The ongoing revolution of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for microbiology reaches tropical Africa.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) represents a revolution in routine pathogen identification in clinical microbiology laboratories. A MALDI-TOF MS was introduced to tropical Africa in the clinical microbiology laboratory of the Hôpital Principal de Dakar (Senegal) and used for routine pathogen identification. Using MS, 2,429 bacteria and fungi isolated from patients were directly assayed, leading to the identification of 2,082 bacteria (85.

Prevalence of molecular markers of Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance in Dakar, Senegal.

Background: As a result of the widespread resistance to chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) (including artemether-lumefantrine and artesunate-amodiaquine) has been recommended as a first-line anti-malarial regimen in Senegal since 2006. Intermittent preventive treatments with anti-malarial drugs based on sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine are also given to children or pregnant women once per month during the transmission season. Since 2006, there have been very few reports on the susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum to anti-malarial drugs.

Ex vivo susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Dakar, Senegal, to seven standard anti-malarial drugs.

Background: As a result of widespread chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) (which includes artemether-lumefantrine and artesunate-amodiaquine) has been recommended as a first-line anti-malarial regimen in Senegal since 2006. Since then, there have been very few reports on the ex vivo susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum to anti-malarial drugs. To examine whether parasite susceptibility has been affected by the widespread use of ACT, the ex vivo susceptibility of local isolates was assessed at the military hospital of Dakar.