Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus in Burkina Faso: Screening, vaccination and evaluation of post-vaccination antibodies against hepatitis B surface antigen in newborns

The low rate of screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) in pregnant women is a highrisk factor for its vertical transmission. The objectives of this study were: i) to screen pregnant women for HBV infection; ii) vaccinate all children from birth against HBV regardless their mother HBV status; and iii) evaluate after 7 months of birth the level of their AbHBs among babies who received HBV vaccine at birth. Serological markers of HBV (HBsAg, HBeAg, AbHBs, AbHBe, and AbHBc) were determined on venous blood samples from 237 pregnant women and their children using the Abon Biopharm Kit. One hundred and two (102) children received the three doses of the EUVAX B® vaccine respectively at birth, two months and four months of life. Seven months after delivery, venous blood samples were collected from mothers and their children. Antibodies against hepatitis B surface antigen (AbHBs) were measured in vaccinated children using the ELISA Kit AbHBs Quantitative EIA. DNA extraction was performed on samples from HBV-seropositive mothers and their children using the Ribo Virus (HBV Real-TM Qual) Kit and for Real Time PCR, the HBV Real-TM Qual Kit was used. Serological diagnosis in pregnant women revealed 22 (9.28%) hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive samples of which 21 were positive for viral DNA by real-time PCR. Among the 22 HBsAg+ women, five (05) transmitted the virus to their children with a vertical transmission rate of 22.73%. A transmission rate of 23.81% (5/21) was found with the PCR method. Analysis of AbHBs levels revealed that 98.31% of the children had an average concentration of 218.07 ± 74.66 IU/L, which is well above the minimum threshold for protection (11 IU/L). This study has confirmed that vertical transmission of HBV is a reality in Burkina Faso and that vaccination at birth would significantly reduce this transmission

Current use and acceptability of novel diagnostic tests for active tuberculosis: a worldwide survey / Uso atual e aceitabilidade de novos testes diagnósticos para tuberculose ativa: um inquérito mundial

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the current use and potential acceptance (by tuberculosis experts worldwide) of novel rapid tests for the diagnosis of tuberculosis that are in line with World Health Organization target product profiles. Methods: A multilingual survey was disseminated online between July and November of 2016. Results: A total of 723 individuals from 114 countries responded to the survey. Smear microscopy was the most commonly used rapid tuberculosis test (available to 90.9% of the respondents), followed by molecular assays (available to 70.7%). Only a small proportion of the respondents in middle- and low-income countries had access to interferon-gamma-release assays. Serological and lateral flow immunoassays were used by more than a quarter (25.4%) of the respondents. Among the respondents who had access to molecular tests, 46.7% were using the Xpert assay overall, that proportion being higher in lower middle-income countries (55.6%) and low-income countries (76.6%). The data also suggest that there was some alignment of pricing for molecular assays. Respondents stated they would accept novel rapid tuberculosis tests if available, including molecular assays (acceptable to 86.0%) or biomarker-based serological assays (acceptable to 81.7%). Simple biomarker-based assays were more commonly deemed acceptable in middle- and low-income countries. Conclusions: Second-generation molecular assays have become more widely available in high- and low-resource settings. However, the development of novel rapid tuberculosis tests continues to be considered important by tuberculosis experts. Our data also underscore the need for additional training and education of end users.

RESUMO Objetivo: Determinar o uso atual e a aceitação potencial (por especialistas em tuberculose em todo o mundo) de novos testes rápidos para o diagnóstico de tuberculose que estão alinhados com os perfis de produtos alvo da Organização Mundial da Saúde. Métodos: Um inquérito multilingue foi divulgado on-line entre julho e novembro de 2016. Resultados: Um total de 723 indivíduos de 114 países respondeu ao inquérito. A baciloscopia foi o teste rápido para tuberculose mais utilizado (disponível para 90,9% dos entrevistados), seguida de ensaios moleculares (disponível para 70,7%). Apenas uma pequena proporção dos entrevistados de países de renda média e baixa tinha acesso a ensaios de liberação de IFN-γ. Imunoensaios de fluxo lateral e testes sorológicos eram utilizados por mais de um quarto dos entrevistados (25,4%). Entre os entrevistados que tinham acesso a testes moleculares, 46,7% utilizavam o teste Xpert de forma geral, sendo essa proporção maior em países de renda média baixa (55,6%) e renda baixa (76,6%). Os dados também sugerem que houve algum alinhamento de preços para testes moleculares. Os entrevistados afirmaram que aceitariam novos testes rápidos para tuberculose, se disponíveis, incluindo testes moleculares (aceitáveis para 86,0%) ou testes sorológicos baseados em biomarcadores (aceitáveis para 81,7%). Testes simples baseados em biomarcadores foram mais comumente considerados aceitáveis nos países de renda média e baixa. Conclusões: Os testes moleculares de segunda geração tornaram-se mais amplamente disponíveis em locais tanto com poucos quanto com muitos recursos. No entanto, o desenvolvimento de novos testes rápidos para tuberculose continua a ser considerado importante por especialistas em tuberculose. Nossos dados também ressaltam a necessidade de maior formação e educação dos usuários finais.

Seroprevalence of Ebola virus infection in Bombali District, Sierra Leone

A serosurvey of anti-Ebola Zaire virus nucleoprotein IgG prevalence was carried out among Ebola virus disease survivors and their Community Contacts in Bombali District, Sierra Leone. Our data suggest that the specie of Ebola virus (Zaire) responsible of the 2013-2016 epidemic in West Africa may cause mild or asymptomatic infection in a proportion of cases, possibly due to an efficient immune response