Factors Affecting Ferritin Level in Children of 6 to 59 Months in the Eastern Region of Cameroon

Aim: Ferritin reflects total iron storage and is also the first laboratory index to decline with iron deficiency. It may be less accurate in children with infectious or in?ammatory conditions as an acute phase reactant. Considering the fact that Cameroonian children live in malaria endemic and high risk hookworm infection area, our objective was to study factors affecting Ferritin level including socio-demographic data, child nutrition, anaemia and inflammatory status. Study Design: A case control study was carried out with anaemic children as cases and non-anaemic as controls. Place and Duration: Paediatric and laboratory units of the Bertoua regional Hospital, from November 2018 to January 2019. Methodology: A case control study was carried out in children of 6 to 59 months attending the Bertoua regional hospital. Data were collected and blood distributed in EDTA and dry tubes for full blood count, C - reactive protein (CRP) and Ferritin analysis. Obtained data were analysed with SPSS 21.0 using Pearson抯 Chi Square test. Results: 126 children were included, 63 anaemic (Haemoglobin<11 g/dL) as cases and 63 non anaemic as controls. The Mean age of children was 27.3+/- 15.4 months, the mean haemoglobin was 10.4+/- 1.6 g/dL. Ferritin as state by WHO for the diagnosis of iron deficiency anaemia, was below 30 ?g/L in 3.2% independently of anaemic status. Inflammation tested by CRP occurred in 37.3% of children. When the ferritin cut-off value was shifted to 50 ?g/L, Ferritin was low in 9.5% thus approaching the stated frequency of iron deficiency obtained recentlyin Cameroon. Mean Ferritin level was 346.5 ?g/L. Conclusion: The relatively high level of Ferritin showed that iron storage seems to remain intact in most children despite anaemic or inflammatory status. The level of Ferritin in children is highly dependent on haem iron consumption and food diversification also has a role to play.

Liver function tests of HIV/AIDS patients at the nylon district hospital, Douala, Cameroon.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) which substantially reduces morbidity and mortality in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive patients has been associated with hepatotoxicity. This study was aimed at investigating the effects of HIV infection and ART on liver function amongst HIV seropositive patients in Douala, Cameroon. Methods: A cross- sectional study was conducted from March to August, 2012 at the Nylon District Hospital, Douala. Demographic data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Serum alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (ALT and AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) activities were determined using colorimetric techniques. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 37.9 ± 6.02 years. A majority of the study participants (68.0%) were females. The mean CD4+ T lymphocyte cell count of HIV/AIDS patients on ART was significantly higher than the ART- naïve patients (p<0.05). The mean serum AST and ALT activities of ART-naïve patients were significantly higher than the control subjects (p<0.05). Similarly, the mean serum transaminases and GGT activities of HIV/AIDS patients on ART were significantly higher than the control subjects (p<0.05). The mean serum ALP and GGT activities of HIV/AIDS patients receiving ART were significantly higher than the ART- naïve patients (p<0.05). Conclusions: The present study provides evidence to suggest that both infection with HIV and treatment with ART are associated with liver injury.

In Vitro Antifungal Susceptibility Patterns of Candida Albicans from HIV and AIDS Patients Attending the Nylon Health District Hospital in Douala; Cameroon

HIV and AIDS are major public health problems in Cameroon where the HIV prevalence is 5.5. Candidiasis is the leading opportunistic mycosis in HIV and AIDS patients. The objective of this study was to determine the in vitro antifungal susceptibility pattern of Candida albicans in HIV and AIDS patients to eight antifungal agents in the Nylon Health District of Douala in Cameroon. Three hundred and four HIV and AIDS patients were recruited between March and August 2007 to participate in a cross-sectional study. All subjects who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects before samples were collected. Three samples comprising oral swabs; vagina/urethra swabs and a mid-stream urine were collected from each subject. Specimens were cultured on sabouraud dextrose agar and C. albicans isolates were identified using the germ tube technique. The disk diffusion method was used for antifungal susceptibility testing using eight antifungal agents. The prevalence of candidiasis in the study population was 67.8 (95 CI: 62.5-73.1) and that of C. albicans was 42.8 (95 CI: 37.2-48.4). Oral swabs had the highest prevalence of C. albicans followed by vaginal/urethral samples (52.6 vs. 29.7) subjects had C. albicans infection at more than one collection site. There was a statistically significant difference in the infectivity of C. albicans with age; sex and site of infection (P0.05). C. albicans isolates were most sensitive to ketoconazole (80) followed by econazole (64.6) while fluconazole and 5-flurocytosin recorded the poorest sensitivities (22.9 vs 24.6; respectively). There was a statistically significant difference in the sensitivity pattern of antifungal agents with respect to the site of isolation of the organism (P0.05). Ketoconazole is the drug of choice for the treatment of C. albicans infection in HIV and AIDS patients in the Nylon Health District of Douala; Cameroon

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection among Pregnant Women in Cameroon

Toxoplasmosis is caused by an intracellular protozoan; Toxoplasma gondii; which has a wide geographical distribution. The congenital form results in a gestational form that can present a temporary parasiteamia that will infect the fetus. For this reason early diagnosis in pregnancy is highly desirable; allowing prompt intervention in cases of infection. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies among pregnant women attending the Douala General Hospital. The study was carried out between March and July 2009; whereby 110 pregnant women were tested for IgG and IgM antibodies and information about eating habits and hygienic conditions was collected using a questionnaire. These women's ages ranged from 20-44 years old with an average of 29.9 years; the overall IgG and IgM seroprevalence was 70and 2.73respectively. Seroprevalence was significantly high amongst women who ate raw vegetables (76.39; P0.05) and there was a significant trend towards a higher seroprevalence in women who did not have a good source of water (75.58; P0.05). This research showed that consumption raw vegetables and poor quality drinking water are two risk factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection amongst pregnant women attending the Douala General Hospital in Cameroon

Genital Mycoplasmas in Women Attending the Yaounde University Teaching Hospital in Cameroon

Genital mycoplasmas are implicated in pelvic inflammatory diseases; puerperal infection; septic abortions; low birth weight; nongonococcal urethritis and prostatitis as well as spontaneous abortion and infertility in women. There is paucity of data on colonisation of genital mycoplasma in women and their drug sensitivity patterns. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of genital mycoplasmas (Ureaplasma urealiticum and Mycoplasma hominis) infection and their drug sensitivity patterns in women. A mycofast kit was used for biochemical determination of mycoplasma infection in 100 randomly selected female patients aged 19-57 years; attending the University of Yaounde Teaching Hospital (UYTH) from March to June 2010. Informed consent was sought and gained before samples were collected. Genital mycoplasmas were found in 65 patients (65) [95CI=55.7-74.3] and distributed as 41 (41) [95CI=31.4-50.6] for U. urealiticum and 4 (4) [95CI=0.20-7.8] for M. hominis while there was co-infection in 20 women (20) [95CI=12.16-27.84]. In our study; 57 (57) [95CI=47.3- 67] had other organisms; which included C. albicans (19 [19]); G. vaginalis (35 [35]) and T. vaginalis (3 [3]). Among the 65 women with genital mycoplasma; the highest co-infection was with G. vaginalis (33.8). Pristinamycine was the most effective antibiotic (92) and sulfamethoxazole the most resistant (8) antibiotic to genital mycoplasmas. We concluded that genital mycoplasma is a problem in Cameroon and infected women should be treated together with their partners

Social Stigma as an Epidemiological Determinant for Leprosy Elimination in Cameroon

Leprosy has been eliminated as a public health problem in most countries of the world according to the WHO; but the social stigma to the disease is still very high. The present study was performed to investigate the role of social stigma as a determinant for leprosy elimination in a leprosy endemic region of Cameroon. Focus group discussions; in-depth interviews and structured questionnaires were used to investigate leprosy social stigma among lepers; their contacts and a control group consisting of patients attending a health facility for reasons other than leprosy. Informed consent was sought and gained prior to starting the study. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews identified three types of stigma: lack of self-esteem; tribal stigma and complete rejection by society. From the 480 structured questionnaires administered; there were overall positive attitudes to lepers among the study population and within the divisions (P=0.0). The proportion of participants that felt sympathetic with deformed lepers was 78.1[95confidence interval (CI): 74.4-81.8] from a total of 480. Three hundred and ninety nine (83.1) respondents indicated that they could share a meal or drink at the same table with a deformed leper (95CI: 79.7-86.5). Four hundred and three (83.9) participants indicated that they could have a handshake and embrace a deformed leper (95CI: 80.7-87.3). A total of 85.2(95.0CI: 81.9-88.4) participants affirmed that they could move with a deformed leper to the market or church. A high proportion of 71.5(95.0CI: 67.5-75.5) participants stated that they could offer a job to a deformed leper. The results indicate that Menchum division had the lowest mean score of 3.3 on positive attitudes to leprosy compared with Mezam (4.1) and Boyo (4.8) divisions. The high proportion of positive attitudes among the participants and in different divisions is a positive indicator that the elimination of leprosy social stigma is progressing in the right direction. Quantification of stigma to assess the elimination struggle is a new research area in public health