Survey of the risk behaviors and mental health of adolescents in Gabon risky behaviors and vulnerability of adolescent Africans.

Background: Adolescence shapes adulthood and is a time of vulnerability. This study explores risk behaviors among African adolescents from Gabon.

Methods: This study was done in 2021 and followed the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) guidelines.

Triple burden of hepatitis B, hepatitis Delta viruses, and to pregnant women.

Objectives: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major health problem worldwide. This infection is more severe when combined with hepatitis Delta virus (HDV). Moreover, () malaria infection during pregnancy can have severe consequences for the mother and the newborn.

Single and Combined Serum Proteins Expressed in TB Infection are Candidates for Point-of-care Diagnostic Testing of Active TB Patients in Lambaréné, Gabon.

Background And Objectives: Point-of-care testing using nonsputum samples like serum or plasma proteins can improve tuberculosis (TB) patients access to a definitive diagnosis, especially in resource-constrained and remote areas. Recently, approximately 400 proteins were identified as playing a role in the pathogenesis of TB, offering a translational clinical research repository for TB. In a previous manuscript, we proved the potential use of these proteins for point-of-care testing for active TB diagnosis.

Medicinal plants used in Gabon for prophylaxis and treatment against COVID-19-related symptoms: an ethnobotanical survey.

Gabon faced COVID-19 with more than 49,000 individuals tested positive and 307 recorded fatalities since the first reported case in 2020. A popular hypothesis is that the low rate of cases and deaths in the country was attributed to the use of medicinal plants in prevention and treatment. This study aimed to document the plants used for remedial and preventive therapies by the Gabonese population during the COVID-19 pandemic and to pinpoint specific potential plant species that merit further investigation.

HIV-exposed uninfected infants' immune defects: From pathogen sensing, oxidative burst to antigens responses.

The progress in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV has led to a significant reduction in mother-to-child HIV transmission, increasing the population of HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infants. Studies have shown that HEU infants are more vulnerable to diseases than infants born from HIV-free mothers. Today, there is more and more evidence that helps us understand how exposure to HIV and/or its therapy affects the ability of the immune system of HEU infants to fight infections.

Allergen sensitization and polysensitization pattern of adults and children in an urban Sub-Saharan African setting (Libreville, Gabon).

Background: It is believed that allergic diseases are increasing in Africa. However, the health sector in Africa has yet to catch up with this paradigm shift. We looked at the number of patients referred to us for allergy testing and investigated allergen sensitization.

Prostate malignant tumor and benign prostatic hyperplasia microenvironments in black African men: Limited infiltration of CD8+ T lymphocytes, NK-cells, and high frequency of CD73+ stromal cells.

Background: Anti-cancerous immunology has yet to be investigated in the African black population, despite being the dawn of precision medicine.

Aim: Here we investigated the tumor microenvironment of prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in black Africans.

Methods: Through immunohistochemistry analysis of prostate cancer and BPH patients' biopsies, we investigated the expression and distribution of CD73, CCD8 T-lymphocytes, and natural killer cells.

[Epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic profile of esophageal atresia at the Mother and Child University Hospital of the Jeanne Ebori Foundation from 2019 to 2020].

Esophageal atresia is a congenital malformation incompatible with life. Its management in our context is difficult. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical, therapeutic and epidemiological profile of esophageal atresia at the Mother and Child University Hospital of the Jeanne Ebori Foundation from 2019 to 2020.

Changes of C-reactive protein and Procalcitonin after four weeks of treatment in patients with pulmonary TB.

Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a public health concern worldwide, affecting millions of people every year. Detailed characterization of disease pathophysiology is key to proper diagnosis, disease progression, or treatment follow-up and evaluation. The present study investigated C-reactive protein and Procalcitonin (PCT) as candidate markers of early treatment response and disease activity.

[Thoracopagus conjoined twins: case study conducted in Libreville and literature review].

Conjoined twins are a rare form of monozygotic and monoamniotic twins. Fetal prognosis is very poor and, if the diagnosis is made early, it most often requires therapeutic abortion. We here report a case of three-hour old thoracopagus conjoined twins who were born vaginally, at term, at 40 weeks + 3 days.

Mapping Allergic Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The consensus is that allergic diseases are increasing in Africa. However, this paradigm shift has not yet been translated into practice. Focused on infectious diseases (malaria, tuberculosis, HIV), health policies in Sub-Saharan Africa have often neglected the diagnosis and management of allergies.

Traumatic penile partial amputation of unusual occurrence: A case report.

We report the clinical case of a 9-year-old boy admitted for open trauma to the penis which occurred 3 hours before his admission by domestic accident. The child pounding vegetables, was awkwardly struck on the penis with a pestle. After conditioning, exploration in the operating room found partial amputation of the glans with complete rupture of the urethra.

Creatine kinase-(MB) and hepcidin as candidate biomarkers for early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis: a proof-of-concept study in Lambaréné, Gabon.

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic utility of creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), hepcidin (HEPC), phospholipase A2 group IIA (PLa2G2A), and myosin-binding protein C (MYBPC1) for tuberculosis (TB). These four biomarkers are differentially regulated between quiescent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infected individuals (non-progressors to TB disease) and Mtb-infected TB disease progressors 6 months before the onset of symptoms.

Methods: We enrolled samples from patients experiencing moderate-to-severe pulmonary infections diseases including 23 TB cases confirmed by smear microscopy and culture, and 34 TB-negative cases.

Emergence of B.1.1.318 SARS-CoV-2 viral lineage and high incidence of alpha B.1.1.7 variant of concern in the Republic of Gabon.

Objective: Variants of concern (VOCs) associated with relatively high transmissibility appear to be rapidly spreading in Gabon. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the distribution of several VOCs in the population, which could have implications for transmissibility and vaccine efficacy.

Methods: Between February and May 2021, SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sequenced using the Oxford nanopore MinION method and the respective genome diversity was elucidated.

Unrecognized introduction of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern to Central Africa: Import and local transmission of B.1.1.7 in Gabon in the very early stage of the variant spread to the African continent.

The rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant of concern with higher infectivity has already resulted in the enormous increase in infection cases worldwide. We report an unrecognized introduction of the variant B.1.

Circulating anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N)-protein antibodies and anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike (S)-protein antibodies in an African setting: herd immunity, not there yet!

Objective: Herd immunity is achieved when in a population, immune individuals are in a sufficiently large proportion. Neutralizing antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 that are produced following infection or vaccination are critical for controlling the spread of COVID-19. The objective of the present work was to investigate the rate of SARS-CoV-2 natural immunization in Gabonese.

Midwives and Post-abortion Care in Gabon: "Things have really changed".

Complications from spontaneous and induced abortion are a primary cause of death of women in sub-Saharan Africa. Le Réseau d'Afrique Centrale pour la Santé Reproductive des Femmes: Gabon, Cameroun, Guinée Équatoriale (the Middle African Network for Women's Reproductive Health, or GCG as it is commonly known) was founded in 2009 to identify and overcome obstacles to post-abortion care in Gabon. Research identified the main obstacle as lack of emergency skills and provisions among first-line health care providers.

Publisher Correction: M. tuberculosis infection and antigen specific cytokine response in healthcare workers frequently exposed to tuberculosis.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

M. tuberculosis infection and antigen specific cytokine response in healthcare workers frequently exposed to tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death due to an infectious agent, but only a small fraction of those infected develop the disease. Cytokines are involved in the mediation and regulation of immunity, and their secretion patterns may reflect the infection status. To increase our understanding of immune response to M.

Plasmatic neuroglobin during the primitive open-angle glaucoma.

Objective: Elucidate the relation between neuroglobin and the primitive open-angle glaucoma.

Patients And Methods: This cross-sectional case-control study involved 64 patients with primitive open-angle glaucoma on 2 eyes and 64 control subjects. Glaucoma was classified as early, moderate or severe according to ophthalmological examination.

HIV-exposed uninfected compared with unexposed infants show the presence of leucocytes, lower lactoferrin levels and antimicrobial-resistant micro-organisms in the stool.

: HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU)-infants have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to infections. In this population, disturbance of the gut micro-environment might increase their susceptibility to enteric diseases and even favour the translocation of bacteria in the bloodstream. : The gastro-intestinal micro-environment was explored in 22 HEU infants and 16 HIV-unexposed (HU) infants aged 6-24 weeks.

Global variation in bacterial strains that cause tuberculosis disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The host, microbial, and environmental factors that contribute to variation in tuberculosis (TB) disease are incompletely understood. Accumulating evidence suggests that one driver of geographic variation in TB disease is the local ecology of mycobacterial genotypes or strains, and there is a need for a comprehensive and systematic synthesis of these data. The objectives of this study were to (1) map the global distribution of genotypes that cause TB disease and (2) examine whether any epidemiologically relevant clinical characteristics were associated with those genotypes.

Altered Toll-Like Receptor-4 Response to Lipopolysaccharides in Infants Exposed to HIV-1 and Its Preventive Therapy.

Pathogen sensing and recognition through pattern recognition receptors, and subsequent production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, is the cornerstone of the innate immune system. Despite the fact that HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infants are prone to serious bacterial infections, no study has focused on the functionality of their bacteria recognition system. This is the first study to investigate baseline levels of three critically important immune response molecules in this population: complement component (C)-3, toll-like receptor (TLR)-4, and C-reactive protein (CRP).