Publications by authors named "Nadia Mandeng"
Article Synopsis
- M-pox is a rapidly spreading pathogen in developing countries, particularly in Cameroon, raising concerns about its health impact and the lack of data on its determinants.
- A community-based study conducted in the Ayos Health District found a suspected M-pox case rate of 25%, with various factors like history of infections and contact with infected individuals or animals significantly linked to its prevalence.
- The study highlights the need for enhanced surveillance and public health interventions in rural communities to better address the resurgence of M-pox.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined SARS-CoV-2 immunity in Cameroon from August 2021 to September 2022, assessing changes in antibody levels, mortality rates, and vaccination.
- Seroprevalence surged from 11.2% to nearly 60% while COVID-19-related deaths dropped dramatically, indicating improved immunity without a corresponding rise in vaccinations.
- The findings suggest that high vaccination rates may not be necessary for controlling outbreaks in Africa, urging policymakers to consider local research for better epidemic management strategies.
Background: Little is known about attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination in sub-Saharan Africa, where immunisation coverage is the lowest in the world.
Aim: The study aimed to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake in Cameroon, and assess changes in these factors over a period of time.
Setting: The study was conducted in the ten regions of Cameroon.
XBB.1, BQ1.1 and atypical BA.4.6/XBB.1 recombinants predominate current SARS-CoV-2 Wavelets with flu-like symptoms in Cameroon: A snapshot from genomic surveillance.
PLOS Glob Public Health
May 2024
As of December 2022, Cameroon had observed a slight resurgence of COVID-19, raising concerns on genomic surveillance of related-SARS-CoV-2 variants under circulation. Following a laboratory-based survey, positive SARS-CoV-2 samples detected from December-2022 through March-2023 were processed for targeted sequencing at the Chantal BIYA International Reference Centre (CIRCB) in Yaoundé-Cameroon. From all positive cases detected, 13 were successfully sequenced (mean age 34 years, 70% female); the majority of the cases were unvaccinated (70%, 9/13) and symptomatic (92%, 12/13); all with flu-like symptoms (100%, 12/12).
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- - WHO suggests COVID-19 antigen rapid tests should have at least 80% sensitivity and 97% specificity, and this study evaluates the INDICAID™ Ag-RDT against RT-PCR as the gold standard, focusing on Omicron variants.
- - The study involved 565 nasopharyngeal swabs, revealing that for samples with higher viral loads (CT < 25), INDICAID™ displayed 100% sensitivity, while still maintaining high specificity and good predictive values.
- - The findings indicate that INDICAID™ Ag-RDT is highly effective for diagnosing COVID-19 in individuals with high viral loads, making it a practical tool for community-level prevention amidst the prevalence of Omicron subvariants.
Article Synopsis
- There has been an increase in Monkeypox (Mpox) cases globally, prompting a study on healthcare workers' understanding of its transmission, prevention, and response in Cameroon.
- An online survey was conducted with 342 healthcare workers, revealing that while over 90% were aware of Mpox, only 12.9% had excellent knowledge and 42.1% had good knowledge of the disease.
- The findings suggest a need for capacity-building programs to enhance healthcare workers' education on Mpox to ensure effective response to this and similar emerging diseases.
While the SARS-CoV-2 dynamic has been described globally, there is a lack of data from Sub-Saharan Africa. We herein report the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 lineages from March 2020 to March 2022 in Cameroon. Of the 760 whole-genome sequences successfully generated by the national genomic surveillance network, 74% were viral sub-lineages of origin and non-variants of concern, 15% Delta, 6% Omicron, 3% Alpha and 2% Beta variants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains one of the leading threats to global public health and this may increase following COVID-19 pandemic. This is particularly the case in Africa where regulations on antimicrobial usage are weak. This protocol outlines the steps to undertake a systematic review to synthesize evidence on drivers of AMR and evaluate existing approaches to strengthening antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOfficial case counts suggest Africa has not seen the expected burden of COVID-19 as predicted by international health agencies, and the proportion of asymptomatic patients, disease severity, and mortality burden differ significantly in Africa from what has been observed elsewhere. Testing for SARS-CoV-2 was extremely limited early in the pandemic and likely led to under-reporting of cases leaving important gaps in our understanding of transmission and disease characteristics in the African context. SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence and serologic response data could help quantify the burden of COVID-19 disease in Africa to address this knowledge gap and guide future outbreak response, adapted to the local context.
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- Real-time PCR is the gold standard for detecting SARS-CoV-2, but its availability is limited in many countries, prompting the need for rapid diagnostic tests as alternatives.
- A study in Cameroon evaluated the effectiveness of four antibody-based and one antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests for identifying COVID-19 in both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals.
- Of 1195 participants, the antigen test showed an 80% sensitivity within the first week of symptoms, while antibody tests had a lower sensitivity of 26.8% initially, improving to 76.4% after 14 days.