Prevalence and risk factors for malaria in pregnancy in Vanga, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the second most malarious country in the world, but little information is available on malaria control measures in pregnancy. We conducted a longitudinal study among 395 women pregnant with singletons in the Vanga and Mayoko health facilities, Vanga Health Zone, Kwilu Province. We recruited 406 pregnant women between April and October 2019.

Socioeconomic and environmental factors associated with malaria hotspots in the Nanoro demographic surveillance area, Burkina Faso.

Background: With limited resources and spatio-temporal heterogeneity of malaria in developing countries, it is still difficult to assess the real impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors in order to set up targeted campaigns against malaria at an accurate scale. Our goal was to detect malaria hotspots in rural area and assess the extent to which household socioeconomic status and meteorological recordings may explain the occurrence and evolution of these hotspots.

Methods: Data on malaria cases from 2010 to 2014 and on socioeconomic and meteorological factors were acquired from four health facilities within the Nanoro demographic surveillance area.

Spatio-temporal dynamic of malaria in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2011-2015.

Background: Given the scarcity of resources in developing countries, malaria treatment requires new strategies that target specific populations, time periods and geographical areas. While the spatial pattern of malaria transmission is known to vary depending on local conditions, its temporal evolution has yet to be evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the spatio-temporal dynamic of malaria in the central region of Burkina Faso, taking into account meteorological factors.

Soil dust aerosols and wind as predictors of seasonal meningitis incidence in Niger.

Background: Epidemics of meningococcal meningitis are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa during the dry season, a period when the region is affected by the Harmattan, a dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind blowing from the Sahara into the Gulf of Guinea.

Objectives: We examined the potential of climate-based statistical forecasting models to predict seasonal incidence of meningitis in Niger at both the national and district levels.

Data And Methods: We used time series of meningitis incidence from 1986 through 2006 for 38 districts in Niger.

Seasonality of meningitis in Africa and climate forcing: aerosols stand out.

Bacterial meningitis is an ongoing threat for the population of the African Meningitis Belt, a region characterized by the highest incidence rates worldwide. The determinants of the disease dynamics are still poorly understood; nevertheless, it is often advocated that climate and mineral dust have a large impact. Over the last decade, several studies have investigated this relationship at a large scale.