Evaluating programmatic reactive focal drug administration impact on malaria incidence in northern Senegal: an interrupted time series analysis.

Background: The World Health Organization conditionally recommends reactive drug administration to reduce malaria transmission in settings approaching elimination. However, few studies have evaluated the impact of reactive focal drug administration (rFDA) in sub-Saharan Africa, and none have evaluated it under programmatic conditions. In 2016, Senegal's national malaria control programme introduced rFDA, the presumptive treatment of compound members of a person with confirmed malaria, and reactive mass focal drug administration (rMFDA), an expanded effort including neighbouring compounds during an outbreak, in 10 low transmission districts in the north of the country.

Clinical Features of Human Parvovirus B19-Associated Encephalitis Identified in the Dakar Region, Senegal, and Viral Genome Characterization.

Neurological manifestations associated with human parvovirus B19 (B19V) infections are rare and varied. Acute encephalitis and encephalopathy are the most common, accounting for 38.8% of all neurological manifestations associated with human B19V.

Crystal structure of di-μ-acetato-κ :-bis{(acetato-κ ,')tetra-aqua-[1-(pyridin-2-yl-methylidene-κ)-2-(pyridin-2-yl-κ)hydrazine-κ ]lanthanum(III)} dinitrate hemihydrate.

In the binuclear title complex, [La(CHO)(CHN)(HO)](NO)·0.5HO, the two lanthanum ions are nine coordinate in a distorted trigonal-prismatic geometry. Each La ion is bonded to three N atoms of the Schiff base, 1-(pyridin-2-yl)-2-(pyridin-2-yl-methyl-ene)hydrazine and is coordinated by one acetate group, which acts in -bidentate mode and two acetate groups that act in -mode between the two La ions.

Establishment of a New Real-Time Molecular Assay for the Detection of Babanki Virus in Africa.

Babanki virus is a subtype of the Sindbis virus, a widespread arthropod-borne alphavirus circulating in Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Characterized by rashes and arthritis, clinical infections due to Sindbis were mainly reported in Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe. However, its sub-type, Babanki virus, was reported in Northern Europe and Africa, where its epidemiology potential remains poorly understood.

Identifying populations at high risk of malaria: a mixed-methods case-control study to inform targeted interventions in Senegal.

Background: Senegal has made significant progress in reducing the burden of malaria, but transmission remains highly heterogeneous, with specific population subgroups likely at higher risk. Consultations with the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and a review of available data identified nomadic pastoralists, gold miners, and Koranic school students as potential high-risk populations (HRPs). This study aimed to evaluate whether these populations are at higher risk of malaria and better characterize their exposure patterns to inform the design of targeted intervention strategies.

Molecular epidemiology and pathogenicity of Wesselsbron virus circulating in Africa.

Wesselsbron is a neglected, mosquito-borne zoonotic disease transmitted by several species of virus-infected Aedes mosquitoes endemic to tropical regions in Africa. It affects primarily domestic livestock species with teratogenic effects, but can jump to humans. Herein, we investigated the molecular epidemiology of Wesselsbron virus in Africa using whole genome sequencing and structural analysis, and assessed its pathogenicity and tropism through in vivo experiments.

Outbreak of severe acute respiratory infections caused by recombinant human adenovirus type B 7/3 in hospitalized infants from a nursery in Dakar, April 2024.

Objectives: Acute respiratory infections are among the leading cause of mortality in children under 5 years of age worldwide, with most of these deaths due to bronchiolitis and pneumonia. We investigated and analyzed a pediatric outbreak of acute respiratory infections that resulted in the hospitalization of four infants in a nursery in Dakar in late April 2024.

Methods: Nasopharyngeal specimens were collected from infants and tested for a panel of respiratory pathogens by multiplex real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Pediatric traumatic spiegelian hernia, not always a handlebar hernia: A case report.

Introduction And Importance: Traumatic abdominal wall hernia is rare in children, and traumatic Spiegelian hernia is exceptional. Most of them occur due to a handlebar accident in older children. This report concerns a case of a toddler with a rare mechanism and location.

Re-Emergence of Rift Valley Fever Virus Lineage H in Senegal in 2022: In Vitro Characterization and Impact on Its Global Emergence in West Africa.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a re-emerging vector-borne zoonosis with a high public health and veterinary impact. In West Africa, many lineages were previously detected, but since 2020, lineage H from South Africa has been the main cause of the outbreaks. In this study, clinical samples collected through national surveillance were screened for RVF virus (RVFV) acute infection by RT-PCR and IgM ELISA tests.

An amplicon-based sequencing approach for Usutu virus characterization.

Usutu virus (USUV), an arbovirus from the Flaviviridae family, genus Flavivirus, has recently gained increasing attention because of its potential for emergence. After his discovery in South Africa, USUV spread to other African countries, then emerged in Europe where it was responsible for epizootics. The virus has recently been found in Asia.

Detection and Diagnosis of Rift Valley Fever Virus.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a globally important mosquito-borne virus that can also be directly transmitted via aerosolization of body fluids from infected animals. RVFV outbreaks cause mass mortality of young livestock and abortions in animals. In most severe human cases, the disease can progress to hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis, leading to death.

The feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness and impact of implementing person-centered communication for prevention of female genital mutilation in antenatal care settings in Guinea, Kenya and Somalia.

Background: There is limited evidence on how to engage health workers as advocates in preventing female genital mutilation (FGM). This study assesses the feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness and impact of a person-centered communication (PCC) approach for FGM prevention among antenatal care (ANC) providers in Guinea, Kenya and Somalia.

Methods: Between August 2020 and September 2021, a cluster randomised trial was conducted in 180 ANC clinics in three countries testing an intervention on PCC for FGM prevention.

The future of public health doctoral education in Africa: transforming higher education institutions to enhance research and practice.

The African Union and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Call to Action in 2022 for Africa's New Public Health Order that underscored the need for increased capacity in the public health workforce. Additional domestic and global investments in public health workforce development are central to achieving the aspirations of Agenda 2063 of the African Union, which aims to build and accelerate the implementation of continental frameworks for equitable, people-centred growth and development. Recognising the crucial role of higher education and research, we assessed the capabilities of public health doctoral training in schools and programmes of public health in Africa across three conceptual components: instructional, institutional, and external.

Aetiology of non-malaria acute febrile illness fever in children in rural Guinea-Bissau: a prospective cross-sectional investigation.

Background: With growing use of parasitological tests to detect malaria and decreasing incidence of the disease in Africa; it becomes necessary to increase the understanding of causes of non-malaria acute febrile illness (NMAFI) towards providing appropriate case management. This research investigates causes of NMAFI in pediatric out-patients in rural Guinea-Bissau.

Methods: Children 0-5 years presenting acute fever (≥38°) or history of fever, negative malaria rapid diagnostic test (mRDT) and no signs of specific disease were recruited at the out-patient clinic of 3 health facilities in Bafatá province during 54 consecutive weeks (dry and rainy season).

RUBY® - a tetravalent (2+2) bispecific antibody format with excellent functionality and IgG-like stability, pharmacology and developability properties.

Despite the large number of existing bispecific antibody (bsAb) formats, the generation of novel bsAbs is still associated with development and bioprocessing challenges. Here, we present RUBY, a novel bispecific antibody format that allows rapid generation of bsAbs that fulfill key development criteria. The RUBY format has a 2 + 2 geometry, where two Fab fragments are linked via their light chains to the C-termini of an IgG, and carries mutations for optimal chain pairing.

Emergence of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Eastern Senegal in 2022.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), the most widespread tick-borne viral human infection, poses a threat to global health. In this study, clinical samples collected through national surveillance systems were screened for acute CCHF virus (CCHFV) infection using RT-PCR and for exposure using ELISA. For any CCHF-positive sample, livestock and tick samples were also collected in the neighborhood of the confirmed case and tested using ELISA and RT-PCR, respectively.