Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a neglected tropical disease that can cause hydrocele and its associated stigma, loss of economic productivity, and depression. Hydrocele surgery is an essential part of ...LF morbidity management but can be difficult for national programs to implement. To improve access to hydrocele surgeries in Côte d'Ivoire, we provided a WHO-certified surgical training for six surgical teams from five health districts in Côte d'Ivoire. We then evaluated the surgical outcomes and assessed the impact of hydrocele surgery on quality of life of hydrocelectomy patients. Preoperative and operative records were reviewed to describe baseline hydrocele characteristics and operative details. Postoperative interviews were conducted 4 to 6 months after surgical correction using a standardized questionnaire. Seventeen men underwent surgery during the training and were available for an interview at the 6-month visit. At the time of 6-month follow-up, 11/17 (64.7%) reported improvement in activities of daily living and reduction in difficulties with work, 8/17 (47.1%) reported an improved economic situation, 15/17 (88.2%) reported improved social interactions, and 15/16 (93.8%) reported improved sex life after surgical correction. Three patients (17.6%) had minor postoperative complications, but none required hospitalization. All 17 patients who were available for an interview were satisfied with their surgery. Surgical hydrocelectomy training in Côte d'Ivoire was well received and provided life-altering health improvements for participating patients across multiple domains of life. Support to scale up surgical capacity for this neglected problem is needed.
Evaluation of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) and implementation of additional interventions are required in the region of a filariasis control program, given that antifilariasis drugs also have a ...beneficial effect on STHs. Thus, this study determines the extensive epidemiology of STHs to improve their successful control. Stool samples were analyzed using the Kato-Katz method. Chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to measure differences in infection rates and intensities, respectively, and logistic regression identified the risks of infection. The main intestinal helminths (A. lumbricoides, hookworm N. americanus, S. mansoni, and T. trichiura) were found in the population. The overall prevalence of STHs was 19.5%. The prevalence of hookworm, the predominant species, ranged from 2% (n=6) to 28% (n=97). The overall prevalence of the other intestinal helminths was less than 6% (n=18). Intensity of hookworm was mostly light with a range from 1.6% (n=5) to 25.9% (n=90). However, the intensity of the species was significantly greater in Soribadougou compared to the other localities. Heavy infection was found in old children and adults but not in young children. Open defecation (OR=3.23, p≤0.05), dog/cat raising (OR=1.94, p≤0.05), farming (OR=14.10, p≤0.05), and irrigated culture (OR=3.23, p≤0.05) were positively associated with hookworm. It was observed that the participants missed the follow-up examinations due to trip (32.7%) or misunderstanding (15%) and lack of information (11.8%) of the purpose of the survey. Thus, to sustain the control of STHs, the MDA program should target the entire community and add education about the use of toilets, best practices of farming, and dog/cat raising.
Improved drug regimens are needed to accelerate elimination of lymphatic filariasis in Africa. This study determined whether a single co-administered dose of ivermectin plus diethylcarbamazine plus ...albendazole IDA is noninferior to standard 3 annual doses of ivermectin plus albendazole (IA) used in many LF-endemic areas of Africa.
Treatment-naive adults with Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaremia in Côte d'Ivoire were randomized to receive a single dose of IDA (n = 43) or 3 annual doses of IA (n = 52) in an open-label, single-blinded trial. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants who were microfilaria (Mf) negative at 36 months. Secondary endpoints were Mf clearance at 6, 12, and 24 months; inactivation of adult worm nests; and safety.
At 36 months posttreatment with IDA, 18/33 (55%; 95% CI, 38-72%) cleared Mf versus 33/42 (79%; 67-91%) with IA (P = .045). At 6 and 12 months IDA was superior to IA in clearing Mf (89% 77-99% and 71% 56-85%), respectively, versus 34% (20-48%) and 26% (14-42%) (P < .001). IDA was equivalent to IA at 24 months (61% 45-77% vs 54% 38-72%; P = .53). IDA was superior to IA for inactivating adult worms at all time points. Both treatments were well tolerated, and there were no serious adverse events.
A single dose of IDA was superior to 2 doses of IA in reducing the overall Mf burden by 24 months. Reinfection may have contributed to the lack of sustained clearance of Mf with IDA.
NCT02974049.
Abstract
Background
Ivermectin (IVM) plus albendazole (ALB), or IA, is widely used in mass drug administration (MDA) programs that aim to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Africa. However, IVM ...can cause severe adverse events in persons with heavy Loa loa infections that are common in Central Africa. ALB is safe in loiasis, but more information is needed on its efficacy for LF. This study compared the efficacy and safety of 3 years of semiannual treatment with ALB to annual IA in persons with bancroftian filariasis.
Methods
Adults with Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaremia (Mf) were randomized to receive either 3 annual doses of IA (N = 52), 6 semiannual doses of ALB 400 mg (N = 45), or 6 semiannual doses of ALB 800 mg (N = 47). The primary outcome is amicrofilaremia at 36 months.
Results
IA was more effective for completely clearing Mf than ALB 400mg or ALB 800mg (79%, 95% confidence interval CI: 67–91; vs 48%, 95% CI: 32–66 and 57%, 95% CI: 41–73, respectively). Mean percentage reductions in Mf counts at 36 months relative to baseline tended to be greater after IA (98%, 95% CI: 88–100) than after ALB 400 mg (88%, 95% CI: 78–98) and ALB 800 mg (89%, 95% CI: 79–99) (P = .07 and P = .06, respectively). Adult worm nest numbers (assessed by ultrasound) were reduced in all treatment groups. Treatments were well tolerated.
Conclusions
Repeated semiannual treatment with ALB is macrofilaricidal for W. bancrofti and leads to sustained reductions in Mf counts. This is a safe and effective regimen that could be used as MDA to eliminate LF in areas where ivermectin cannot be used.
Clinical Trials Registration
NCT02974049
This study showed that semiannual treatment with albendazole alone has macrofilaricidal activity that can lead to sustained reductions in microfilaremia, circulating filarial antigenemia, and in adult worm nests in people infected with lymphatic filariasis.
Temprano ANRS 12136 was a factorial 2 × 2 trial that assessed the benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART; ie, in patients who had not reached the CD4 cell count threshold used to recommend ...starting ART, as per the WHO guidelines that were the standard during the study period) and 6-month isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) in HIV-infected adults in Côte d'Ivoire. Early ART and IPT were shown to independently reduce the risk of severe morbidity at 30 months. Here, we present the efficacy of IPT in reducing mortality from the long-term follow-up of Temprano.
For Temprano, participants were randomly assigned to four groups (deferred ART, deferred ART plus IPT, early ART, or early ART plus IPT). Participants who completed the trial follow-up were invited to participate in a post-trial phase. The primary post-trial phase endpoint was death, as analysed by the intention-to-treat principle. We used Cox proportional models to compare all-cause mortality between the IPT and no IPT strategies from inclusion in Temprano to the end of the follow-up period.
Between March 18, 2008, and Jan 5, 2015, 2056 patients (mean baseline CD4 count 477 cells per μL) were followed up for 9404 patient-years (Temprano 4757; post-trial phase 4647). The median follow-up time was 4·9 years (IQR 3·3–5·8). 86 deaths were recorded (Temprano 47 deaths; post-trial phase 39 deaths), of which 34 were in patients randomly assigned IPT (6-year probability 4·1%, 95% CI 2·9–5·7) and 52 were in those randomly assigned no IPT (6·9%, 5·1–9·2). The hazard ratio of death in patients who had IPT compared with those who did not have IPT was 0·63 (95% CI, 0·41 to 0·97) after adjusting for the ART strategy (early vs deferred), and 0·61 (0·39–0·94) after adjustment for the ART strategy, baseline CD4 cell count, and other key characteristics. There was no evidence for statistical interaction between IPT and ART (pinteraction=0·77) or between IPT and time (pinteraction=0·94) on mortality.
In Côte d'Ivoire, where the incidence of tuberculosis was last reported as 159 per 100 000 people, 6 months of IPT has a durable protective effect in reducing mortality in HIV-infected people, even in people with high CD4 cell counts and who have started ART.
National Research Agency on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS).
Transition to dolutegravir among 21 167 individuals experienced in antiretroviral therapy in West Africa showed heterogeneous timelines and patterns. Initially reported sex disparities tended to ...catch up over time with persisting disparities, according to contributing HIV clinics. Key factors facilitating dolutegravir switch were male sex, age <50 years, viral suppression, and regimens not based on protease inhibitors.
Subviral non-coding RNA molecules, known as satellite RNAs (satRNAs), are often associated with cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). These satRNAs require a helper virus (CMV in this case) for their ...replication, encapsidation and transmission. They modify CMV pathogenicity by either attenuating disease symptoms or by exacerbating them. This effect could be due either to competition between a helper viras and satRNAs for replication, or to specific satRNA sequences or secondary structures. The type of host plant and the CMV strain also affect the behavior of satRNAs. Recent studies have shown that satRNA replication is associated with the production of satRNA-derived small RNAs of 21-25 nucleotides in length, winch play a key role in RNA silencing and could explain differences in CMV symptom severity. Tins review highlights the current understanding and recent advances in relation to satRNA-mediated disease symptoms in CMV-infected plants.
Objective
We aimed to describe the morbidity and mortality patterns in HIV‐positive adults hospitalized in West Africa.
Method
We conducted a six‐month prospective multicentre survey within the IeDEA ...West Africa collaboration in six adult medical wards of teaching hospitals in Abidjan, Ouagadougou, Cotonou, Dakar and Bamako. From April to October 2010, all newly hospitalized HIV‐positive patients were eligible. Baseline and follow‐up information until hospital discharge was recorded using standardized forms. Diagnoses were reviewed by a local event validation committee using reference definitions. Factors associated with in‐hospital mortality were studied with a logistic regression model.
Results
Among 823 hospitalized HIV‐positive adults (median age 40 years, 58% women), 24% discovered their HIV infection during the hospitalization, median CD4 count was 75/mm3 (IQR: 25–177) and 48% had previously received antiretroviral treatment (ART). The underlying causes of hospitalization were AIDS‐defining conditions (54%), other infections (32%), other diseases (8%) and non‐specific illness (6%). The most frequent diseases diagnosed were: tuberculosis (29%), pneumonia (15%), malaria (10%) and cerebral toxoplasmosis (10%). Overall, 315 (38%) patients died during hospitalization and the underlying cause of death was AIDS (63%), non‐AIDS‐defining infections (26%), other diseases (7%) and non‐specific illness or unknown cause (4%). Among them, the most frequent fatal diseases were: tuberculosis (36%), cerebral toxoplasmosis (10%), cryptococcosis (9%) and sepsis (7%). Older age, clinical WHO stage 3 and 4, low CD4 count, and AIDS‐defining infectious diagnoses were associated with hospital fatality.
Conclusions
AIDS‐defining conditions, primarily tuberculosis, and bacterial infections were the most frequent causes of hospitalization in HIV‐positive adults in West Africa and resulted in high in‐hospital fatality. Sustained efforts are needed to integrate care of these disease conditions and optimize earlier diagnosis of HIV infection and initiation of ART.
Facing the dual burden of invasive cervical cancer and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, the identification of preventable determinants of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) in HIV-infected women is ...of paramount importance.
A cervical cancer screening based on visual inspection methods was proposed to HIV-infected women in care in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Positively screened women were referred for a colposcopy to a gynaecologist who performed directed biopsies.
Of the 2,998 HIV-infected women enrolled, 132 (4.4%) CIN of any grade (CIN+) were identified. Women had been followed-up for a median duration of three years IQR: 1-5 and 76% were on antiretroviral treatment (ART). Their median most recent CD4 count was 452 IQR: 301-621 cells/mm3. In multivariate analysis, CIN+ was associated with a most recent CD4 count >350 cells/mm3 (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2-0.6) or ≥200-350 cells/mm3 (OR 0.6; 95% CI 0.4-1.0) (Ref: <200 cells/mm3 CD4) (p<10-4).
The presence of CIN+ is less common among HIV-infected women with limited or no immune deficiency. Despite the potential impact of immunological recovery on the reduction of premalignant cervical lesions through the use of ART, cervical cancer prevention, including screening and vaccination remains a priority in West Africa while ART is rolled-out.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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