Effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Human Immunodeficiency Virus Services: Findings from 11 Sub-Saharan African Countries.

Background: Due to concerns about the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic on health services, we examined its effects on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) services in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: Quarterly data (Q1, 10/2019-12/2019; Q2, 1/2020-3/2020; Q3, 4/2020-6/2020; Q4, 7/2020-9/2020) from 1059 health facilities in 11 countries were analyzed and categorized by stringency of pandemic measures. We conducted a difference-in-differences assessment of HIV service changes from Q1-Q2 to Q3-Q4 by higher vs lower stringency.

Killer-Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors (KIR) in HIV-Exposed Infants in Cameroon.

The biological reason(s) behind persistent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV (albeit at reduced rate compared to the preantiretroviral therapy era) in spite of the successful implementation of advanced control measures in many African countries remains a priority concern to many HIV/AIDS control programs. This may be partly due to differences in host immunogenetic factors in highly polymorphic regions of the human genome such as those encoding the killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) molecules which modulate the activities of natural killer cells. The primary aim of this study was to determine the variants of KIR genes that may have a role to play in MTCT in a cohort of infants born to HIV-infected mothers in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Highlighting a population-based re-emergence of Syphilis infection and assessing associated risk factors among pregnant women in Cameroon: Evidence from the 2009, 2012 and 2017 national sentinel surveillance surveys of HIV and syphilis.

Background: Syphilis and HIV can be transmitted from pregnant women to their children and they remain a public health problem in Africa. Our study aimed to determine the trends of seroprevalence of HIV/syphilis co-infection and syphilis infection overtime through the national surveillance system in Cameroon and to explore associated risk factors.

Methods: We conducted cross-sectional studies of HIV and syphilis, targeting each year 7000 first antenatal care (ANC-1) attendees at the same sites during the 2009, 2012 and 2017 sentinel surveillance surveys.