Cervical pre-cancer screening by visual inspection of the cervix after application of acetic acid in rural Burkina Faso: evaluation of women's knowledge, screening practice habits, acceptability and prevalence of risk factors and lesions in Boussé health district.

Introduction: cervical cancer is a major public health problem among women in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease can be controlled through early diagnosis through simple cost-effective methods such as visual inspection of the cervix after application of acetic acid or lugol´s iodine. However, screening for cervical cancer is still underused particularly in rural areas of Burkina Faso.

Assessing risk factors for tuberculosis treatment failure among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in four health regions of Burkina Faso, 2009.

Conducting research studies is one of the competencies that epidemiology students should have after two years training as a crucial component to identifying and resolving public health problems. This case study is developed from a research study on assessing risks factors on tuberculosis treatment failure in Burkina Faso in 2009 to help students to cover these competences. This case study is ideal for reinforcing principles of conducting case-control studies for risk-factor assessment.

Maternal Mortality at the Dori Regional Hospital in Northern Burkina Faso, 2014-2016.

Background: Maternal mortality is of considerable magnitude. It is particularly relevant to developing countries, including those in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this work was to study the cases of maternal deaths in the Dori Regional Hospital, Burkina Faso in the Sahel region, by analyzing the epidemiological aspects of these deaths in order to guide decision-making.

Melioidosis in Africa: Time to Uncover the True Disease Load.

Melioidosis is an often fatal infectious disease with a protean clinical spectrum, caused by the environmental bacterial pathogen . Although the disease has been reported from some African countries in the past, the present epidemiology of melioidosis in Africa is almost entirely unknown. Therefore, the common view that melioidosis is rare in Africa is not evidence-based.

Strengthening individual capacity in monitoring and evaluation of malaria control programmes to streamline M&E systems and enhance information use in malaria endemic countries.

Background: Malaria control interventions in most endemic countries have intensified in recent years and so there is a need for a robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system to measure progress and achievements. Providing programme and M&E officers with the appropriate skills is a way to strengthen malaria's M&E systems and enhance information use for programmes' implementation. This paper describes a recent effort in capacity strengthening for malaria M&E in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Knowledge and beliefs on cervical cancer and practices on cervical cancer screening among women aged 20 to 50 years in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2012: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: In Burkina Faso, 1230 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and 838 die from the disease. Little is known about women's practices, knowledge and beliefs regarding cervical cancer. This study aims to describe women's practices regarding cervical cancer screening and to assess their knowledge and beliefs.

Implementation of a national external quality assessment program for medical laboratories in Burkina Faso: challenges, lessons learned, and perspectives.

Objectives: The National External Quality Assessment (NEQA) program of Burkina Faso is a proficiency testing program mandatory for all laboratories in the country since 2006. The program runs two cycles per year and covers all areas of laboratories.

Methods: All panels were validated by the expert committee before dispatch under optimal storage and transport conditions to participating laboratories along with report forms.

The West Africa Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, a strategy to improve disease surveillance and epidemic control in West Africa.

The West Africa Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (WA-FELTP) which was established in September 2007, is an inter-country, competency-based, in-service and post -graduate training program in applied epidemiology and public health that builds the capacity to strengthen the surveillance and response system as well as epidemic control in the French-speaking countries where they are implemented. The overall purpose is to provide epidemiological and public health laboratory services to the public health systems at national, provincial, district and local levels. The program includes four countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Togo with an overarching goal to progressively cover all French speaking countries in West Africa through a phased-in approach.

Neonatal screening for sickle cell disorders in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: a pilot study.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of sickle cell disorders (SCDs) and the feasibility of a neonatal screening programme in Ouagadougou.

Methods: During 2000, 2003 and 2004, 2341 cord blood samples obtained in five maternity hospitals in Ouagadougou were screened for SCDs using an isoelectric focusing technique. The feasibility of a neonatal screening programme was evaluated.