Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Cost-free Nutrition Programme on Children in Reo Health District, Burkina Faso

Background: The community management for acute malnutrition (CMAM) was started in 2012 with the aim toimpact the lives of a large number of children suffering from acute malnutrition without any cost. Objective: Thestudy aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the CMAM program on severe acute malnutrition (SAM) andmoderate acute malnutrition (MAM) treatment. Methods: Children aged 6 to 59 months were screened formalnutrition in a complementary compulsory screening program. Acutely malnourished children underwent freemedical and nutritional treatment. Evaluation of the CMAM program implementation was performed bycomparison with paid services by collecting data from malnourished children’s parents. Results: From the 64458screened children, 835 were diagnosed as new acutely malnourished cases and referred to health centers fortreatment. The anthropometric parameters (MUAC, weight, height) have significantly improved from the time ofadmission to the end of treatment. Performance indicators using the Sphere standards were above the expectedlevel for outpatient treatment but for inpatient treatment, it failed to meet the expected standard. Poverty and theuse of traditional medicine to treat malnutrition, distance, availability, and cost of transportation to the healthcenter were significant barriers to the continuation of healthcare services. Conclusion: The CMAM program iseffective. It covered and allowed the treatment of several children presenting the number of pathologies reducingchildren's morbidity and mortality. In order to increase children’s nutritional status, it will be helpful to workwith traditional healers.

A variant of DC-SIGN gene promoter associated with resistance to HIV-1 in serodiscordant couples in Burkina Faso

OBJECTIVE@#To study the involvement of variations in 4 genes associated with susceptibility and/or protection against HIV-1 in serodiscordant couples in Burkina Faso, namely, genes encoding HLA-B57, interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1), dendritic cell-specific ICAM3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) and CCR5 delta 32 (CCR5Δ32).@*METHODS@#Two DC-SIGN and two IRF1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as well as HLA-B57*01 and CCR5Δ32 alleles were genotyped in 51 serodiscordant couples in Burkina Faso. DC-SIGN, IRF1 and HLA-B57*01 genotyping was carried out by real time PCR using TaqMan assays (Applied Biosystems, USA and Sacace Biotechnologies, Italy). CCR5Δ32 deletion was investigated by PCR.@*RESULTS@#The two SNPs of DC-SIGN promoter showed a significant genotypic difference in serodiscordant couples. After multivariate analysis, only the association between DC-SIGN rs2287886 and HIV-1 remained significant (P<0.01). No association was found between IRF1 SNPs and HIV-1 infection. CCR5Δ32 wild type allele was found in 100% of serodiscordant couples. A high frequency of HLA-B57*01 allele was found in the HIV-positive (78%) compared with HIV-negative group (51%), however this difference was no longer significant after the correction of the sex confounding effect in the logistic regression model.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Our study suggests a protective role of a variation of DC-SIGN promoter and genetic resistance to HIV-1 in serodiscordant couples in Burkina Faso.

A variant of DC-SIGN gene promoter associated with resistance to HIV-1 in serodiscordant couples in Burkina Faso

Objective: To study the involvement of variations in 4 genes associated with susceptibility and/or protection against HIV-1 in serodiscordant couples in Burkina Faso, namely, genes encoding HLA-B57, interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1), dendritic cell-specific ICAM3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) and CCR5 delta 32 (CCR5δ32). Methods: Two DC-SIGN and two IRF1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as well as HLA-B57*01 and CCR5δ 32 alleles were genotyped in 51 serodiscordant couples in Burkina Faso. DC-SIGN, IRF1 and HLA-B57*01 genotyping was carried out by real time PCR using TaqMan assays (Applied Biosystems, USA and Sacace Biotechnologies, Italy). CCR5δ 32 deletion was investigated by PCR. Results: The two SNPs of DC-SIGN promoter showed a significant genotypic difference in serodiscordant couples. After multivariate analysis, only the association between DC-SIGN rs2287886 and HIV-1 remained significant (P<0.01). No association was found between IRF1 SNPs and HIV-1 infection. CCR5δ 32 wild type allele was found in 100% of serodiscordant couples. A high frequency of HLA-B57*01 allele was found in the HIV-positive (78%) compared with HIV-negative group (51%), however this difference was no longer significant after the correction of the sex confounding effect in the logistic regression model. Conclusions: Our study suggests a protective role of a variation of DC-SIGN promoter and genetic resistance to HIV-1 in serodiscordant couples in Burkina Faso.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is associated with asymptomatic malaria in a rural community in Burkina Faso

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate 4 combinations of mutations responsible for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in a rural community of Burkina Faso, a malaria endemic country.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two hundred individuals in a rural community were genotyped for the mutations A376G, G202A, A542T, G680T and T968C using TaqMan single nucleotide polymorphism assays and polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The prevalence of the G6PD deficiency was 9.5% in the study population. It was significantly higher in men compared to women (14.3% vs 6.0%, P=0.049). The 202A/376G G6PD A- was the only deficient variant detected. Plasmodium falciparum asymptomatic parasitaemia was significantly higher among the G6PD-non-deficient persons compared to the G6PD-deficient (P<0.001). The asymptomatic parasitaemia was also significantly higher among G6PD non-deficient compared to G6PD-heterozygous females (P<0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This study showed that the G6PD A- variant associated with protection against asymptomatic malaria in Burkina Faso is probably the most common deficient variant.</p>

Efficiency of HAART in the prevention of mother to children HIV-1 transmission at Saint Camille medical centre in Burkina Faso, West Africa

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate efficiency of HAART in the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission.@*METHODS@#A longitudinal study was conducted on 1 300 women attending the antenatal service at Saint Camille Medical Centre from September 2010 to July 2011. The HIV status of mothers was determined by rapid tests and ELISA. Discordant results were confirmed by real-time PCR. PCR was used to determine HIV status of children born from HIV-positive mothers.@*RESULTS@#Among 1 300 pregnant women tested for HIV, 378 were seropositive. Mothers were predominantly housewives (69.7%), and their mean age was (28.32±0.15) years. The overall prevalence of HIV transmission from mother to child was 4.8% (18/378). This prevalence differed significantly from 0.0% (0/114) to 6.8% (18/264) in children born from mothers under HAART and those with mothers under New Prophylactic Protocol (AZT + 3TC + NVP), respectively (P< 0.01). Children's mortality rate during the medical follow up was 1.3% (5/378). Among 16 women with HIV dubious status by ELISA, the Real Time PCR confirmed 2/16 (12.5%) as HIV positive.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The protocol of prevention of mother to children HIV transmission (PMTCT) is effective. The rate of HIV vertical transmission is significantly reduced. Early diagnosis determined by PCR of children born from HIV-positive mother is necessary and recommended in the context of PMTCT in Burkina Faso. We also found that PCR is an effective tool to confirm HIV status in pregnant women.

Enteric parasites prevalence at Saint Camille Medical Centre in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

OBJECTIVE@#To assess the prevalence of parasitic infections among patients attending Saint Camille Medical Centre and to estimate co-parasitic infections rates.@*METHODS@#From January to December 2009, stool samples were collected from 11 728 persons, aged from five months to 72 years and suffering from gastroenteritis. After macroscopic description, the stools were examined by light microscopy to search for the presence of parasites.@*RESULTS@#From the 11 728 analyzed stools, 6 154 (52.47%) were infected with at least one parasite. Protozoan frequently encountered were: Giardia intestinalis (43.47%), Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar (30.74%) and Trichomonas intestinalis (21.72%), while Hymenolepis nana (2.25%) was the most common helminth. Co-infections occurred in 22.34% cases. Within the multi-infected samples, dual and triple infections accounted for 71.18% and 20.00%, respectively. Giardia intestinalis for protozoan and Hymenolepis nana for helminths were the most implicated co-infections.@*CONCLUSIONS@#This study confirms that intestinal parasites are still a public health problem in Burkina Faso. To reduce the incidence of parasitic infections, it is necessary to promote the education of people so that they practice the rules of individual and collective hygiene.