Publications by authors named "Jude Bigoga"

Background: Among the several strategies recommended for the fight against malaria, seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and amodiaquine combination (SPAQ) targets children 3 months to 5 years in Sahel regions of Africa to reduce mortality and mortality. Since SMC with SPAQ is administered to symptoms-free children for prevention of malaria, it is anticipated that a proportion of asymptomatic parasitaemic children will also be treated and may result in a drop in both the overall population prevalence of asymptomatic malaria infections, subsequent risk of symptomatic malaria infections and transmission. Age-specific carriage of asymptomatic Plasmodium spp.

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Background: Antimalarial drug resistance is a major challenge in the fight against malaria. Cameroon implemented seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and amodiaquine (SPAQ) to over 1.5 million children aged 3-59 months from 2016, raising concerns whether drug pressure may lead to a selection of known parasite resistance mutations.

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Novel vector control tools against African trypanosomiases require a deep understanding of the factors driving tsetse vector fitness or population resilience in their ecosystems. Following evidence of microbiota-mediated host fitness or traits shaping, including insecticide resistance in arthropod populations, we undertook a comparative study of the microbiota in wild-caught tsetse flies during vector control with deltamethrin-impregnated traps called Tiny Targets. The bacterial microbiome composition of tsetse flies collected before and after 6, 12, and 18 months of vector control were characterized using high-throughput sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene and compared.

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Introduction: While the global COVID-19 pandemic is slowly coming under control, current efforts are focused on understanding the epidemiology of endemic SARS-CoV-2. The tool of choice for doing so remains serological tests that detect SARS-CoV-2 induced antibodies. However, the performance of these tests should be evaluated to ensure they comply with the specific performance criteria desired by each country that they are used in.

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Background: Significant progress has been made towards African sleeping sickness elimination in the last decade. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) global goal of eliminating the chronic form of the disease as a public health problem was achieved in 2020 (i.e.

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Global health, particularly in underserved settings can benefit immensely from well-trained community health workers (CHWs) supporting primary healthcare interventions. They can reduce morbidity and mortality of infectious diseases like malaria. Disease control programs can particularly benefit from a tight link between CHWs and communities and several studies have shown the benefit of the participation of non-facility-based CHWs in malaria control program activities for reducing malaria-related mortality in children.

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Article Synopsis
  • Bacterial vaginosis (BV) significantly impacts pregnant women, leading to serious maternal and fetal complications, including potential fatal outcomes.
  • A comprehensive meta-analysis of 26 relevant studies revealed high rates of preterm birth (17.9%), low birth weight (14.2%), and maternal issues like premature rupture of membranes (13.2%) linked to BV.
  • The study found strong associations between BV and adverse outcomes, including preterm birth (OR 1.76) and miscarriage (OR 2.34), highlighting the necessity for better awareness and management of BV in pregnant women.
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Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the evolution of Plasmodium falciparum antimalarial drug resistance markers by comparing the pre- and post-adoption of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Methods: The molecular characterization of known antimalarial drug resistance markers (Pfcrt, Pfmdr1, Pfdhfr, Pfdhps, and Pfk13) in P. falciparum-positive samples collected in 2014 and 2019-2020 was achieved using nested polymerase chain reaction, followed by targeted amplicon deep sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform.

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  • The study focuses on the interaction between HIV and malaria during pregnancy, particularly among women in Kumba, Cameroon, examining how HIV affects the immune response to malaria.
  • It aims to assess the prevalence of malaria, explore the genetic diversity of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and evaluate immune responses (antibodies and cytokines) in pregnant women with and without HIV.
  • Conducted over a year in various healthcare facilities, the study will collect blood samples from mothers and newborns, using advanced techniques like microscopy, rapid tests, and PCR to analyze malaria infection and genetic diversity.
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  • The study investigates the prevalence of drug resistance mutations in malaria parasites in the West region of Cameroon, focusing on specific alleles in circulating strains.
  • A high prevalence (75.6%) of the 437G allele was found, with significant differences between the two study locations: Dschang (62%) and Ngounso (89.2%).
  • Continuous monitoring of these drug resistance mutations is crucial to maintain the effectiveness of malaria treatment and prevention strategies in the region.
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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.

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The tsetse flies, biological vectors of African trypanosomes, harbour a variety of bacteria involved in their vector competence that may help in developing novel vector control tools. This study provides an inventory of tsetse bacterial communities in Cameroon and explores their possible associations with trypanosome establishment in . High throughput sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, with subsequent metagenomic, multivariate, and association analyses, were used to investigate the levels and patterns of microbial diversity in four tsetse species.

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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection during pregnancy reduces the transplacental transfer of protective maternal antibodies needed to confer immunity during early postnatal life. However, the mediation of MicroRNA in this dysregulation is not well understood MicroRNAs 3181 and 199a have been shown to mediate neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn)-like transmembrane antibody transfer and endocytosis respectively but their expression levels in the placenta and plasma in women living with HIV have not been extensively investigated. The objective of this study was to determine how the expression levels of miR-3181 and miR-199a in the placenta and plasma are affected in women chronically infected with HIV who are on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and are virally suppressed at delivery.

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Article Synopsis
  • Understanding the mechanisms behind insecticide resistance in malaria vectors is crucial for effective vector control, specifically focusing on metabolic resistance and genetic variations in North Cameroon.
  • The study compared mosquito populations from different regions before and after the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), finding increased metabolic resistance in one area, while two others showed decreased effectiveness.
  • Genetic analysis showed mixed trends in resistance alleles, indicating evolving resistance patterns, and emphasized the need for alternative vector control methods alongside LLINs in North Cameroon.
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Background: Many studies have reported high efficacy and safety of artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) when administered under direct observation in Cameroon. There is paucity of data to support their continuous use in home-based treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Cameroon. Hence, this study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of AS-AQ versus AL for home-based treatment of uncomplicated P.

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  • In 2018, Cameroon experienced a rise in malaria cases, prompting a study to evaluate the effectiveness of two rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs) for malaria in different healthcare settings across the country.* -
  • The study involved 1,126 participants and compared the diagnostic accuracy of CareStart pf and SD Bioline Pf/PAN mRDTs, finding that CareStart had a higher diagnostic accuracy in urban settings compared to rural hospitals.* -
  • Results indicated strong agreement between the tests, particularly in high transmission areas like Yaoundé and Ngounso, with positive and negative likelihood ratios suggesting mRDTs performed reliably when PCR was used as a reference.*
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The overexpression and overactivity of key cytochrome P450s (CYP450) genes are major drivers of metabolic resistance to insecticides in African malaria vectors such as Anopheles funestus s.s. Previous RNAseq-based transcription analyses revealed elevated expression of CYP325A specific to Central African populations but its role in conferring resistance has not previously been demonstrated.

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The rapid expansion of insecticide resistance and outdoor malaria transmission are affecting the efficacy of current malaria control measures. In urban settings, where malaria transmission is focal and breeding habitats are few, fixed and findable, the addition of anti-larval control measures could be efficient for malaria vector control. But field evidences for this approach remains scarce.

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Background: In Phase II/III randomized controlled clinical trials for the treatment of acute uncomplicated malaria, pyronaridine-artesunate demonstrated high efficacy and a safety profile consistent with that of comparators, except that asymptomatic, mainly mild-to-moderate transient increases in liver aminotransferases were reported for some patients. Hepatic safety, tolerability, and effectiveness have not been previously assessed under real-world conditions in Africa.

Methods And Findings: This single-arm, open-label, cohort event monitoring study was conducted at 6 health centers in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, and Republic of Congo between June 2017 and April 2019.

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Background: Genotyping is a powerful tool for investigating outbreaks of infectious diseases and it can provide useful information such as identifying the source and route of transmission, and circulating strains involved in the outbreak. Genotyping techniques based on variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) are instrumental in detecting heterogeneity in Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) and also for discriminating MU from other mycobacteria species. Here, we describe and map the distribution of MU genotypes in Buruli ulcer (BU) endemic communities of the Nyong valley in Cameroon.

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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.

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Background: Co-infection with malaria and intestinal parasites is common in children in Africa and may affect their immune response to a malaria parasite infection. Prior studies suggest that co-infections may lead to increased susceptibility to malaria infection and disease severity; however, other studies have shown the reverse. Knowledge on how co-morbidities specifically affect the immune response to malaria antigens is limited.

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Background: This study evaluated the effectiveness of improved housing on indoor residual mosquito density and exposure to infected Anophelines in Minkoameyos, a rural community in southern forested Cameroon.

Methods: Following the identification of housing factors affecting malaria prevalence in 2013, 218 houses were improved by screening the doors and windows, installing plywood ceilings on open eaves and closing holes on walls and doors. Monthly entomological surveys were conducted in a sample of 21 improved and 21 non-improved houses from November 2014 to October 2015.

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Malaria still has a devastating impact on public health and welfare in Cameroon. Despite the increasing number of studies conducted on disease prevalence, transmission patterns or treatment, there are to date, not enough studies summarising findings from previous works in order to identify gaps in knowledge and areas of interest where further evidence is needed to drive malaria elimination efforts. The present study seeks to address these gaps by providing a review of studies conducted so far on malaria in Cameroon since the 1940s to date.

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Background: Despite malaria, malnutrition and anaemia being major public-health challenges in Cameroon, very little has been reported on the interaction between these interconnected health determinants. This study therefore sought to investigate the relationship between malaria, anaemia, nutritional and socio-economic status amongst under-ten children living in six localities within two health districts in the North Region of Cameroon.

Methods: Accordingly, a cross- sectional survey was conducted during the peak malaria season in November 2014, in Pitoa and Mayo-Oulo Health Districts.

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