Investigating molecular mechanisms of insecticide resistance in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Background: Malaria vector control in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is plagued by several major challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, lack of access to health care systems and preventative measures, and more recently the widespread emergence of insecticide resistance among Anopheles mosquitoes. Across 26 provinces, insecticide resistance has been reported from multiple sentinel sites. However, to date, investigation of molecular resistance mechanisms among Anopheles vector populations in DRC has been more limited.

Characterization of virulence factors of Salmonella isolated from human stools and street food in urban areas of Burkina Faso.

Background: This study was undertaken to identify and functionally characterize virulence genes from Salmonella isolates in street food and stool cultures. From February 2017 to May 2018, clinical and food Salmonella strains were isolated in three regions in Burkina Faso. Salmonella was serotyped according to the White-Kauffmann-Le Minor method, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detec invA, spvR, spvC, fimA and stn virulence genes commonly associated with salmonellosis in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Epidemiology and microscopic diagnosis of tuberculosis in pigs and small ruminants slaughtered at Bobo-Dioulasso abattoir, Burkina Faso.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a zoonotic, infectious, chronic and contagious disease, caused by Mycobacterium bovis that mainly affects cattle. This pathology has a negative impact on animals and animal products trade. Unfortunately, in Burkina Faso where agriculture and livestock sectors represent around 80% of the socio-economic activities, the real situation of the disease is not well known especially in small ruminants and swine.

Exercise-Induced Plasma Metabolomic Profiles in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease.

A better knowledge of the biological consequences in the blood of these exercise-induced ischemic events in lower extremity artery disease (LEAD) may improve the prospects of disease management. We explored the preminus postexercise metabolomic difference in 39 patients with LEAD referred for a treadmill oximetry test [transcutaneous oximetry (TcPO)]. Ischemia was estimated through the sum of decrease from rest of oxygen pressure (DROPs) (limb TcPO changes minus chest TcPO changes) at buttocks, thighs, and calves regions.

Safety of Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine Plus Azithromycin for the Treatment of COVID-19 Patients in Burkina Faso: An Observational Prospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: Though chloroquine derivatives are used in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in many countries worldwide, doubts remain about the safety and efficacy of these drugs, especially in African communities where published data are scarce.

Methods: We conducted an observational prospective cohort study from April 24 to September 03, 2020, in Burkina Faso to assess (as primary outcome) the clinical, biological, and cardiac (electrocardiographic) safety of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin administered to COVID-19 patients. The main secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality and median time of viral clearance.

Safety and immunogenicity of 2-dose heterologous Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo Ebola vaccination in healthy and HIV-infected adults: A randomised, placebo-controlled Phase II clinical trial in Africa.

Background: We investigated safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the heterologous 2-dose Ebola vaccination regimen in healthy and HIV-infected adults with different intervals between Ebola vaccinations.

Methods And Findings: In this randomised, observer-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II trial, 668 healthy 18- to 70-year-olds and 142 HIV-infected 18- to 50-year-olds were enrolled from 1 site in Kenya and 2 sites each in Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, and Uganda. Participants received intramuscular Ad26.

Association of malaria and curable sexually transmitted infections with pregnancy outcomes in rural Burkina Faso.

Background: Malaria and curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are severe infections associated with poor pregnancy outcomes in sub-Saharan countries. These infections are responsible for low birth weight, preterm birth, and miscarriage. In Burkina Faso, many interventions recommended by the World Health Organization were implemented to control the impact of these infections.

Impact of mass administration of azithromycin as a preventive treatment on the prevalence and resistance of nasopharyngeal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of serious illness and death in children, indicating the need to monitor prevalent strains, particularly in the vulnerable pediatric population. Nasal carriage of S. aureus is important as carriers have an increased risk of serious illness due to systemic invasion by this pathogen and can transmit the infection.

Prevalence and factors associated of Trichomonas vaginalis infection among pregnant women in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

Epidemiological studies of vaginalis trichomonosis, especially in pregnant women are rare in Africa due to the lack of screening programs. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of T. vaginalis infection and its associated factors in pregnant women who attended the antenatal care clinics in three primary health centers of Bobo-Dioulasso.

Longitudinal Follow-Up of Blood Telomere Length in HIV-Exposed Uninfected Children Having Received One Year of Lopinavir/Ritonavir or Lamivudine as Prophylaxis.

Telomere shortening can be enhanced upon human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and by antiretroviral (ARV) exposures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute and long-term effect on telomere shortening of two ARV prophylaxes, lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) and lamivudine (3TC), administered to children who are HIV-exposed uninfected (CHEU) to prevent HIV acquisition through breastfeeding during the first year of life, and to investigate the relationship between telomere shortening and health outcomes at six years of age. We included 198 CHEU and measured telomere length at seven days of life, at week-50 and at six years (year-6) using quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

[Polymorphisms in parasites and mutations in the resistance genes and in Nanoro area, Burkina Faso].

Introduction: from a genetic point of view P. falciparumis extremely polymorphic. There is a variety of parasite strains infesting individuals living in malaria endemic areas.

The Role of Candida Albicans in Routine Clinically Suspected Otomycosis.

Background: Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida species are considered as commensal yeasts of many cavities including the external auditory canal (EAC) in healthy individuals. These fungal microorganisms can also act as opportunist pathogens and cause otomycosis. In this study, the patients of clinically suspected otomycosis were specifically investigated mycologically to elucidate the role of Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida species.

COVID-19 epidemiological, sociological and anthropological investigation: study protocol for a multidisciplinary mixed methods research in Burkina Faso.

Background: The world has high hopes of vaccination against COVID-19 to protect the population, boost economies and return to normal life. Vaccination programmes are being rolled out in high income countries, but the pandemic continues to progress in many low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) despite implementation of strict hygiene measures. We aim to present a comprehensive research protocol that will generate epidemiological, sociological and anthropological data about the COVID-19 epidemic in Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa with scarce resources.

Pneumococcal Carriage in Burkina Faso After 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Introduction: Results From 2 Cross-sectional Population-Based Surveys.

Background: Burkina Faso, a country in Africa's meningitis belt, introduced 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in October 2013, with 3 primary doses given at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age. To assess whether the new PCV13 program controlled pneumococcal carriage, we evaluated overall and serotype-specific colonization among children and adults during the first 3 years after introduction.

Methods: We conducted 2 population-based, cross-sectional, age-stratified surveys in 2015 and 2017 in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso.

Rapid antiretroviral therapy initiation and its effect on treatment response in MSM in West Africa.

Objective: To assess the time from HIV diagnosis to ART initiation and the effect of rapid ART initiation (i.e. within 7 days of HIV diagnosis) on attrition and virologic and immunologic responses among MSM in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Togo.

Patterns of child mortality in rural area of Burkina Faso: evidence from the Nanoro health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS).

Background: Half of global child deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding child mortality patterns and risk factors will help inform interventions to reduce this heavy toll. The Nanoro Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), Burkina Faso was described previously, but patterns and potential drivers of heterogeneity in child mortality in the district had not been studied.

Revisiting COVID-19 Communication in Western Africa: A Health Literacy-based Approach to Health Communication.

Adherence to protective measures is a major component of COVID-19 epidemic control. COVID-19 health literacy is a major driver of this adherence, and the evaluation of health literacy levels is the basis for designing an effective communication strategy. We conducted a quantitative socio-anthropological study of the knowledge of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and perception of the prevention messages in Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone.

24-Month Clinical, Immuno-Virological Outcomes, and HIV Status Disclosure in Adolescents Living With Perinatally-Acquired HIV in the IeDEA-COHADO Cohort in Togo and Côte d'Ivoire, 2015-2017.

Adolescents living with perinatally-acquired HIV (APHIV) face challenges including HIV serostatus disclosure. We assessed their 24-month outcomes in relation to the disclosure of their own HIV serostatus. Nested within the International epidemiologic Database to Evaluate AIDS pediatric West African prospective cohort (IeDEA pWADA), the COHADO cohort included antiretroviral (ART)-treated APHIV aged 10-19 years, enrolled in HIV care before the age of 10 years, in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) and Lomé (Togo) in 2015.

Knowledge, beliefs and practices regarding prevention of bacterial meningitis in Burkina Faso, 5 years after MenAfriVac mass campaigns.

Background: To adapt communications concerning vaccine prevention, we studied knowledge, beliefs and practices around meningitis risk and prevention in a young adult population in Burkina Faso in 2016, 5 years after the MenAfriVac® mass campaign and one year before the vaccine's inclusion in the infant immunization schedule.

Methods: In a representative sample of the population aged 15 to 33 years (N = 220) in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, study nurses administered a standardized paper questionnaire consisting of predominantly open questions, collecting information on meningitis risk factors and prevention, and on exposure to dry air and kitchen fire smoke. We identified themes and analyzed their frequency.

Cost-effectiveness of adding a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in the Dafra district of the Hauts-Bassins Region in Burkina Faso (NéoVac Study).

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a first hepatitis B vaccine dose within 24 h of birth (HepB-BD) to prevent mother-to-child transmission. Evidence for this strategy's economic value in Africa is limited. We assessed the costs and cost-effectiveness of adding HepB-BD to the current three-dose pentavalent schedule (HepB3) in the Dafra district of the Hauts-Bassins Region in Burkina Faso.

The Pan African Vivax and Ovale Network (PAVON): Refocusing on Plasmodium vivax, ovale and asymptomatic malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.

The recent World Malaria report shows that progress in malaria elimination has stalled. Current data acquisition by NMCPs depend on passive case detection and clinical reports focused mainly on Plasmodium falciparum (Pf). In recent times, several countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reported cases of Plasmodium vivax (Pv) with a considerable number being Duffy negative.