Implications of Non-Specific Effects for Testing, Approving, and Regulating Vaccines.

The current framework for testing and regulating vaccines was established before the realization that vaccines, in addition to their effect against the vaccine-specific disease, may also have "non-specific effects" affecting the risk of unrelated diseases. Accumulating evidence from epidemiological studies shows that vaccines in some situations can affect all-cause mortality and morbidity in ways that are not explained by the prevention of the vaccine-targeted disease. Live attenuated vaccines have sometimes been associated with decreases in mortality and morbidity that are greater than anticipated.

The (dis)engagement of mangrove forests and mangrove rice in academic and non-academic literature on Guinea-Bissau-a systematic review protocol.

Background: Coastal areas in Guinea-Bissau and elsewhere in West Africa are bordered by mangrove forests. In several of these places, swaths of mangrove forest have been removed and the landscape has been technologically adapted for the production of mangrove rice-a regionally important staple. However, the effects of global warming, in particular sea-level rise, pose challenges to these socioecological environments.

"Just Standing Still": A Qualitative Study on Adolescents' Experiences of School Closures Due to Emerging COVID-19 in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the lives of children in a myriad of ways across the world. It exposed and aggravated existing inequalities between children within countries and across continents and hampered education. In Guinea-Bissau, school closure was one of the first restrictions implemented to confront the emerging pandemic.

Life expectancy among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis is less than one-third of life expectancy in the background population in Guinea-Bissau-an observational study.

Background: Few studies have assessed life expectancy of patients with tuberculosis (TB) against a comparable background population, particularly in low-income, high-incidence settings. This study aimed to estimate the life expectancy (LE) of patients with TB in the West African country of Guinea-Bissau and compare it with the LE of the background population.

Methods: This study used data from the Bandim TB cohort from 2004-20 as well as census data from the capital of Guinea-Bissau.

Predictors of serum- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) concentrations among infants in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.

Background: Knowledge about PFAS exposure in Africa is limited. We have previously detected six types of PFAS in the serum of infants from Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of the infant serum-PFAS concentrations.

Actinomycetoma by Cellulosimicrobium cellulans in a Young Man from Guinea-Bissau: Short Literature Review Regarding a Case Report.

Mycetoma is caused by the subcutaneous inoculation of filamentous fungi or aerobic filamentous bacteria. Cellulosimicrobium cellulans is a gram-positive bacterium from the order Actinomycetales that rarely causes human disease. The diagnosis is based on the clinical presentation and identification of the causative microorganism.

Seasonal variation of diarrhoeal pathogens among Guinea-Bissauan children under five years of age.

Background: Diarrhoea remains a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in low-income countries (LICs). The frequency of diarrhoeal episodes may vary by season, yet few prospective cohort studies have examined seasonal variation among various diarrhoeal pathogens using multiplex qPCR to analyse bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens.

Methods: We combined our recent qPCR data of diarrhoeal pathogens (nine bacterial, five viral and four parasitic) among Guinea-Bissauan children under five years old with individual background data, dividing by season.

Meningococcal A conjugate vaccine coverage in the meningitis belt of Africa from 2010 to 2021: a modelling study.

Background: As of the end of 2021, twenty-four countries in the African meningitis belt have rolled out mass campaigns of MenAfriVac®, a meningococcal A conjugate vaccine (MACV) first introduced in 2010. Twelve have completed introduction of MACV into routine immunisation (RI) schedules. Although select post-campaign coverage data are published, no study currently comprehensively estimates MACV coverage from both routine and campaign sources in the meningitis belt across age, country, and time.

The HIV care continuum of Guinea-Bissau; Progress towards the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets for HIV-1 and HIV-2.

Objective: In the 2020 UNAIDS HIV treatment goals, 90% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) should be diagnosed, 90% of these should receive antiretroviral treatment (ART) and 90% of these should be virally suppressed. We aimed to evaluate whether Guinea-Bissau fulfills the 2020 treatment goals for both for HIV-1 and HIV-2.

Design: By combining data from a general population survey, treatment records from HIV clinics across Guinea-Bissau and a biobank from patients attending the largest HIV clinics in Bissau, we estimated each column of the 90-90-90 cascade.

Genetic characterization of infecting free-roaming African vervets () on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts.

Human strongyloidiasis is an important neglected tropical disease primarily caused by the nematode , and to a lesser extent which mainly infects non-human primates. Zoonotic sources of infection have important implications for control and prevention of morbidity and mortality caused by strongyloidiasis. Recent molecular evidence suggests that for primate host specificity is variable among genotypes across the Old World, and consequently that these types likely vary in their capacity for human spillover infections.

Stem Bark Extract Modulates the Mitochondrial Apoptotic Pathway in Human Stomach Cancer Cells.

The present work aimed to detail the mechanisms elicited by P. Beauv. stem bark extract in human stomach cancer cells and to identify the bioactives underlying the cytotoxicity.

The use of video job-aids to improve the quality of seasonal malaria chemoprevention delivery.

Mobile phones are increasingly used in community health programmes, but the use of video job-aids that can be displayed on smart phones has not been widely exploited. We investigated the use of video job-aids to support the delivery of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in countries in West and Central Africa. The study was prompted by the need for training tools that could be used in a socially distanced manner during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Terrorist Attacks in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1970 through 2020: Analysis and Impact from a Counter-Terrorism Medicine Perspective.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has become a hotspot for global terrorism, with nearly 50% of global terror-related deaths occurring in SSA in 2021. With a large population and complex geopolitical and social climate, terrorist activity further burdens an already strained medical system. This study provides a retrospective descriptive analysis of terrorist-related activity in SSA from 1970-2020.

Short-Term Surgical Mission in Sub-Saharan Country, Experience of a Breast-Dedicated Team: Reviewing the Past and Stepping Toward the Last Mission.

Purpose: The present article aims to present the data of a Breast Cancer Team Short-Term Surgical Mission in Guinea-Bissau in the setting of the National Bissau Hospital, Hospital Nacional Simão Mendes, level A referral health structure.

Patients And Methods: Patients with breast disease have been presented to our team for in loco consultation during the total of three missions in 1 year. We have observed a total of 97 female patients with age ranging from 12 to 70 years.

Genetic regulators of cytokine responses upon BCG vaccination in children from West Africa.

Genetic variation is a key factor influencing cytokine production capacity, but which genetic loci regulate cytokine production before and after vaccination, particularly in African population is unknown. Here, we aimed to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) controlling cytokine responses after microbial stimulation in infants of West-African ancestry, comprising of low-birth-weight neonates randomized to bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine-at-birth or to the usual delayed BCG. Genome-wide cytokine cytokine quantitative trait loci (cQTL) mapping revealed 12 independent loci, of which the LINC01082-LINC00917 locus influenced more than half of the cytokine-stimulation pairs assessed.

Inequalities in child immunization coverage: potential lessons from the Guinea-Bissau case.

Immunization is one of the main interventions responsible for the decline in under-5 mortality. This study aimed to assess full immunization coverage trends and related inequalities, according to wealth, area of residence, subnational regions, and maternal schooling level in Guinea-Bissau. Data from the 2006, 2014, and 2018 Guinea-Bissau Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) were analyzed.

Associations between punitive policies and legal barriers to consensual same-sex sexual acts and HIV among gay men and other men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicountry, respondent-driven sampling survey.

Background: Few assessments of associations between structural-level factors and HIV among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) have been conducted, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Our objective was to examine HIV testing history, HIV status, and stigmas among MSM living in ten countries with heterogeneous legal environments.

Methods: This study used pooled data from ten country-specific, cross-sectional studies done in 25 sites in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Senegal, Eswatini, Rwanda, and Togo.

BCG is protective against death in male but not female patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Guinea-Bissau.

Background: Growing evidence supports the existence of a sex difference in immunity to tuberculosis (TB). This is most often to the detriment of males. This study aimed to assess the association between scar size from bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and mortality risk stratified by sex.

The impact of BCG dose and revaccination on trained immunity.

The innate immune system can display heterologous memory-like responses termed trained immunity after stimulation by certain vaccinations or infections. In this randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we investigated the modulation of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-induced trained immunity by BCG revaccination or high-dose BCG administration, in comparison to a standard dose. We show that monocytes from all groups of BCG-vaccinated individuals exerted increased TNFα production after ex-vivo stimulation with various unrelated pathogens.

Family, twin and adoption studies of severe mental disorders in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.

Purpose: The traditional genetic epidemiological studies are necessary to improve accurate risk communication to service users and their families. This scoping review aimed to describe the volume and scope of existing research evidence on family, twin and adoption studies of severe mental disorders (SMDs) in SSA. This is with a view to identifying gaps in the literature and the adequacy of data for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Intrahost evolution of the HIV-2 capsid correlates with progression to AIDS.

HIV-2 infection will progress to AIDS in most patients without treatment, albeit at approximately half the rate of HIV-1 infection. HIV-2 capsid (p26) amino acid polymorphisms are associated with lower viral loads and enhanced processing of T cell epitopes, which may lead to protective Gag-specific T cell responses common in slower progressors. Lower virus evolutionary rates, and positive selection on conserved residues in HIV-2 have been associated with slower progression to AIDS.

Association of hepatitis C virus genotype 2 spread with historic slave trade and commerce routes in Western Africa.

The hepatitis C virus genotype 2 (HCV2) is endemic in Western and Central Africa. The HCV2 evolutionary origins remain uncertain due to the paucity of available genomes from African settings. In this study, we investigated the molecular epidemiology of HCV infections in rural Guinea, Western Africa, during 2004 and 2014.