burkina Faso which was previously subject to a recrudescence event after vector control.

Background: The Sud-Ouest region of Burkina Faso (especially the Bougouriba valley) has been historically problematic with respect to onchocerciasis control, with a recrudescence of infections after vector control carried out the WHO Onchocerciasis Control Programme was halted in 1989. After 1996, mass drug administration of ivermectin was instigated to control the recrudescence so that it would no longer constitute a public health problem. However, in 2010 WHO changed its recommended policy from control to elimination, and in 2013 biannual Community-Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI) was instigated.

Countrywide Survey of Plants Used for Liver Disease Management by Traditional Healers in Burkina Faso.

Liver disease is highly prevalent in Africa, especially in the western African country Burkina Faso, due to the presence of multiple biological and chemical aggressors of the liver. Furthermore, diagnosis and appropriate care for liver disease are uneven and usually insufficient. This drives local communities to turn to folk medicine based on medicinal plants from healers.

An integrated assessment of leprosy, Buruli ulcer, and yaws around the irrigated perimeters of Bagré and Kompienga in Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso shares its borders with six countries that regularly report cases of Buruli ulcer, yaws, and leprosy (Hansen disease), three neglected tropical diseases with dermatological manifestations. Treatment of leprosy has shown excellent results, and it appears to be essentially eliminated. The same cannot be said for Buruli ulcer or yaws, the epidemiology of which remains poorly elucidated.