Detection des anticorps anti-virus de Lassa dans l'ouest forestier de la Cote d'Ivoire

La fievre de Lassa est une fievre hemorragique virale (FHV) africaine endemique en Afrique de l'Ouest; notamment au Nigeria; en Sierra Leone; au Liberia et en Guinee. La Cote d'ivoire qui part age des frontieres avec le Liberia et la Guinee n'a jamais notifie de cas de fievre de Lassa. Dans le cadre d'un projet de recherche sur les fievres hemorragiques virales principalement la fievre jaune; la fievre de Lassa et la fievre Ebola en Guinee et en Cote d'Ivoire; une enquete a ete realisee en mars 2000 chez des travailleurs forestiers des prefectures de Guiglo et Duekoue; dans le but de determiner le niveau de connaissance sur les fievres hemorra-giques virales et le statut immunitaire vis a vis du virus de Lassa. Cent soixante-trois sujets de sexe masculin professionnels de la foret ont ete interroges a l'aide d'un questionnaire sur les facteurs de risque d'exposition aux FHV et leurs antecedents medicaux des 12 dern i e rs mois. Les anticorps seriques de type IgG anti-virus de Lassa ont ete detectes par technique d'immunofluorescence utilisant les antigenes Lassa des souches Josuah et LAS/AV. La prevalence globale en IgG obtenue etait de 26(42/161). Pa rmi les sujets positifs; 38;5etaient des bucherons dont 20positifs au 1/40; 46;7des agents du parc national ou gardes forestieres dont 69positifs au 1/40 et plus. De plus; 41des sujets avaient entendu parler des FHV; 14ont attribue leur origine a des animaux et 2a des plantes. Les contacts avec les rongeurs etaient frequents et plus de 50des personnes ont deja consomme ou depece des rongeurs. La proportion de sujets porteurs d'anticorps IgG anti-virus de Lassa dans cette population semblait elevee. Cependant cette prevalence ne permet pas de conclure a une exposition particuliere au virus de Lassa

Clinical efficacy of chloroquine or sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in children under five from south-western Uganda with uncomplicated falciparum malaria

We conducted a 14-day study (during March-May 1998) to assess the efficacy of chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for treating uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Uganda. Overall treatment failure rates were 43 (81.1) of 53 chloroquine recipients and 16 (25.0) of 64 SP patients. Strategies to improve the life-span of standard and affordable anti-malarial drugs are needed

Epidemiology of Cholera Outbreak in Kampala; Uganda

To provide epidemiological description of the cholera outbreak which occurred in Kampala between December 1997 and March 1998. Design: A four-month cross-sectional survey. Setting: Kampala city; Uganda. Main outcome measures: Number of cases reported per day; attach rate per age group and per parish; case fatality ratio. Results: the cholera outbreak was due to vibrio choleerae 01 EI Tor; serotype Ogawa. Between December 1997 and March 1998; 6228 cases of cholera were reported; of which 1091 (17.5) were children under five years of age. The overall attach rate was 0.62; similar in the udner fives and five and above age groups. The case fatality ratio among hospitalised patients was 2.5. The peak of the outbreak was observed three weeks after the report of the first case; and by the end of January 1998 (less than teo months after the first case); 88.4of the cases had already been reported. The occurrence of cases concentrated in the slums where the overcrowding anf the environmental conditions resembled a refugee camp situation. Conclusion: the xplosive development of the cholera outbreak in Kampala; followed bya rapid decrease of the number of cases reported is unusual in a large urban setting. It appeared that each of the affected slums developed a distinct outbreak in a non immune population; which did not spread to contiguous areas. Therefore; we believe that; a decentralised strategy; that would focus the interventions on each heavily affected area; should be considered in these circumstances