Spreading of SARS-CoV-2 in West Africa and assessment of risk factors.

Although the African continent is, for the moment, less impacted than the rest of the world, it still faces the risk of a spread of COVID-19. In this study, we have conducted a systematic review of the information available in the literature in order to provide an overview of the epidemiological and clinical features of COVID-19 pandemic in West Africa and of the impact of risk factors such as comorbidities, climatic conditions and demography on the pandemic. Burkina Faso is used as a case study to better describe the situation in West Africa. The epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in West Africa is marked by a continuous increase in the numbers of confirmed cases. This geographic area had on 29 July 2020, 131 049 confirmed cases by polymerase chain reaction, 88 305 recoveries and 2102 deaths. Several factors may influence the SARS-CoV-2 circulation in Africa: (i) comorbidities: diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure could lead to an increase in the number of severe cases of SARS-CoV-2; (ii) climatic factors: the high temperatures could be a factor contributing to slow the spread of the virus and (iii) demography: the West Africa population is very young and this could be a factor limiting the occurrence of severe forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in West Africa is relatively slow compared to European countries, vigilance must remain. Difficulties in access to diagnostic tests, lack of hospital equipment, but also the large number of people working in the informal sector (such as trading, businesses, transport and restoration) makes it difficult to apply preventive measures, namely physical distancing and containment.

Characterization of HIV-1 genotypes and antiretroviral drug-resistance mutations among patients in Burkina Faso.

The purposes of this study were: (1) to describe the genetic variability of HIV strains found in Burkina Faso, (2) to characterize non-B HIV strains mutation profiles selected by ARVs and (3) to detect possible resistances induced by ARV drugs. From 30 October 2002 to 20 November 2003, 132 HIV 1-positive patients taking Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) for more than one year in Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou were included. T-CD4+ lymphocytes count was done using Dynabeads technique while genotypic test and ARV-resistance tests were conducted using Pol sequencing that codes for reverse transcriptase reverse, integrase and protease. Due to undetectable viremia, 86 samples out of 132 could not be characterized. Whereas in the 46 others that had a viral load exceeding 1000 copies mL(-1), the following HIV-1 subtypes were identified: CRF06 (54,55%); CRF02(38,63%); CRF01 (4,55%) and subtype A (2,27%). In addition, several mutations related to PI, NRTI and NNRTI resistance were isolated in 27 samples. This study found a huge genetic HIV-1 polymorphism in Burkina Faso. The level of acquired resistance to ARV after one year of treatment amounted 20.4%. These results clearly show that there is imperative need to set up an ARV resistance surveillance network in Burkina Faso to guide treatment strategies and follow the extension of the phenomenon in the country.